POTSDAM, N.Y.-The SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (2-2-1, 1-2-1 SUNYAC) rallied from a 3-1 deficit to tie Fredonia State (1-1-3, 0-1-2) 4-4 on Saturday night at Maxcy Ice Arena. Sophomore forward Tommy Telesca (Selden, N.Y./New York Bobcats) and senior assistant captain Ken Simon (Norwell, Mass./Philadelphia Revolution) each recorded a goal and an assist for the Bears.
As they have all season, Potsdam opened the contest good energy. However, it was the Blue Devils striking first. At the 5:40mark, sophomore forward Hunter Long (Lebanon, Tenn./Lebanon) picked up a loose puck at the left side of the Bears net and stuffed it past Potsdam junior goalie Jon Hall (Dexter, N.Y./Stouffville Spirit) for a 1-0 lead. At 13:00 the Bears were called for a hitting-from-behind major. Just 18 seconds later, Fredonia junior forward Taylor Bourne (Calgary, Alberta/Bowness) capitalized on the power play to make it 2-0. Potsdam killed off the remainder of the major and slowly shifted the momentum back in its favor. Potsdam finally got on the board at the 1:00 mark as Simon fed junior forward Billy Pascalli (Deer Park, N.Y./New York Bobcats) in the slot. Pascalli then wristed the puck into the upper right corner of the net. Senior forward Zach Blake (Campbellford, Ontario/SUNY Plattsburgh) recorded the second assist on the goal. The Blue Devils took the 2-1 lead into the break.
The offense picked up in the second period. Fredonia extended its lead to 3-1 as sophomore forward Marcus Andersson (Ornskoldsvik, Sweden) scored at the 4:35 mark. Bears freshman forward Joey Gilhooly (Brooklyn, N.Y./New York Bobcats) answered with his first collegiate goal 10 seconds later. Telesca and junior captain Todd Thomas (Davidsville, Pa./Hartford Wolfpack) assisted on the play. Nearly six minutes later, Telesca knotted the score at 3-3 with an assist from freshman defensemanKyle Thacker (Mississauga, Ontario/North York Rangers). The momentum kept coming for Potsdam. At the 11:40 mark, Simon gave the Bears their only lead with assists from Thomas and senior forward Trevor Cope (Swartz Creek, Mich./Atlanta Jr. Knights). Potsdam outshot Fredonia 18-12 in the middle stanza and took a 4-3 lead into the second intermission.
After a slower start to the third, Blue Devil sophomore forward Garrett Moore (Arcade, N.Y./Pioneer) jammed home an unassisted goal at 5:27 to even the score at 4-4. The teams traded chances over the remainder of regulation. The Bears went on the power play with just over four minutes left and created several strong scoring opportunities, but couldn’t net the go-ahead marker.
In overtime, Potsdam was on the doorstep early, but Eiserman and his defense hung on. The Bears outshot Fredonia 4-2 in the extra five minutes, but the teams skated to a draw.
Hall stopped 44 shots on the night, while Eiserman finished with 41 saves. The Blue Devils went 1-for-3 on the man advantage and Potsdam was 0-3.
