AMHERST, Mass. – The Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team used two first-period goals to defeat Amherst on Saturday night in road non-conference action. Aaron Catron (Middletown, Del./Philadelphia Little Flyers) scored the game's opening goal while Colin Callanan (Stony Point, N.Y./New York Apple Core) notched the game-winner.

Catron tallied his team-leading ninth goal of the season just over two minutes into the game, while Callanan scored on the power play with less than a minute-and-a-half remaining in the first period. Vlad Pshenichnikov (Moscow, Russia) picked up two assists, as the sophomore now has 11 points in just eight games. Patrick Cole (Lancaster, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) and Kevin Weaver-Vitale (Toronto, Ontario/Markham Royals) each picked up assists as well for the Cards. Jacob Hearne (Ennismore, Ontario/Toronto Jr. Canadiens) was the victor in net, making 24 saves in just under 60 minutes of action.

In 60 minutes, the teams were even at shots with 25 apiece, with the Cardinals finishing the day 1-4 on the advantage and holding Amherst to 0-4.

Plattsburgh State moves to 10-7-1 on the season and next hosts SUNY Canton on Friday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. The Mammoths fall to 7-8-1 and next take on last year's national runner-up Trinity at 7:30 p.m. on the road.

The Cards wasted no time getting themselves an early lead as Catron opened the game's scoring at the 2:08 mark of the period. A battle on the boards in the Plattsburgh defensive zone led to a loose puck that was eventually controlled by Pshenichnikov, as the sophomore freed the puck to Weaver-Vitale who was then able to control entering the neutral zone. He was immediately double-teamed, leaving Catron wide open as he skated towards the blue line. The graduate student perfectly led the sophomore forward with a pass into the offensive zone, as had no one in front of him except the net, using a beautiful, backhanded shot to get the Cards on the board with the breakaway score.  

Amherst wasted little time with their answer, getting the equalizer off the stick of Zachary Murray with 4:23 elapsed in the first period.

Late in the first period, a major penalty led to a five-minute power play for Plattsburgh and they took advantage. Nearly two minutes into the man-up opportunity, the Cardinals used some precision passing to find Callanan, who slid a shot under the Mammoths' netminder to put Plattsburgh State up 2-1. Cole had the primary assist on the goal, with Pshenichnikov also adding a helper.

After that, neither team would go on to score despite an action-packed contest. The Cards, who had a 9-7 shot advantage in the first stanza, held the advantage in the second period as well, outshooting the opposition 8-7. In the final period, trailing by just on goal, Amherst outshot Plattsburgh 11-8.

A short power play opportunity for the Mammoths in the second period went by the wayside, as did a Cardinal power play a few minutes later, helping the score to stay at 2-1 into the final intermission.

The third period began with a power play for Amherst, but the Cards' penalty kill remained strong, as they killed off the two-minute minor. Plattsburgh had a chance to extend the lead just over 10 minutes in, after a tripping call, but could not pick up the goal to cushion their lead. With less than eight minutes to go, Amherst had a chance to tie the game with an advantage, but once again Plattsburgh State stood strong defensively.

The final minute-plus saw an empty net for Amherst, as Hearne made three saves to keep the Cardinals in front. Plattsburgh was able to twice clear, with Weaver-Vitale nearly picking up an empty net goal to put the Cards up two goals. However, the shot went wide, and the Mammoths were able to give themselves another opportunity with a face-off with three seconds remaining. Jake Lanyi (North Salem, N.Y./Connecticut Jr. Rangers) won the face-off, and the Cardinals cleared the zone to earn the 2-1 win.

Andrew Palena took the loss in net making 23 saves, while Vincent Velocci and Bobby Luca each had an assist.