MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – The No. 4 Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey picked up their first State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) win convincingly, cruising to a 5-1 win over the SUNY Morrisville Mustangs. For the third straight game, each goal was scored by a different Cardinal, showcasing the depth and overall talent of the team's offense. 
 
Plattsburgh State is the No. 4 ranked team in the USCHO.com Division III Top-15 Poll. 
 
Bennett Stockdale (Ottawa, Ontario/Alabama Huntsville) tallied the game-winning goal with his score in the first period, which was preceded by Colin Callanan's (Stony Point, N.Y./New York Apple) first goal of the season that opened the scoring. Luk Jirousek (Whitehorse, Yukon/Alberni Valley Bulldogs) scored his first goal of the year while Joshua Belgrave (Burlington, Ontario/Burlington Cougars) and Paul Bryer (Clarkston, Mich./Islanders Hockey Club) each added scores. Jacob Hearne (Ennismore, Ontario/Toronto Jr. Canadiens) earned his second win of the season in goal to move to 2-0-0, stopping 17 shots for a .956 save percentage. 
 
The Cardinals dominated the shot totals, 42-18, and continued their excellence on the power play going 2-5 on the advantage. The Cards also held Morrisville to 1-5 in their power play opportunities. 
 
Plattsburgh moves to 3-0-0 (1-0-0 SUNYAC) with the win and next match up with currently No. 14 ranked Geneseo at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 10 in SUNYAC action at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. Morrisville falls to 0-2-0 (0-1-0 SUNYAC) and will head to Potsdam on Saturday, Nov. 4 as they continue SUNYAC play against the Bears.
 
The Cardinals were once again able to get on the board with relative ease and early in the game action, scoring at the 7:44 mark of the first period. Ryan Hogg (Duncan, British Columbia/Islanders Hockey Club) worked the puck up from the neutral zone and into the offensive zone, where he skated into a slew of Mustang defenders, briefly losing the puck. Jagger Benson (Lynnfield, Mass./Cranbrook Bucks) was able to get his stick on the puck momentarily before Callanan skated past to gain possession and go right to the goal with just the goaltender in front of him. The sophomore finished the play with a shot just under the Morrisville goalie's left blocker, picking up his first goal in his first game of the 2023-24 campaign.
 
Just over a minute later, the team got their second score of the game in beautiful transitional play up the ice. Starting with the puck behind their own goalie's line the Cardinals skated up the ice, seamlessly moving the puck between each other. Into the offensive zone, Jake Lanyi (North Salem, N.Y./Connecticut Jr. Rangers) found Aaron Catron (Middletown, Del./Philadelphia Little Flyers) skating right at the goalie for a potential shot, but Catron gave it up at the last second for Stockdale, who was able to finish with a wide-open look at the short side of the goal for his second score of the season and the game-winner.
 
The Cards picked up their third goal of the game with 12:35 elapsed in the second period, working on a power play opportunity as the team continues to excel on the advantage. Working behind the goal line in their own offensive zone, Bryer passed the puck to Ryan Bonfield (Kemptville, Ontario/Brockville Braves) who touched the puck but was unable to attempt a shot. The loose puck found Jirousek who attempted a one-timer that was saved, but on the rebound, he was able to attempt another shot that found the back of the net. 
 
Plattsburgh added one more second-period goal at the 16:43 mark of action, this time off the stick of Belgrave. Working around the puck against boards, first-year defenseman Sam D'Amico (St. Catharines, Ontario/Georgetown Raiders) rifled a shot that was deflected to Adam Tretowicz (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) just outside the crease, who then found Belgrave right in front of the goal with the goalie out of position for an easy score. The goal was Belgrave's third of the season, a team-leading total that has also set a new career-high for the sophomore forward.
 
In the third period, the Cardinals picked up their final goal of the game off another power play opportunity. Jirousek made an initial pass to Bonfield at the edge of the faceoff circle on the goalie's right side. With the goalie positioned to stop a shot from him, Bonfield opted for the pass to Bryer on the opposite side of the goal, just in front of the goal line, where his one-timer found the nylon for his second goal of the season, putting the final touches on a Cardinal win.
 
Chris Mott scored the lone goal for Morrisville just after the 13-minute point of the third period, unassisted. In net, Garrett Boyonoski made 37 saves for a .880 save percentage.