PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team extended its winning streak to five games against SUNY Morrisville in its regular-season finale, topping the Mustangs by a 4-2 final in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action Wednesday evening at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.
 
The Cardinals will hold either the No. 2 seed or the No. 3 seed in the SUNYAC Tournament. In order to claim the No. 2 seed, SUNY Geneseo must lose its final three games against SUNY Brockport, Morrisville and Buffalo State in regulation. A regulation win, overtime win, tie or overtime loss in any of those three games will relegate Plattsburgh State to the No. 3 seed. The first round of the SUNYAC Tournament is slated for Saturday, Feb. 26, while the semifinal round and championship game are slated for Wednesday, March 2, and Saturday, March 5, respectively.
 
Both the Cardinals and Mustangs went 1-for-2 on the power play, with all four penalties on the evening whistled in the second period. The Cardinals finished with a 38-17 edge in shots on goal.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 15-7-3 overall (11-4-1 SUNYAC) with the win, while Morrisville slips to 7-14-2 overall (2-12-0 SUNYAC) with the loss. The Mustangs next host SUNY Potsdam on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m.
 
Morrisville's first-year forward Trevor Grasby put the visitors on the board first at 7:39 of the first period, scoring in a scramble in front of the net. First-year defenseman Benjamin Lindberg and first-year forward Jake Kaplan earned assists on the goal.
 
Sophomore defenseman Cory Doney (Northfield Falls, Vt./Vermont Lumberjacks) leveled the score at 1-all at the 18:05 mark of the first period. Sophomore forward Bennett Stockdale (Ottawa, Ontario/Alabama Huntsville) took control of an offensive-zone face-off win and passed to Doney on the right point. Doney ripped a one-timer that went wide of the goal, and sophomore forward Thomas Maia (Mississauga, Ontario/Nanaimo Clippers) took control of the rebound along the back wall and backhanded a pass to send the puck back out in front. Doney then took a one-time shot from the high slot that beat the goalie high glove side.
 
At 3:39 of the second, junior defenseman Ryan Hogg (Duncan, British Columbia/Islanders Hockey Club) scored on the power play to give Plattsburgh State its first lead of the contest. Senior defenseman Matt Araujo (Brookhaven, N.Y./Boston Jr. Rangers) passed to Stockdale along the left wall, and Stockdale passed to Hogg on the left point. Hogg then wristed a shot that navigated through traffic and beat the goalie stick side.
 
Grasby netted his second goal of the game at 13:28 of the second period, scoring on the power play to tie the game at 2-all. First-year forward Cameron Clark passed D-to-D to sophomore forward Luca Esposito, and Esposito took a shot from the left point that Grasby deflected in.
 
Sophomore forward Carson Gallagher (Courtice, Ontario/Sacred Heart University) scored what wound up being the game-winning goal at 6:48 of the third period. Gallagher forced a turnover in the Mustangs' zone, weaved through two Morrisville defenders to enter the slot and scored glove side.
 
First-year defenseman Jack Ring (Hingham, Mass./Northeast Generals) added insurance at 14:33 of the third. Morrisville took a shot that ultimately rebounded out to Ring in the neutral zone, and Ring deked a defender in the right circle before scoring glove side.
 
First-year goaltender Jacob Hearne (Ennismore, Ontario/Toronto Jr. Canadiens) turned aside 15 shots in the win for the Cardinals, while first-year goaltenders Garrett Boyonoski and Ryan Creenan combined for 34 saves in the loss for the Mustangs.

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