Potsdam, N.Y. - The Potsdam Bears (5-7, 2-4) defeated Plattsburgh State (3-12, 0-6) on Wednesday night in a close contest, as the Bears defeated the Cardinals 14-10. With the Cards eliminated from playoff contention, they look towards their final game on Saturday when they welcome New Paltz to town at 1 p.m.

Stephen Kane (Hampden, MA/Minnechaugh Regional) was the team's leading goal scorer as he upped his season total to 41 goals with four made shots on Wednesday night. He leads John Eiseman (Farmingville, NY/Sachem East), who scored twice himself against Potsdam, by 26 goals for the team lead. Christian Bassi (Windham, NH/Kimball Union Academy) made 12 saves in net as he took the loss in goal. 

The Bears jumped out to a quick lead with a man-up goal at 12:56 to kick off the scoring in this SUNYAC contest. Potsdam would score four more goals to lead 5-0, capped off by a Drew Rose goal at 4:08. Plattsburgh finally got on the board when Zach Gill (Miller Place, NY/Rocky Point) connected on an unassisted shot to bring the Cards within four. 

The second period saw some more even play as the teams tied each other at two goals apiece in the quarter. Michael Swift (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) and Kane put the two shots in as the Cardinals went into halftime trailing 7-3. 

The Bears once again came out strong to start a quarter, scoring twice in the first four minutes to go up six on Plattsburgh. Gill added another goal and Eiseman added a man-up goal not long after the Bears scored their tenth goal to make the score 10-5. Potsdam, however, put two shots into the net in the final two minutes to head into the fourth quarter with a seven-goal advantage. 

The Cardinals would not go down easily, scoring four straight goals before to pull within three goals with 2:30 to play. Peyton Walsh of Potsdam put his team back up by four with a score at the 2:11 mark that was quickly followed by Kane's fourth goal of the game. Alec Miller sealed the game for the Bears with his shot at 25 seconds. 

Plattsburgh State outshot Potsdam 41-39 over the entire 60 minutes, even after the Bears outshot the Cardinals 13-5 in the first quarter. Plattsburgh State held the advantage in turnovers, ground balls, and face-offs, but Potsdam was more accurate around the, getting four more shots on goal than the Cardinals. 

Gustav Rugg (Haverstraw NY/North Rockland) had three assists for Plattsburgh while Brendan Heggers (Rocky Point, NY/Rocky Point) had 11 ground balls and was 14-20 in the face-off circle. Justin Rocovich (Bohemia, NY/Connetquot) picked up three ground balls for the Cards and also forced two turnovers at the defensive end. 

Plattsburgh State will celebrate 12 seniors on Saturday at 1 p.m. for Senior Day when they take on New Paltz.