College Hockey Stats Box Score

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Sophomore forward Greg Malafronte (Colts Neck, N.J./New Jersey Titans) scored two goals and added an assist, but the Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team fell to Middlebury College, 6-3, in non-conference action Friday night at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.
 
The Panthers scored five third-period goals, including two empty-netters, to come away with the win. Plattsburgh State was 1-for-5 on the power play, while Middlebury was 0-for-3. The Cardinals finished with a 46-30 edge in shots on goal.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 6-6-2 overall with the loss and next hosts No. 15 Williams College tomorrow night at 7 p.m. Middlebury rises to 6-6-1 overall with the win and next hosts Colby College on Friday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m.
 
Malafronte scored just 1:25 into the game, as junior forward Antoine Desnoyers (Quebec City, Quebec/Cégep de Saint-Laurent) won an offensive-zone face-off and centered the puck to Malafronte before Malafronte scored glove side.
 
With 11:17 gone in the first, Malafronte scored again—this time on the power play—to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead. Freshman defenseman Matt Araujo (Brookhaven, N.Y./Boston Jr. Rangers) passed D-to-D to freshman defenseman Ian Wallgren (Stockholm, Sweden/Connecticut Oilers), and Wallgren took a shot that was saved before Malafronte buried the rebound from inside the left face-off circle.
 
Freshman forward Tyler Capello put Middlebury on the board at 15:54 of the first period, deflecting in a shot from the point that came from freshman forward Alex Lee. Freshman forward Cole Joslin also earned an assist on the play.
 
Desnoyers scored the only goal in the second period, giving Plattsburgh State a 3-1 advantage. Junior defenseman Philip Middleton (Vail, Colo./Salmon Arm Silverbacks) carried the puck into the Panther zone on the rush and sent a short pass forward to Malafronte. Malafronte centered a pass to Desnoyers in the low slot, and Desnoyers one-timed the puck off the right post and past the goal line.
 
Middlebury started charging back just 1:02 into third period. After two short passes from freshman defenseman Conor Breen and sophomore forward Charlie Parsons got the puck to Capello in the Panthers' zone, Capello skated through the neutral zone and into the Cardinals' end before scoring glove side. Sophomore forward Matt Danner scored just 1:49 later, as freshman defenseman Bret Pastor sent a pass back to Danner on the left point, and Danner scored glove side. Junior forward Joey Piccinini also earned an assist on the play.
 
The game-winner came off the stick of senior forward Kamil Tkaczuk 6:39 into the third period. Senior defenseman Spencer Cage and sophomore forward Michael Fahie set up Tkaczuk with passes in transition, and Tkaczuk chipped the puck over the goaltender's glove into the back of the net.
 
Junior forward Owen Powers added insurance with an empty-net goal with 1:14 left, deflecting in a long drive to the net from Breen. Senior defenseman Spencer Cage scored another empty-netter with 41.4 seconds left in regulation to put the game on ice, relying on assists from Pastor and Powers.
 
Freshman goaltender Brandon Wells (Spirit River, Alberta/Melville Millionaires) made 21 saves in 46:39 of work, making his first regular-season home appearance. Sophomore goaltender Lawson Fenton (Medina, N.Y./Coquitlam Express) turned aside three shots and kept Middlebury off the board in 12:50 of action in the third period. Junior goaltender Brian Ketchabaw made 43 saves in net for the Panthers.