PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Graduate student forward Adam Tretowicz (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) netted a rare empty-net, game-winning goal in overtime, as he scored with 52.9 seconds left in the extra session to hand the No. 5 Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team a 2-1 win over Fredonia in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action on Senior Day Saturday afternoon at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. It marked the Cardinals' final game of the regular season.
 
Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 5 in the USCHO.com Men's Division III Top-15 Poll.
 
Prior to the start of the game, the Cardinals honored the Class of 2024 as a part of Senior Day: graduate student defenseman Ryan Hogg (Duncan, British Columbia/Islanders Hockey Club) and Tretowicz; senior defenseman Kevin Weaver-Vitale (Toronto, Ontario/Markham Royals); and senior forwards Paul Bryer (Clarkston, Mich./Islanders Hockey Club), Ryan Butler (Kelowna, British Columbia/Adrian College), Thomas Maia (Mississauga, Ontario/Nanaimo Clippers), Bennett Stockdale (Ottawa, Ontario/University of Alabama in Huntsville) and Trey Thomas (Williams Lake, British Columbia/Brooks Bandits).
 
With the game tied through regulation, Fredonia began the overtime period with a sense of urgency, needing a win to have a chance to earn the final SUNYAC Tournament berth. The Blue Devils pulled their goalie with 2:54 left in overtime to get a 4-on-3 advantage, and while they put a shot on goal at the 2:52 mark of the period, Plattsburgh State dominated possession from that point on.
 
After three Cardinal shots narrowly missed, Tretowicz deposited the game winner into the net with 52.9 seconds left. Hogg banked a stretch pass off the boards to Tretowicz, who found himself open along the left wing at the blue line. Tretowicz gained the zone and skated into the left circle before clinching the victory with a wrist shot into the unmanned net.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 19-4-2 overall (12-3-1 SUNYAC) with the win and hosts sixth-seeded SUNY Potsdam in the SUNYAC Tournament first round on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m. Fredonia finishes its season at 6-18-1 overall (4-11-1 SUNYAC).
 
Fredonia fired the opening salvo, scoring 3:57 into the contest. Junior forward Johnny Malandruccolo passed to first-year forward Antoine St. Onge out in front, and St. Onge took a shot that junior goaltender Jacob Hearne (Ennismore, Ontario/Toronto Jr. Canadiens) turned aside with a pad save. Junior forward Ryan Bailey then took control of a loose puck on the doorstep and hammered it into the back of the net.
 
While neither team scored in the second period, the Cardinals began applying significant offensive pressure, owning a 21-5 advantage in shots on goal in the stanza. At the 16:00 mark of the second, Stockdale had appeared to have scored on a shot from the high slot on the power play, and while play stopped and the goal light went on, the referees determined that the puck had not crossed the goal line.
 
Plattsburgh State finally broke through at 10:40 of the third period when Butler scored his third goal of the weekend. Butler hit junior defenseman Jack Ring (Hingham, Mass./Northeast Generals) with a short pass in the neutral zone, and Ring fed Butler in turn with a drop pass on the right point. Butler skated into the right circle before going to his backhand in the slot and beating the goaltender with a shot that went underneath his blocker. Junior forward Jake Lanyi (North Salem, N.Y./Connecticut Jr. Rangers) also earned an assist on the goal.
 
Tretowicz appeared to have scored a go-ahead goal at 11:48 of the third, but the marker was ultimately waved off, as Tretowicz took a swipe at a loose puck in the slot that went underneath a diving goalie. The Cardinals continued to control play late in the third period and ultimately rang iron on two shots—one from Lanyi and one from junior forward Luk Jirousek (Whitehorse, Yukon/Alberni Valley Bulldogs).
 
Plattsburgh State finished with a 38-28 edge in shots on goal, while both teams were scoreless on the power play, with the Cardinals going 0-for-5 and the Blue Devils going 0-for-3.
 
Hearne made 27 saves in the winning effort for Plattsburgh State, while senior goaltender Logan Dyck steered aside 36 shots in the loss for Fredonia.