PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team battled the No. 15 University of New England on Sunday evening in the Comfort Inn Complex Winter Classic Championship game, falling to the visiting Nor'Easters 4-2.  Drew Oliveri was named the Tournament MVP, as the New England forward had three goals and two assists in the tournament.

The University of New England (UNE) is currently the No. 15 in the latest USCHO.com Division III Top-15 Poll.

For Plattsburgh, junior forward Colin Callanan (Stony Point, N.Y./New York Apple Core) and senior defenseman Kevin Weaver-Vitale (Toronto, Ontario/Markham Royals) were each named to the All-Tournament team. Callanan, last year's tournament MVP, tallied a goal in the loss to UNE, finishing the weekend with two goals and two assists. Weaver-Vitale earned honors after scoring goals in both games. Ryan Kuzmich and Stefan Carney also received All-Tourney honors for UNE, while George Kolovos from Wentworth also earned a spot on the team.

In the championship game, Callanan and Weaver-Vitale each scored goals, while Vlad Pshenichnikov (Moscow, Russia/Utica) had two assists for the second straight night. Jacob Hearne (Ennismore, Ontario/Toronto Jr. Canadiens) took the loss in net making 28 saves in under 58 minutes of action.

A furious effort in the third period from Plattsburgh nearly evened up the shot battle as UNE controlled in the first two stanzas with the final count being 32 for the Nor'Easters and 29 for Plattsburgh. The Cardinals went scoreless on five power-play chances, while UNE finished the day 1-3 on the power play and also had a short-handed goal to ice the game in the final seconds.

The Cardinals fall to 7-6-2 with the loss and next host Middlebury College on Friday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. in the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. UNE improves to 9-5-1 on the season and resumes conference play on Friday, Jan. 17 against Suffolk.

A scoreless first period saw excellent goaltending from both Hearne and Carney as the Nor'Easters out shot the Cardinals 13-11. Each team had a power play chance in the period but both were unable to score.

A power play score in the second period opened the scoring for UNE, as Juraj Elllis put his team up 1-0 just under three minutes into the second stanza. The Nor'Easters would continue to control in the period, out shooting Plattsburgh 14-5 and killing off two penalties. With only five seconds left in the period, Olivieri put away his second goal of the tournament to give his team a two-goal cushion heading into the final stanza.

The third period saw the Cardinals offensive attack pick up almost immediately, as Callanan had his second goal of the tournament less than two minutes in. First-year forward Patrick Cole (Lancaster, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) and Pshenichnikov combined to force a turnover in neutral ice and get the puck back in the Plattsburgh offensive zone, where Callanan had a breakaway opportunity going down the slot. The junior forward put on a display of moves with the puck before depositing his shot into the back of the net for his second score of the weekend.

With the goal, the momentum clearly shifted the way of Plattsburgh, as they ended up out shooting UNE in the period 14-5, finally finding a way to break through a strong Nor'Easter forecheck.

Oliveri was able to answer the Callanan score at the 12:48 mark, giving his team a two-goal cushion once more. Plattsburgh, however, had an answer as well with just over two minutes left, as Weaver-Vitale sunk a shot from the point to give the Cardinals a chance down the stretch. Pshenichnikov and Jack Ring (Hingham, Mass./Northeast Generals) each tallied assists.

The home team was able to maintain possession through the final minutes and had a great chance to tie the score as after a timeout to pull the goalie, a faceoff violation and penalty was called on UNE, putting the Cardianls in a six-on-four chance. Carney was able to stand tall in the sequence, however, making five saves before his team won a face-off in the waning seconds and sunk a short-handed empty netter to give his team the 4-2 victory.