PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The No. 3 Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team scored four first-period goals, as they eventually went on to win 5-0 against regional foe Middlebury College at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena on Friday night. Jacob Hearne (Ennismore, Ontario/Toronto Jr. Canadiens) was excellent for Plattsburgh, as he earned his first shutout of the season with a 26-save effort in the net.

The Plattsburgh State Cardinals are currently ranked No. 3 in the USCHO.com Division III Top-15 Poll.

Five different Cardinals scored goals to back Hearne's strong effort, as Bennett Stockdale (Ottawa, Ontario/Alabama Huntsville) tallied the game-winner goal with the game's first score at the 5:45 mark. Luk Jirousek (Whitehorse, Yukon/Alberni Valley Bulldogs), Joshua Belgrave (Burlington, Ontario/Burlington Cougars), Trey Thomas (Williams Lake, British Columbia/Brooks Bandits), and Ryan Hogg (Duncan, British Columbia/ Islanders Hockey Club) also scored goals for the Cards in the win, while Stockdale, Hogg, and Jake Lanyi (North Salem, N.Y./Connecticut Jr. Rangers) each had multi-point outings.

Plattsburgh had a strong night on special teams, killing all three Middlebury power play opportunities while the Cards themselves finished 2-5 on the extra-man opportunities. Overall, the Cardinals ended up winning the shot battle 37-26 over the Panthers.

With the win, Plattsburgh State moves to 13-2 and will now prepare for a road trip to Williams for tomorrow, Jan. 13, as they play the Ephs at 7 p.m. Middlebury falls to 2-8-3 with the loss and next play a strong Norwich team on Tuesday, Jan. 16, who defeated them in the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena 7-1 in November.

Utilizing the power play, Plattsburgh State opened the scoring at the 5:45 mark of action, as Lanyi's shot from the slot was saved directly to the stick of Stockdale, who knocked in the puck from the left side of the crease to put Plattsburgh up 1-0.

At the 13:37 mark, the Cardinals opened up a great run of scoring, as the team took advantage of a five-on-three power play, resulting in a Jirousek goal to give Plattsburgh a 2-0 advantage. Less than two minutes later, the Cards added onto to the lead with a Belgrave goal, as the sophomore scored coming from behind the goal line, putting the puck in the net glove side as he fell to the ground. With less than a minute of game-time transpired after Belgrave's goal, Ryan Poorman (Phoenixville, Pa./Norwich) forced a turnover in the Plattsburgh offensive zone, allowing Thomas to enter the slot unimpeded, where he took a Poorman pass for a one-timer through the top shelf.

The three-goal barrage in less than three minutes gave the Cardinals a daunting four-goal lead after just 20 minutes, essentially sealing the game before the second-period puck drop.

The four-goal lead was made even stronger as Hearne stood tall in the second period as he made 14 saves to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard. Plattsburgh tallied their fifth and final goal early in the period, as Hogg scored his first goal of the season and 11^th of his career off a terrific pass across the ice from Lanyi.

The goal at the 1:13 mark of the second period was the final of the game, as Plattsburgh continued to put shots on net but Jake Horoho, who subbed in for the starting Middlebury goalie after the fifth, stopped all 19 shots that came his way across 38 minutes. Hearne was equally as strong, making 20 saves across the final two periods, holding the Panther's offensive attack at bay, as the Cardinals skated to a comfortable 5-0 win.

Andrew Heinze took the loss in net for Middlebury, allowing five goals and making 13 saves across 21 minutes.