PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – For the first time since 2017, a different State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) champion will be crowned in men's ice hockey, as seventh-ranked and second-seeded Plattsburgh State dethroned 11th-ranked and third-seeded SUNY Geneseo, the four-time defending conference champion and reigning national runner-up, with a 5-1 victory in the SUNYAC Tournament semifinals on Saturday evening at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.
 
Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 7 in the DCU/USCHO.com Men's Division III Top-15 Poll, while Geneseo is ranked at No. 11.
 
First-year goaltender Eli Shiller (Toronto, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) stood on his head once again, as he made a career-high 41 saves to backstop Plattsburgh State to the win. Senior forward Brendan Young (Lefroy, Ontario/Blind River Beavers) and sophomore forward Luk Jirousek (Whitehorse, Yukon/Alberni Valley Bulldogs) led the offense, as each had a goal and an assist.
 
The Cardinals finished with a 44-42 edge in shots on goal, while both teams were 0-for-2 on the power play.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 19-5-2 overall with the win and visits longtime rival Oswego State in the SUNYAC Tournament championship game on Saturday, March 4, at 7 p.m. The Cardinals and Lakers have already met three times this season, with Oswego holding a 2-1 edge in the season series. Geneseo ends its season at 18-7-2 overall.
 
Junior forward Bennett Stockdale (Ottawa, Ontario/University of Alabama in Huntsville) fired the opening salvo at 9:52 of the first period. First-year forward Colin Callanan (Stony Point, N.Y./New York Apple Core) forced a turnover along Geneseo's blue line, and he backhanded a pass to Stockdale in the left circle. Stockdale then ripped a wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle that beat the goalie glove side.
 
The Cardinals doubled up the Knights in shots on goal, 20-10, in the opening period, but Stockdale's goal was the only scoring in the frame.
 
Young scored what wound up being the eventual game winner with 9:45 gone in the second. Graduate student defenseman Matt Araujo (Brookhaven, N.Y./Boston Jr. Rangers) poked the puck to Jirousek just inside the Geneseo blue line, and Jirousek sent a pass over to Young along the right boards. Young took control of the puck in the right corner and skated along the right goal line extended before scoring through the five-hole.
 
Geneseo answered back with a goal at 11:52 of the second period. Junior defenseman Diarmad DiMurro intercepted a pass in the neutral zone before springing sophomore forward Domenic Garozzo ahead into the offensive zone. Garozzo skated into the left circle and scored over the goalie's blocker-side shoulder.
 
While the Knights carried play down the stretch in the second period, the Cardinals still entered the locker rooms with a 2-1 lead at the second intermission.
 
Plattsburgh State received insurance from Jirousek 4:32 into the third. Jirousek forced a turnover in the neutral zone and took a shot from the left circle that was saved. Young got a piece of the puck on the rebound before Jirousek hammered it home just outside the crease.
 
Sophomore forward Jake Lanyi (North Salem, N.Y./Connecticut Jr. Rangers) took advantage of a Geneseo miscue at 14:23 of the third to make it a 4-1 game. Junior defenseman Kevin Weaver-Vitale (Toronto, Ontario/Markham Royals) dumped the puck in from the red line, and after the Geneseo goalie attempted to stop the puck behind the net, it ricocheted off his stick out in front of the goal along the left post. Lanyi crashed the net and buried a shot into the unmanned goal.
 
Junior forward Carson Gallagher (Courtice, Ontario/Sacred Heart University) put the game on ice with 33 seconds left in regulation, scoring an empty-net goal. Junior forward Trey Thomas (Williams Lake, British Columbia/Brooks Bandits) earned an assist on the score.
 
Geneseo's senior goaltender Matt Petizian made 39 saves in the loss.