POTSDAM, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (2-0, 1-0 SUNYAC) got a
big games from multiple players to roll past Morrisville State (0-2, 0-1)
9-5 in its SUNYAC opener on Saturday night at Massena Arena. Sophomore
forward Trevor Cope (Swartz Creek, Mich./Atlanta Jr. Knights) recorded six
assists, senior captain Matt Viola (Toronto, Ontario/Vaughan Vipers) had a
five-point night (2-3-5), junior assistant captain Mike Arnold (Didsbury,
Alberta/Kingston Voyageurs) had a hat trick and junior forward Adam Place
(Scarborough, Ontario/Bowmansville Eagles) chipped in two goals for
Potsdam.
The scoring started just 32 seconds into the game as Viola found Place to
put Potsdam up 1-0. Just over a minute later, senior forward Rafal Plonski
(Warsaw, Poland/Puget Sound Tomahawks) greeted Bears freshman goalie Jon
Hall (Dexter, N.Y./Stouffville Spirit) rudely, tying the game at 1-1.
Forty-one seconds later, junior forward Mike Dolman (Hawthorne,
N.J./Neumann Knights) buried his own rebound to give the Mustangs a 2-1
advantage. Hall was injured on the play and junior transfer Shane Talarico
(Greensburg, Pa./Elmira College) took over. Morrisville sophomore forward
Matthew Beer (Corunna, Ontario/Estvan Bruins) immediately tested Talarico,
who shut him down on a breakaway. The save settled the Bears and they
responded offensively. At 10:33, Cope and freshman forward Billy Pascalli
(Deer Park, N.Y./New York Bobcats) set up Arnold for the equalizer on the
power play. Two minutes later, junior assistant captain Nick Avgerinos
(Bolton, Ontario/Georgetown Raiders) fed Viola at the right side of the
net for another man-advantage score and a 3-2 Potsdam lead. At 14:17,
Plonski netted his second of the night to tie the score again with helpers
from junior forward Kevin Gaughran (Pawling, N.Y./Manhattanville College)
and junior defenseman James Jarvis (Pickering, Ontario/Whitby Fury). Just
58 seconds later, sophomore defenseman Dan McCamey (Dayton, Ohio/Minnesota
Flying Aces) dumped a long shot on goal and the puck skipped past Mustang
freshman goalie Jakob Rasmussen (Vallentuna, Sweden/National Sports
Academy) for a 4-3 lead.
Offense was the story in the second period as well. Midway through the
middle stanza, Cope found Arnold for his second of the game. Two minutes
later, sophomore forward Ryan Miller (Didsbury, Alberta/Arizona State) and
Cope sent the puck into the right corner of the Morrisville zone to
freshman forward Jake Rivera (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Hartford
Wolfpack). Rivera fired the puck off the back of Rasmussen and into the
goal for a 6-3 Bears lead. After the goal junior goalie Christopher Azzano
replaced Rasmussen. At 14:55, the Mustangs answered as Beer picked the
puck off the stick of Potsdam defenseman, went the distance and roofed it
over Talarico.
Morrisville closed the gap to 6-5 as Dolman scored his second on assists
from Gaughran and junior forward Jamie Nelson (Stratford,
Ontario/Stratford Cullitons) 1:33 into the final period. The Mustangs had
several chances to tie the contest after the goal, but didn’t get any
closer. Potsdam finally put the game away with three straight power-play
goals over the final five minutes of the contest. Viola tallied his second
of the night at 15:45 with assists from Cope and senior captain Brett
Waters (Uxbridge, Ontario/Markham Waxers). Forty-four seconds later,
Arnold completed his hat trick with assists from Cope and Viola. Place
capped the scoring a minute later as Cope and Viola recorded the assists.
In goal, Talarico stopped 33 shots for his first collegiate victory.
Rasmussen was tagged for the loss, allowing six goals and making 19 saves
in the first 32:03. Azzano allowed two goals and stopped 11 shots in the
next 24:36 and sophomore Zak McMichael (Bancroft, Ontario/Campbellton
Tigers) made three saves and allowed a goal in the final 3:31.
Potsdam outshot Morrisville 42-39. The Bears were 5-13 on the power play
and the Mustangs went 1-4. The victory was the eighth for Potsdam in the
teams’ 12 meetings and gives Potsdam a 2-0 start for the first time in 10
seasons.
The Bears are back in action at Massena Arena next Saturday, Nov. 3 when
they host the Plattsburgh State Cardinals.
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