POTSDAM, N.Y. – Luk Jirousek's (Whitehorse, Yukon/Alberni Valley Bulldogs) goal with just over two-and-a-half minutes to go helped the No. 4 Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey to the 4-2 win over Potsdam in road State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play. The Cardinals iced the game just over a minute-and-a-half later, as Joshua Belgrave (Burlington, Ontario/Burlington Cougars) tallied a short-handed, empty-net goal to seal the win.

The Plattsburgh State Cardinals are ranked No. 4 in the latest USCHO.com Division III Top-15 poll.

Belgrave ended the night with two goals, as he also scored a second-period goal that gave Plattsburgh their first lead of the game, while Ryan Bonfield (Kemptville, Ontario/Brockville Braves) scored the Card's first goal early in the second period making himself, Jirousek, and Belgrave the Plattsburgh goal scorers.  Jack Ring (Hingham, Mass./Northeast Generals) had a multi-point night with two assists while five other players tallied assists for Plattsburgh. In goal, Jacob Hearne (Ennismore, Ontario/Toronto Jr. Canadiens) made 20 saves for the Cardinals, with 18 coming in the final two periods to earn Plattsburgh the win.

Neither team was able to take advantage of the extra-man opportunities, as Plattsburgh was 0-4 while the Bears were 0-2. Shots were plentiful for the Cardinals, as they outshot the Bears 46-22 over 60 minutes of game action.

The Cardinals improved to 16-3-2 (9-2-1 SUNYAC) clinching a SUNYAC playoff berth and have a huge weekend coming up, as they head to Cortland on Friday, Feb. 9, and Oswego on Saturday, Feb. 10. The Cards find themselves sitting a point out of second place behind Oswego and three points behind Geneseo in first, while Cortland is two points behind the Cardinals in fourth place. Potsdam falls to 6-14-1 (3-9 SUNYAC) and will next head to Oswego State on Friday, Feb. 9.

Despite an uneven shot battle in the first period, with Plattsburgh outshooting the Bears 19-3, it was Potsdam who got on the board first and led after the first 20 minutes of action. A costly turnover in the Bears offensive zone left Will O'Brien with just Hearne in front of him as he finished with the score early in the first period. The Potsdam penalty kill unit was also excellent in that first period, killing three Plattsburgh tries as Lenny Perno stood tall in the goal.

After the hot start, Perno finally had one get by him at the 2:20 mark of the second period when Bonfield buried a shot from the right faceoff circle in a two-on-one opportunity for Plattsburgh to tie the game. Belgrave later gave the Cards the lead with just over two-and-a-half minutes left in the period, finishing a Kevin Weaver-Vitale (Toronto, Ontario/Markham Royals) pass from the point, with a goal on the doorstep.

Plattsburgh State carried the lead into the third period, but the Bears would not go away quietly as Mason Hoehn took advantage of a Cardinal turnover, scoring at the 7:53 mark to tie the game.

The 2-2 tie held for nearly 10 minutes before either team could break the stalemate, as the teams played pretty evenly throughout the next portion of the period. A pivotal penalty kill from Plattsburgh spanning between the 13:18 and 15:18 marks set the team up with some momentum, as Jirousek scored the game-winner exactly two minutes after the penalty's end. The junior forward gave the Cards the lead as he put a slapshot from the point through the top shelf, notching his seventh goal of the year and first game-winner of the season.

In the final minutes, the Bears were struggling to get consistent enough possession of the puck to pull their goalie but a tripping penalty set up a power play for Potsdam. Off the ensuing faceoff, Adam Tretowicz (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) won the faceoff to Belgrave, who flipped the puck from the neutral to the back of the net to seal the win for Plattsburgh with over a minute to go. The goal was just the third short-handed goal of the year for the Cardinals and Belgrave's second of his sophomore campaign.

Still on the advantage, the Bears lost their power-play opportunity with 59 seconds to go, as a high sticking penalty put the game back in even play allowing the Cards to skate to the 4-2 win.

Perno got tagged with the loss, as he ended the night with 42 saves and three goals allowed, in a fantastic performance that kept his team in it until the end.