PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The No. 1 Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey held on for a 2-1 over St. Olaf in the team's opening LayerEight Shootout game, as a late push put the Oles within a goal of the Cardinal lead. Bennett Stockdale (Ottawa, Ontario/Alabama Huntsville) scored both goals for the Cards to lead the team to the win and advance them to the LayerEight Championship game for a rematch with No. 11 Norwich. 
 
Plattsburgh State is currently ranked No. 1 in the USCHO. com Division III Top-15 Poll.
 
Stockdale scored in the first and second periods to pick up his second multi-goal game of the year. Four players tallied assists for Plattsburgh, as Lonan Bulger (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories/Hobart College), Brannon Butler (Toronto, Ontario/Boston Advantage), Tio D'Addario (Montreal, Quebec/Navan Grads), and Thomas Maia (Mississauga, Ontario/Nanaimo Clippers) each had helpers for Plattsburgh. Eli Shiller (Toronto, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) picked up the win in goal, stopping 19 shots over 60 minutes of action for his third win of the season.
 
The Cardinals outshot the visiting Oles 31-20 on the day and scored one power play goal in five chances while holding St. Olaf without a goal in five chances of their own.  
 
Plattsburgh State moves to 7-0 on the year and has a big rematch with No. 11 Norwich set for the LayerEight Shootout Championship game on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. In this tournament last year, the Cardinals took down the Cadets to win the Thanksgiving weekend trophy, but Norwich won the NCAA Tournament game between the two teams, taking Plattsburgh down in overtime last year on their own ice. St. Olaf falls to 4-4-1 and will play Middlebury in the consolation match tomorrow Saturday, Nov. 25 at 3:30 p.m.
 
The game's action began with physical and closely contested play between the Cards and Oles throughout the majority of the first period. With just over three minutes to play in the first stanza, St. Olaf was assessed a tripping penalty, putting the Cardinals on the first power play of the evening. The advantage for the Cards lasted just 15 seconds, as the first chance on goal was deflected in by Stockdale from just outside the crease after a Bulger attack from the point. Bulger earned an assist on the play, as well as D'Addario, putting the Cardinals up 1-0 with 3:09 to go in the first period.
 
In the 18^th minute of action, the Cardinals picked up their first penalty, as well as their second penalty soon after that in the second period. Both chances were killed off by the Plattsburgh defense, allowing them to maintain their one-goal advantage. 
 
The Cardinals scored an important goal to cushion their lead just over 15 minutes into the second period, with Plattsburgh just killing off a St. Olaf power play chance. Working just below the blue-line on the Cardinal offensive zone, Butler dumped the puck over to the corner boards to Maia, who was able to free the puck to Stockdale behind the goal line. Initially, Stockdale appeared to be looking to pass and was not picked up by an Oles defender, allowing the senior forward to continue around the net for a brilliant wrap-around score. With his second goal of the game, Stockdale moved into sole possession of the team lead for goals and points, with seven goals and 10 points. 
In the third period, both teams had multiple chances on the power play, with each defensive squad holding strong to keep the score at 2-0 Plattsburgh. Continuing play late into the third period, St. Olaf was able to keep the puck in their offensive zone and pull their goalie from the game, giving themselves a 6-5 advantage on the ice. The move paid off as Tyler Cooper registered a score, assisted by Cody Sherman and Johnathan Panisa, moving the deficit to just one goal for the Oles with less than a minute and a half to go.
 
Even with the extra man, the Cardinal defense was able to hold on, as Shiller made some strong saves down the stretch to keep the Cards ahead and advance them to the LayerEight Championship game. 
 
For St. Olaf, Lukas Haugen took the loss, playing just over 58 and a half minutes, stopping 29 shots for the Oles.