PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team used a four-goal first period to push past SUNY Brockport, 4-3, in a critical State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game on Saturday evening at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.
 
Junior forward Adam Tretowicz (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) and sophomore forward Carson Gallagher (Courtice, Ontario/Sacred Heart University) each finished with a goal and an assist for the Cardinals, while graduate student defenseman Ryan Romeo tallied two goals for the Golden Eagles.
 
Just three penalties were whistled all game, with neither team scoring on the power play. Brockport was 0-for-1, while Plattsburgh State was 0-for-2. The Cardinals finished with a 35-21 edge in shots on goal.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 11-7-3 overall (7-4-1 SUNYAC) with the win and now has sole possession of third place in the SUNYAC standings, ranking three points ahead of fourth-place SUNY Cortland and four points in front of fifth-place Brockport. The Cardinals next face Buffalo State in a home game on Friday, Feb. 4, at 7 p.m. Brockport falls to 12-6-1 overall (5-4-1 SUNYAC) with the loss and next visits SUNY Morrisville on Wednesday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m.
 
Sophomore defenseman Kevin Weaver-Vitale (Toronto, Ontario/Markham Royals) put Plattsburgh State on the board 5:21 into the first period with his first collegiate goal. Tretowicz won an offensive-zone face-off back to Weaver-Vitale on the left point, and Weaver-Vitale wristed a shot that beat the goaltender low glove side.
 
Just 33 seconds later, Tretowicz doubled the Cardinals' lead. Junior forward Hunter Alden (Walla Walla, Wash./Northeast Generals) passed to Tretowicz as the pair entered the offensive zone, and Tretowicz slid a pass to sophomore forward Thomas Maia (Mississauga, Ontario/Nanaimo Clippers) in the left circle. Maia took a shot that hit the crossbar before Tretowicz banged in the rebound for his sixth goal of the season.
 
Junior defenseman Jacob Modry (Albany, N.Y./Merrimack College) extended the advantage to three goals at 8:03 of the first. Sophomore forward Bennett Stockdale (Ottawa, Ontario/Alabama Huntsville) dug the puck of the corner to Gallagher, and Gallagher got the puck back to Stockdale at the top of the left circle. Stockdale laced a pass to Modry in the right circle, and with no one around him, he fired a shot past the goalie glove side.
 
Brockport got on the board at 11:54 of the first, as Romeo blasted a one-timer from the right point that deflected off a Cardinal defender's stick and through the five-hole. Sophomore forwards Andrew Harley and Connor Galloway earned assists on the score.
 
Gallagher scored what wound up being the game-winning goal at 13:41 of the first. Stockdale intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and sent a short pass to Gallagher in the offensive zone. Gallagher navigated through three Golden Eagle defenders to hammer home a shot from the low slot that went through the five-hole.
 
At 5:36 of the second, Brockport cut the deficit in half. Harley fired a puck toward the net that was blocked by a Cardinal defender, and the rebound bounced out to Galloway on the left point. Galloway then ripped a shot that beat the goaltender stick side.
 
The Golden Eagles made it a one-goal game at 18:39 of the third with the goalie pulled in favor of the extra attacker. With Plattsburgh State trying to clear the zone, Romeo intercepted the puck on the point, wristing a shot that deflected off a skate and into the back of the net.
 
First-year goaltender Jacob Hearne (Ennismore, Ontario/Toronto Jr. Canadiens) made 18 saves in his first collegiate start, moving to 1-0-0 on the season. Senior goaltender Nolan Egbert turned aside 31 shots in the loss for Brockport.

UFirst Federal Credit Union is the official Zamboni sponsor of Plattsburgh State men's and women's ice hockey.