PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The No. 8/12 Plattsburgh State men’s ice hockey team gave up two early goals to non-conference SUNY Canton and never recovered, as the Cardinals fell, 4-3, in their regular-season opener on Saturday evening at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.
Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 8 in the USCHO.com Division III Men’s Top-15 Poll and at No. 12 in the D3hockey.com Men’s Top-15 Poll.
The Cardinals outshot the Kangaroos 47-27 and went 2-for-5 on the power play. Despite going 1-for-6 with the extra skater, Canton netted a shorthanded goal to salvage a solid evening for the Kangaroos’ special teams.
Plattsburgh State drops to 0-1-0 overall with the loss and will look to get back in the win column during their State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opener on Friday, Nov. 3, against Morrisville State College at 7 p.m. at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. Canton rises to 1-0-0 overall with the win and hosts SUNY Potsdam next on Friday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m.
Canton scored twice in the opening two minutes. Sophomore forward Tyler Bullard buried a goal off passes from senior forward Josh Sova and junior defenseman J.P. Langlois 38 seconds into the game to put the Kangaroos on the board, while junior forward Joey Vocino deposited a pass from junior forward Zach Pease into the back of the net 1:01 later to give Canton a 2-0 advantage.
Junior forward Cole Stallard (Atlanta, Ga./New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs) cut the deficit in half on the power play with 13:14 elapsed in the first period. Sophomore defenseman Antoine Fournier-Gosselin (Saint-Lazare, Quebec/Cégep de Saint-Laurent) carried the puck into the Cardinals’ offensive zone and dished it off to junior forward Pat Egan (Rochester, N.Y./Lone Star Brahmas) on the right wing from the high slot. Egan then sent a pass across the slot to Stallard, who one-timed a shot from the left wing that beat the goalie blocker side.
Canton scored shorthanded 5:22 into the second period. Sophomore defenseman Luke Hincenbergs passed the puck to senior defenseman Trenton Yule behind their net on the penalty kill, and Yule cleared the puck out to Sova, who was along the boards in the neutral zone. Sova skated past a Cardinal defender and had a one-on-one with the goalie, netting the goal blocker side.
Thirty-four seconds later with the same power-play chance, the Cardinals responded with a goal. Stallard fed junior forward Cam Owens (Wilmington, Mass./Islanders Hockey Club) the puck inside the right face-off circle, and Owens wheeled the puck to Fournier-Gosselin in front of the blue line. Fournier-Gosselin then went top shelf to make it a 3-2 game.
The Kangaroos’ lone power-play goal came midway through the third period, as Sova found the back of the net right at the doorstep of the goal. Sophomore forward Vili-Jesper Koivula and Bullard were credited with assists on the play.
Finally, with the extra attacker as a result of a pulled goalie with 15 seconds left in regulation, Plattsburgh State scored the final goal of the game, as sophomore forward Antoine Desnoyers (Quebec City, Quebec/Cégep de Saint-Laurent) knocked in a deflection from senior defenseman Ayrton Valente (Woodbridge, Ontario/Mississauga Chargers). Sophomore defenseman Philip Middleton (Vail, Colo./Salmon Arm Silverbacks) also earned an assist on the goal.
Freshman goaltender Jimmy Poreda (Tonawanda, N.Y./Connecticut Jr. Rangers) sustained the loss in his first collegiate appearance, making 23 saves. Canton’s sophomore goaltender Michael Cerasuolo earned the win and turned aside 44 shots.
