PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The No. 1 Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team defeated the Cortland Red Dragons 6-1 on the team's Casella Teddy Bear Toss night, picking up their ninth straight win to begin the season. The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) win vaulted the team to their first 9-0 start since the 1999-2000 season when they began the year 13-0 and were National Semifinalists.
 
The Cardinals men's ice hockey team is ranked No. 1 in the USCHO.com Division III Top-15 Poll, while Cortland is receiving votes. 
 
In the team's fourth annual Casella Teddy Bear Toss Night, the Plattsburgh State Department of Intercollegiate and Casella Waste Systems helped raise over $1500 for the Christmas Bureau, along with the over 750 Teddy Bears donated and thrown onto the ice after the first Cardinal goal.
 
The Cards have five different goal scorers on Friday night, with Thomas Maia (Mississauga, Ontario/Nanaimo Clippers) notched the game-winner and added an assist, while Luk Jirousek (Whitehorse, Yukon/Alberni Valley Bulldogs) tallied two goals for Plattsburgh. Tio D'Addario (Montreal, Quebec/Navan Grads) scored the first goal of the game to bring the Teddy Bears on the ice, while Aaron Catron (Middletown, Del./Philadelphia Little Flyers) and Joshua Belgrave (Burlington, Ontario/Burlington Cougars) each had goals. Eli Shiller (Toronto, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) earned the win in goal, making 18 saves and allowing just one Cortland goal. 
 
Plattsburgh was excellent on both ends of the power play, killing six Cortland power plays while scoring on two of their five advantage opportunities. The Cards also won the shot battle handily, 39-17.
 
The Cardinals move to 9-0-0 (5-0-0 SUNYAC) and next face Oswego State in their annual Stress Ball Night, tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. Cortland takes just their second loss of the season, as they fall to 6-2-0 (4-2-0 SUNYAC). They will head to Postdam tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 2 before wrapping up a three-game road trip next Friday at Oswego State.
 
D'Addario got the scoring started early for Plattsburgh, as Jack Ring (Hingham, Mass./Northeast Generals) freed up a puck along the back boards to Bennett Stockdale (Ottawa, Ontario/Alabama Huntsville), whose saved shot was rebounded by D'Addario for the short side score. The score brought the Teddy Bears on the ice for the Cardinals, as members from each team loaded Casella bins with the Bears which were donated to the Christmas Bureau. 
 
After each team went scoreless on power play opportunities, the Cardinals added to their lead late in the first period at the 18:59 mark, as Maia scored his first goal of the season, controlling a loose puck off a Stockdale shot in the crease for the score. Adam Tretowicz (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) also assisted on the play, as the Cards took their 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
 
An early penalty for the Cards put them on the defensive to begin the second period, but Plattsburgh successfully killed the Red Dragon power play. A Cortland penalty at the 9:29 mark opened the door for another power play opportunity for Plattsburgh, where they would not be denied a second time to start the game. Late in the opportunity, Catron deflected in a Ryan Hogg (Duncan, British Columbia/Islanders Hockey Club) shot attempt on the left side of the goal giving the Cards a 3-0 lead, as Kevin Weaver-Vitale (Toronto, Ontario/Markham Royals) also earned an assist. 
 
In the third period, the Cardinals continued to pour on the offense, with Belgrave scoring off a Paul Bryer (Clarkston, Mich./Islanders Hockey Club) assist. After a Cortland goal at the 14:21 mark, Jirousek scored two goals in just over two minutes, tallying a goal at the 15:09 mark from a Maia pass up the ice, and added another score off assists from Catron and Weaver-Vitale on a power play opportunity at the 17:20 mark of action. 
 
Domenic Settimo scored the lone Red Dragon and Nate Berke registered the assist, while Ronan Mobley made 33 saves in just under 60 minutes of play.