RUTLAND, VT.—Junior assistant captain Mike Arnold (Didsbury,
Alberta/Kingston Voyageurs) scored an extra-attacker goal with 36 seconds
remaining to help the SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (5-7-1) a 3-3 tie at
Castleton State (7-5-2) on Friday night. The Bears, who also received
goals from junior forward Adam Place (Scarborough, Ontario/) and senior
captain Matt Viola (Toronto, Ontario/Vaughan Vipers), trailed 3-0 at the
start of the third period.
The Spartans grabbed a 1-0 lead on the power play at 6:39 of the opening
stanza with a marker from Ryan Frost. Castleton outshot the Bears 9-7 and
held the advantage into the intermission.
At 6:20 of the second period, Russ Herzog made the most of a short-handed
opportunity to double the Spartan lead. Eight minutes later, Ben
Shoenberger scored a second power-play goal to give Castleton a
comfortable 3-0 cushion headed into the second break.
Just 2:09 into the final period, Place ignited the comeback with a Potsdam
power-play tally. Junior forward Zach Blake (Campbellford,
Ontario/Plattsburgh State) and freshman forward Billy Pascalli (Deer Park,
N.Y./New York Bobcats) each assisted on the goal. At 7:07, Viola cut the
lead to 3-2 with an even-strength goal on helpers from freshman forward
Mike Riley (Brantford, Ontario/Brantford Golden Bears) and sophomore
forward Trevor Cope (Swartz Creek, Mich./Atlanta Jr. Knights). With ___
left, Bears Head Coach Chris Bernard pulled freshman goaltender Austin
Keiser (Dunwoody, Ga./Boston Bulldogs) for an extra skater. Arnold struck
for the game-tying goal at 19:24.
In overtime, Castleton outshot the Bears 2-0, but Keiser handled both
attempts to seal the draw.
Keiser made 29 saves, while Spartan goalie Thomas Shelley finished with 26
saves. Castleton outshot the Bears 32-29 on the night. The Spartans were
2-10 on the power play and Potsdam finished 1-12.