PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Sophomore Aaron Catron (Middletown, Del./Philadelphia Little Flyers) scored 1:23 into overtime to lift the Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team to a 2-1 overtime win over the visiting Middlebury Panthers. The win marks the team's fourth straight win against the Panthers, dating back to November 22, 2022.

Catron netted the game-winner after Middlebury scored with 3:40 to go in the third period to eventually send the game into overtime. First -year Tyler Ramm (Westborough, Mass./Northeast Generals) scored the other Plattsburgh goal, while graduate student defenseman Kevin Weaver-Vitale (Toronto, Ontario/Markham Royals) had two assists. Jacob Hearne (Ennismore, Ontario/Toronto Jr. Canadiens) earned his eighth win of the season in goa, making 15 saves in over 61 minutes of action.

Plattsburgh State dominated the shot category on Friday night, outshooting Middlebury 35-16. The Cardinals also tallied the only power play goal, going 1-3 on the advantage while holding the Panthers scoreless on two tries.

The Cardinals move to 8-6-1 on the season and next host Williams College on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. Middlebury moves to 7-7 with the loss and next travels to Bowdoin College for a conference matchup on Friday, Jan. 24.

The first two periods of action did not see much happen on the ice, with one power play for each team in each period resulting in no goals. The Cardinals were dominating with shots, holding a 23-11 advantage through the first 40 minutes, but the team's goalies stood tall to keep the game scoreless until the third period.

Ramm wasted little time in the final period getting the Cards on the board, as Plattsburgh earned a power play to start the action. A Weaver-Vitale shot from the point looked to be on target for the Cards, but the puck deflected off Ramm, faking out the Middlebury who could not stop the deflection from finding the back of the net. The score was Ramm's fourth of the year and his first since his two-goal game against Canton on Nov. 16. Spencer Bellina (Medina, Ohio/Chippewa Steel) also recorded an assist on the goal.

Plattsburgh State was able to make the 1-0 lead stand over the next several minutes, as they continued to win the battle in shots, where they eventually held a 11-5 advantage in the period. However, with less than four minutes to, Dimitri Tzaferis netted a goal to tie the game at a score apiece and sending the game into overtime.

In the extra stanza, only Plattsburgh got a shot on goal, and they made it count. Vlad Pshenichnikov (Moscow, Russia/Utica) worked a pass from the team's defensive zone into the neutral zone, finding Weaver-Vitale as he made his way into the offensive zone. The graduate student then found Catron with a perfect pass in front of the net, where the Middlebury goalie looked to have made the initial save, but the puck trickled through to give Plattsburgh the win. The score gave Catron his team-leading sixth of the season, as well as his first career game-winner.

Andrew Heinze made 33 saves in net for Middlebury, taking the loss, while Wyatt Pastor and Jackson Morehouse each recorded assists.