FREDONIA, N.Y. – Junior forward Thomas Maia (Mississauga, Ontario/Nanaimo Clippers) scored his first collegiate hat trick, as the No. 6 Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team extended its winning streak to seven with a decisive 10-3 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) victory over Fredonia on Friday evening at the Steele Hall Ice Arena.
 
Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 6 in the DCU/USCHO.com Men's Division III Top-15 Poll.
 
Maia finished the evening with four points total, as he also chipped in with an assist, while sophomore forward Luk Jirousek (Whitehorse, Yukon/Alberni Valley Bulldogs) scored twice. Senior forward Adam Tretowicz (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) registered three points on a goal and two assists, while first-year defenseman Brannon Butler (Toronto, Ontario/Boston Advantage) notched three points on three assists.
 
The Cardinals owned a 41-34 edge in shots on goal and excelled on special team, going 2-for-3 on the power play while scoring two shorthanded goals that came less than a minute apart on a five-minute major. The Blue Devils were scoreless in three chances with the extra skater.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 16-4-2 overall (10-2-1 SUNYAC) with the win and next visits Buffalo State tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. Fredonia falls to 5-14-0 overall (3-8-0 SUNYAC) and hosts SUNY Potsdam tomorrow night at 7 p.m.
 
Jirousek fired the opening salvo with a power-play goal at 6:03 of the first period, deflecting in a shot from graduate student defenseman Matt Araujo (Brookhaven, N.Y./Boston Jr. Rangers). Junior forward Carson Gallagher (Courtice, Ontario/Sacred Heart University) also earned an assist on the score. Maia netted his first goal of the game—and the season—30 seconds later on assists from Tretowicz and Butler, while Jirousek buried his second goal of the contest at 8:58 of the first on passes from senior forward Mitchell Hale (Oakfield, N.Y./Johnstown Tomahawks) and sophomore defenseman Jack Ring (Hingham, Mass./Northeast Generals).
 
Tretowicz and junior forward Trey Thomas (Williams Lake, British Columbia/Brooks Bandits) each scored shorthanded goals just 40 seconds apart, with Tretowicz's goal at 11:24 of the first being assisted by senior defenseman Ryan Hogg (Duncan, British Columbia/Islanders Hockey Club) and Thomas' score at 12:04 being unassisted. First-year forward Colin Callanan (Stony Point, N.Y./New York Apple Core) buried a power-play goal with 14:43 elapsed in the first on feeds from Maia and junior forward Bennett Stockdale (Ottawa, Ontario/University of Alabama in Huntsville) to put the Cardinals on top, 6-0, which held through the end of the opening period.
 
Fredonia erased the shutout bid at 3:03 of the second, as senior forward Antonio Demacopoulos scored on an assist from senior forward Bryce Witman, but Maia countered five minutes later, scoring on feeds from junior forward Paul Bryer (Clarkston, Mich./Islanders Hockey Club) and Butler. Stockdale buried his SUNYAC-leading 14th goal of the year with 10:52 elapsed in the second on assists from Gallagher and Callanan, while Maia completed the hat trick less than a minute later at the 11:31 mark of the frame, utilizing a feed from Tretowicz. The Blue Devils got one more back at 17:16 of the second, as Witman scored on a pass from first-year forward Ethan Pitzman.
 
In the third period, scoring slowed down, with Fredonia's junior forward Jake Blackwell scoring unassisted at the 13:29 mark before senior forward Brendan Young (Lefroy, Ontario/Blind River Beavers) cashed in on assists from Butler and first-year forward Riley Sutherland (Burlington, Ontario/St. Michael's Buzzers) with 21 seconds left in the contest.
 
Sophomore goaltender Jacob Hearne (Ennismore, Ontario/Toronto Jr. Canadiens) made 22 saves in the opening two periods before graduate student goaltender Kyle Alaverdy (Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador/Castleton University) steered aside nine shots in the third period. Fredonia utilized three different goalies in the loss, with junior goaltender Logan Dyck making a team-high 17 saves.