BUFFALO, N.Y. – In a game that saw 17 total penalties, including 12 in the second period, the Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team won a physical game against the Buffalo State Bengals, taking home a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNAYC) victory. The Cards took a 2-1 lead with over five minutes left in the first period and held the advantage the rest of the way for the win.

Jack Ring (Hingham, Mass/Northeast Generals) scored the game-winning goal with 5:20 to go in the first period after Aaron Catron (Middletown, Del./Philadelphia Little Flyers) scored the game's opening goal four minutes earlier. Luk Jirousek (Whitehorse, Yukon/Alberni Valley Bulldogs) added a power play goal in the third period, and Jake Sacratini (Montreal, Quebec/AIC) sealed the win late in the third with an empty netter. Jacob Hearne (Ennismore, Ontario/Toronto Jr. Canadiens) earned the win in goal, making 14 saves and allowing just one score.

Tio D'Addario (Montreal, Quebec/Navan Grads) and Jake Lanyi (North Salem, N.Y./Connecticut Jr. Rangers) each picked up two assists in the Plattsburgh win.

Over the 60 minutes of action, the Cardinals held a 27-15 advantage on shots on goal, holding the Bengals to just seven shots in the final two periods after they had eight in the first stanza.
Plattsburgh finished the night 1-7 on the power play while Buffalo State was 1-4 on the advantage. Between both teams, 71 penalty minutes were served with 17 total penalties called.

Plattsburgh State moves to 5-5 (3-3 SUNYAC) on the season and next hosts Keene State on Friday, Jan. 3 for a non-conference matchup in the new year. Buffalo State falls to 6-3 (5-1 SUNYAC), as the Cardinals give them their first conference loss, and will next host seventh-ranked Trine on Friday, Dec. 13 and Saturday, Dec. 14.

After getting shutout for the second team in their last three games, Plattsburgh State came out looking to get on the scoreboard early. Catron did just that at the 10:36 mark of the first period, as Lanyi freed up a puck in the Cardinal's defensive zone springing Catron down the ice across the neutral zone. The sophomore forward evaded several defenders and put on the brakes before ripping a shot from the left face-off circle that went bar down for the early score.

Buffalo State knotted the score up less than a minute later with a power play score from Don Powell to tie the game at one.

Ring and the Cardinals responded just before the 15-minute mark of the period, as Lanyi started a Plattsburgh odd-man rush down the ice, pushing ahead of two Bengal defenders. The Buffalo State goalie came out and knocked away the puck with his stick, but the puck went right to D'Addario. The sophomore forward then found Ring in the opposite face-off circle, where he finished with a screaming one-timer that put Plattsburgh State back out in front.

Despite winning just five of the 21 face-offs and getting outshot 8-7, Plattsburgh took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

The second period was marred by penalties, with 12 penalties and 48 total penalty minutes served between both teams. Despite that, both teams only had one power play opportunity each and neither could score. At the end of the period, only eight total shots were put on goal, with the Cardinals holding a 6-2 advantage.

The third period began with a major penalty assessed to the Bengals, giving the Cardinals a five-minute advantage opportunity. The team took advantage, scoring at the 1:41 mark, as Kevin Weaver-Vitale (Toronto, Ontario/Markham Royals) and D'Addario pushed the puck across the blueline into the offensive zone for Jirousek. The 6-4 forward then buried a one-timer from the top of the faceoff circle, giving Plattsburgh State a two-goal cushion early in the final period.

The rest of the game saw more hard-nosed play from Plattsburgh State, as they outshot the Bengals 14-5, limiting their opponent's opportunities through the final 20 minutes.

The Cardinals sealed the win just after the 18-and-a-half-minute mark, as Buffalo State pulled their goalie for an extra attacker. Brannon Butler (Toronto, Ontario/Boston Advantage) freed the puck from the backboards all the way around to the blue line where Sacratini found himself skating ahead of the last Bengal into his offensive zone. The junior then took the shot on the empty net from the top of the face-off circle, sealing the Cardinal win with less than a minute-and-a-half left in the game.

Marcus Cumberworth made 23 saves and allowed three goals, taking the loss for Buffalo State in net.