OSWEGO, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team dropped a 5-1 decision to No. 10 Oswego State in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opener for both teams on Friday evening at the Deborah F. Stanley Arena.
 
Oswego is ranked at No. 10 in the DCU/USCHO.com Men's Division III Top-15 Poll.
 
Despite the loss, the Cardinals outshot the Lakers by a 29-20 margin. Plattsburgh State went 1-for-3 on the power play, while Oswego was scoreless in one chance with the extra skater. The Lakers did see some special teams success with a shorthanded goal, while the Cardinals were dominant at the face-off dot, going 36-for-58.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 1-1-1 overall (0-1-0 SUNYAC) with the loss and next visits SUNY Cortland tomorrow at 7 p.m. Oswego rises to 2-1-0 overall (1-0-0 SUNYAC) with the win and hosts SUNY Potsdam tomorrow at 7 p.m.
 
Oswego's first-year forward Matt McQuade broke the ice when he scored at the 15:41 mark of the first period, taking the puck from behind the goal line and backhanding a shot into the back of the net stick side. Junior forward Connor Sleeth and senior forward Thomas Rocco were credited with assists.
 
The Lakers doubled their lead at 8:10 of the second period, taking advantage of a Cardinal shift change. Oswego forced a neutral-zone turnover, and on a 2-on-1 rush, Sleeth passed to Rocco, who then scored high blocker side.
 
Oswego scored exactly four minutes later to build a 3-0 advantage, as junior forward Shane Bull broke ahead on the rush, and facing a one-on-one opportunity with the goalie, he scored from the right circle. Sophomore defenseman Ben Addison and McQuade earned assists on the score.
 
Junior defenseman Ryan Dickinson scored shorthanded at the 14:27 mark of the third period, as Sleeth took a shot from the right circle that was saved before Dickinson hammered in the rebound.
 
Plattsburgh State finally broke through 1:05 later on the power play. Sophomore forward Jake Lanyi (North Salem, N.Y./Connecticut Jr. Rangers) led the rush into the offensive zone, and he sent a short pass over to first-year forward Riley Sutherland (Burlington, Ontario/St. Michael's Buzzers). Sutherland took a shot from the left circle that was saved, while sophomore defenseman Jack Ring (Hingham, Mass./Northeast Generals) blasted the rebound in from the far post. It marked the first collegiate point for Sutherland.
 
Rocco scored an empty-net goal with eight seconds left to add insurance; first-year defenseman Drake Semrad earned an assist on the score.
 
Graduate student goaltender Kyle Alaverdy (Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador/Castleton University) made 15 saves in the loss for the Cardinals, while first-year goaltender Cal Schell turned aside 28 shots in the win for the Lakers.