College Hockey Stats Box Score

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – A three-goal third period and a stout penalty kill helped the third-seeded Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team come from behind to defeat sixth-seeded The College at Brockport, 3-1, in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament first round on Wednesday evening at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. The victory extended Plattsburgh State's win streak to five.
 
The Cardinals, who boast NCAA Division III's top penalty kill, killed off all six penalties that resulted in Brockport power-play opportunities, including 33 seconds of a 5-on-3 power play in the first period and a five-minute major in the third period. The Golden Eagles held Plattsburgh State scoreless in four chances with the man advantage.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 13-11-2 overall with the win and next visits archrival and second-seeded Oswego State in the SUNYAC Tournament semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. Brockport ends its season at 15-9-2 overall with the loss.
 
Junior forward Doc Gentzler put Brockport on the board early, scoring just 2:17 in the contest. Following an offensive-zone face-off, junior defenseman Aidan Salerno passed D-to-D to senior defenseman Bryan Carville, and Carville wristed a shot from the left point that sophomore goaltender Jimmy Poreda (Tonawanda, N.Y./Connecticut Jr. Rangers) turned aside with his left pad. Gentzler then banged in the rebound high glove side to net his ninth goal of the year.
 
Brockport nearly added to its lead twice on the power play late in the first, as a pair of Golden Eagle shots taken by freshman forward Mitchell Parsons and sophomore defenseman Ryan Romeo hit pipe. Plattsburgh State ended up successfully killing off the penalty and entered the first intermission down just one goal.
 
After an uneventful second period, freshman defenseman Matt Araujo (Brookhaven, N.Y./Boston Jr. Rangers) tied the game at 1-all at 6:48 of the third. Sophomore forward Mike Falanga (East Haven, Conn./Islanders Hockey Club) chipped the puck to senior forward Ryan Kuhn (Wheatfield, N.Y./Niagara University) in the right corner, and Kuhn took a shot along the right post that was blocked. The rebound trickled out to Araujo in the high slot, and Araujo went high glove side to even the score.
 
Just 1:22 later, senior forward Cole Stallard (Atlanta, Ga./New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs) scored what ended up being the game-winner. Senior forward Pat Egan (Rochester, N.Y./Lone Star Brahmas) took a shot from the left face-off circle that was saved before a Brockport defender gained possession and tried passing to a teammate along the right wing. Stallard intercepted the pass and wristed a shot from the high slot that beat the goaltender.
 
Brockport nearly tied the game while on a five-minute power play late in the third. Junior forward Connor Hutchins sent a centering pass across to freshman forward Jordan Renaud, who had an opportunity to take advantage of a screen in front of the net. Renaud took a shot that appeared marked for the back of the goal before a sliding Stallard blocked it out of harm's way.
 
The Golden Eagles pulled their goalie while on the power play with 1:35 left to gain the 6-on-4 advantage, but senior forward Ross Sloan (Oakville, Ontario/Oakville Blades) sealed the win for the Cardinals by scoring a shorthanded empty-net goal with 1:06 remaining. His goal was unassisted.
 
Brockport finished the game with a 31-21 edge in shots on goal, which included a 14-8 margin in the first period and a 12-7 edge in the third.
 
Poreda made 30 saves in the win for the Cardinals, while junior goaltender Matt Schneider turned aside 18 shots in the loss for the Golden Eagles.