PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — The Plattsburgh State men's hockey team capped off its season-opening weekend in impressive fashion, defeating Plymouth State 4-0 on Saturday night at Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena during Military Appreciation Night.
The Cardinals, who rolled past VTSU–Castleton 6-1 in their home opener Friday, completed the back-to-back sweep to start the 2025-26 campaign 2-0. The win also marked Plattsburgh's first victory over the Panthers since 2006, snapping a nearly two-decade drought in the head-to-head series.
After a scoreless opening stretch, the Cardinals broke through late in the first period. Junior Aaron Catron (Middletown, Del.) battled along the boards to win possession and fed first-year Gabriel Filion (Montreal, Quebec), who slipped the puck around a defender to sophomore Quinn Tavares (Mississauga, Ontario). The duo worked a quick give-and-go, with Filion returning it to Tavares, who ripped a shot into the top-right corner to give Plattsburgh a 1-0 lead.
Plattsburgh doubled its advantage late in the second period with a shorthanded tally. Senior Riley Sutherland (Burlington, Ontario) took the puck off a Plymouth State defender and led a two-man rush with sophomore Blake Hall (Fort Erie, Ontario). Sutherland slid a perfect pass across to Hall, who finished the play cleanly to make it 2-0.
The Cardinals continued their strong penalty-kill play early in the third, netting another shorthanded goal just two minutes in. This time, Catron stole the puck in the neutral zone and created a 2-on-1 break, setting up senior Joshua Belgrave (Burlington, Ontario) with a crisp cross-ice feed that Belgrave buried to extend the lead to 3-0.
Plattsburgh capped off the night with a power-play goal as time expired. The Cardinals moved the puck seamlessly around the horn from junior Vladislav Pshenichnikov (Moscow, Russia) to senior Lonan Bulger (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories) at the point and across to Catron, who hammered home the one-timer with one second left on the clock to complete the 4-0 win.
Catron led the offense with a three-point performance tallying a goal and two assists, while four different Cardinals found the back of the net.
In net, Brady Spry (Belleville, Ontario) was flawless, turning aside all 34 shots he faced to earn his first shutout of the season and second career clean sheet. Plattsburgh outshot Plymouth State 35-34 and finished 1-for-4 on the power play while holding the Panthers to 0-for-6 with the man advantage.
The Cardinals will return to action on Friday, Nov. 14, when they open SUNYAC play on the road at Oswego State. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
