PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The No. 5 Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team exploded for five first-period goals and a season-high eight goals to defeat SUNY Morrisville 8-2 on Saturday night in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action.  Both Adam Tretowicz (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) and Joshua Belgrave (Burlington, Ontario/Burlington Cougars) each scored twice and tallied two assists to lead the Cardinal offensive effort.

The Plattsburgh State Cardinals are currently ranked No. 5 in the USCHO.com Division III Top-15 poll.

Along with Tretowicz and Belgrave, Tio D'Addario(Montreal, Quebec/Navan Grads), Luk Jirousek (Whitehorse, Yukon/Alberni Valley Bulldogs), Paul Bryer (Clarkston, Mich./ Islanders Hockey Club), and Bennett Stockdale (Ottawa, Ontario/Alabama Huntsville) each scored for the Cards in the win. Lonan Bulger (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories/Hobart) picked up three assists and was +4 on the night, while Jacob Hearne (Ennismore, Ontario/Toronto Jr. Canadiens) picked up the win in net with 11 saves. Dominik Bovan (Bratislava, Slovakia/Boston Jr. Bruins) made his collegiate debut in goal for Plattsburgh during the third period, playing all 20 minutes and stopping all six shots that came his way.

The game saw just one power play, as the Cardinals went scoreless on an early game power play opportunity, but still managed to outshoot Morrisville 45-19 over the 60-minute affair.

Plattsburgh State moves to 14-3 (7-2 SUNYAC) on the season and next plays at No. 2 Geneseo in a huge SUNYAC matchup in western New York. The Mustangs fall to 3-15 (1-9 SUNYAC) and next host SUNY Cortland on Jan. 24 for a SUNYAC contest.

The first period was action-packed, as the game's first goal came from Morrisville just over four minutes into the game, as Robert Haak buried a shot from the point to give the Mustangs an early 1-0 lead. The lead was short-lived as Tretowicz scored the Cards' first goal of the game at the seven-minute mark, with the graduate student captain knocking in a Bulger shot into the back of the net for the goal.

Over three and a half minutes later, Belgrave gave Plattsburgh a lead they would not relinquish as a long pass up the ice from Bulger sprung a Cardinals breakaway, where Tretowicz found Belgrave skating down the slot undefended for a beautiful goal. 30 seconds later, the Cards added onto their lead, as Ryan Butler (Kelowna, British Columbia/Adrian) forced a turnover in the Plattsburgh offensive zone, leading to a two-on-one opportunity where Tretowicz was able to bury a one-timer in the slot for the score.

Plattsburgh State did not relent even after their three quick goals, as D'Addario knocked in his seventh goal of the year to push the Cardinal advantage to 4-1. Once again, the Cards were able to score in transition to their offensive zone, as Jake Lanyi (North Salem, N.Y./Connecticut Jr. Rangers) found the first-year in the slot, beating the Mustangs goalie glove side for the goal. Off the ensuing faceoff, Bulger started another opportunity for Plattsburgh, as Colin Callanan (Stony Point, N.Y./New York Apple Core) beat the defense down the ice, where he played a loose puck back to Jirousek in the slot for an easy score just 11 seconds after the previous goal.

Entering the second period down 5-1, Morrisville had a good response, scoring in the first 11 seconds to pull within three goals, but the Cardinals settled in to control play for the rest of the period. Bryer and Belgrave each tacked on scores to move the score to 7-2 to finish out the second stanza, before Stockdale added his team-best 13^th goal of the year just 14 seconds into the third period for the eventual final score of 8-2.

Garrett Boyonoski made 37 saves in net as he was tagged with the loss for the Mustangs on Saturday night.