POTSDAM, N.Y.- SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (4-5-1) scored two goals in the third period before falling to Curry College (5-5-1) 4-2 Friday night at Maxcy Ice Arena. Junior forward Billy Pascalli (Deer Park, N.Y./New York Bobcats) and fellow junior forward Jake Rivera (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Hartford Wolfpack) each scored for the Bears and four different Colonels scored in the win.
First period was slow and sluggish for both team, but Curry held the advantage in shots, 14-8. However, senior goalie Shane Talarico (Greensburg, Pa/Elmira College) was perfect between the pipes, stopping everything knocked his way.
The Colonels ignited their offense in the second stanza. Less than two minutes in, sophomore forward Sean Nelson (Brighton, Mich./Portland Jr. Pirates) lit the lamp for Curry off a pass from freshman defenseman Jarrett Kup (Rosseau, Ontario/Kingston Voyageurs). At the 9:24 mark, junior defenseman Shane Harrington (Mansfield, Mass./Neepawa Natives) scored to give the Colonels the 2-0 lead. Three minutes later, freshman forward Adam Valadao (Ajax, Ontario/No. York Rangers) setup senior forward Jordan Reed (Ajax, Ontario/Huntsville Otters) for the third and final goal of the period. Curry took the 3-0 lead into the final intermission.
Potsdam’s offense emerged in the third stanza, outshooting the Colonels 16-9. At 1:55, junior defenseman Brad Campagna(Monroe, N.Y./New York Bobcats) shot for the net, but Curry goalie Derek Mohney (Amherst, N.Y./Toronto Jr. Canadians) made the stop. Pascalli picked up the rebound and scored to inch the Bears closer. Halfway through the period, Potsdam picked up their second goal when sophomore forward Alex Goodhue (Traverse City, Mich./Atlanta Jr. Knights) gave it up to Rivera to bring the score to 3-2.
With time running down, the Bears pressured Curry’s defense to tie the game. Potsdam pulled Talarico with 50 seconds to go, but freshman forward Adam DiBrina (Sudbury, Ontario/Aurora Tigers) intercepted a pass from the Bears and scored the final goal on the empty net at 19:34. The Colonels when on to take the 4-2 victory.
Talarico finished with 34 saves, while his counterpart Mohney stopped 31 in the win.
Potsdam is off until Friday, Jan. 2, when they travel to Saint Anselm College to compete against the Hawks at 7 p.m.
