OSWEGO, N.Y. – The fourth-seeded Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team fell in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament Championship game, as second-seeded Oswego State won 5-2 in the Deborah F. Stanley Ice Arena. Senior forward Jagger Benson (Lynnfield, Mass./Cranbrook Bucks) tallied two goals in the second period to lead the Cardinal offense.

Junior forward Jake Sacratini (Montreal, Quebec/AIC) was named to the All-Tournament team, after tallying two goals and two assists across two wins, along with junior defenseman Lonan Bulger (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories/Hobart), who had four points in the first-round win against Potsdam. Also named to the All-Tournament team was Oswego defenseman Travis Baker, forward Matt McQuade, goalie Brandon Milberg, and Tournament MVP Brandon Cohen.

Bulger was also awarded the prestigious SUNYAC Elite 20 award, an award modeled after the NCAA ELITE 90 program, which recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the conference championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. Bulger currently has a cumulative 4.0 GPA.

The Lakers captured their first SUNYAC Title since 2014 and now earn the SUNYAC's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.

Both of Benson's goals were assisted by junior forward Riley Sutherland (Burlington, Ontario/St. Michael's Buzzers), while senior defenseman Jack Ring (Hingham, Mass./Northeast Generals) tallied an assist on the final goal. Sophomore goaltender Dominik Bovan (Bratislava, Slovakia/Boston Jr. Bruins) made 23 saves in over 42 minutes of action for Plattsburgh State.

The Cardinals ended up with 31 shots to Oswego's 30, while going 0-3 on the power play. The Lakers were 1-6 on the advantage, scoring on their first power play goal.

Plattsburgh State falls to 16-11-1 and concludes their 2024-25 season. Oswego State improves to 16-8-3 and will continue their season in the NCAA Tournament.

In the opening period, the Lakers showed a relentless offensive attack, scoring twice in the first three minutes to take an early 2-0 advantage. They would add on two more goals in a 30 second span just after the 13-minute mark of the period, taking a commanding 4-0 lead. Oswego added on one more goal with less than a minute to go, taking a 5-0 advantage into the first intermission.

Plattsburgh State did not quit despite the five-goal deficit, as Benson helped power a two-goal second period for the Cards. The Cardinals also had much stronger defensive presence in the second stanza, led by Bovan who made 12 saves in the period.

Benson tallied the first score for the Cardinals at 12:55 in the second period, as the senior forward somehow got the puck in amidst a scrum in the crease. After an initial save was made on a Ring shot from the point, the Cardinals worked to regain control of the puck in the crease. Sutherland momentarily freed the puck, and Benson came along from below the goal line to knock the puck in from behind the net off the right leg of the Oswego netminder. Sutherland earned the lone assist on the play as Benson tallied his first goal of the season and second of his career.

The Cards continued to battle in the period and Benson notched his second goal of the game just 40 seconds before the final intermission. Ring played a pass off the boards to Sutherland who found Benson skating across the midline into the Plattsburgh offensive zone. As he entered the zone, he unleashed on a shot from the point and found the back of the net through a slew of Laker defenders for a top shelf score.

In the final period, the Cardinals outshot the Lakers 10-5, but Milberg stood tall and stopped all 10 attempts that were on target. The Cards skated with an empty net for over three minutes in the waning moments but couldn't cut into the deficit falling 5-2.

Milberg made 28 saves in 60 minutes of action while first-year forward Ryan Burke had the lone multi-point outing with a goal and assist.