Plattsburgh, NY – Eric Witzel (Ottawa, ON) and Nick Vasilopoulos (Montreal, QC) both scored but the SUNY Canton men’s hockey team fell on the road at the hands of No. 2 nationally-ranked Plattsburgh State, 8-2, on Saturday evening.
The Cardinals (11-2-1) got on the board first at 4:50 of the first when Nick Belger netted his fourth of the season. Luke Baleshta made it 2-0 Cardinals at 10:57 of period and Belger, Ross Sloan and Brandon O’Quinn added first period goals for Plattsburgh as the hosts led 5-0 after one.
O’Quinn added his second of the game and fifth of the season midway through the middle period to extend the lead to six. Witzel got SUNY Canton (2-12-2) on the board when he lit the lamp for the fifth time, this one with the skater advantage. Nick Lepone (Richmondhill, ON) added a helper on the play. Just less than two minutes later Vasilopoulos slotted his second of the season off a pass from Kyle Dora (Saranac Lake, NY) to get the Roos within four after 40 minutes of play.
Pat Egan and Baleshta added third period goals for the Cardinals leading to the 8-2 final. Louie Puig (Chicago, IL) made nine saves over the first 14:39 and Josh Erickson (Woodbury, MN) turned aside 20 shots in relief over the final 45:21. Spencer Finney made 23 saves for Plattsburgh.
The men’s hockey team returns to home ice next Saturday when it hosts Stonehill College at 7 p.m. in the Roos House. Stay up to date with the latest news directly from the SUNY Canton Athletics department by “liking” us on Facebook and “following” our Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts.
