FREDONIA, N.Y. — Ethan Kirbis (Clarence, N.Y.) converted an extended power play with his second goal of the season to lift Fredonia over nationally ranked Oswego, 3-2, in SUNYAC men’s hockey at Steele Hall.
The Blue Devils improved to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the SUNYAC, while the Lakers dropped to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the conference. They came into the game ranked No. 3 by USCHO.com and No. 5 by D3Hockey.com.
Skating with a 5-on-3 advantage, Kirbis tapped in a shot from the left of the crease at 6:53 of the third period while he and his teammates were swarming the net. Ryan Dunner (Glassboro, N.J.) and Victor Tracy (Stockholm, Sweden) picked up assists.
It was the second assist of the game for Tracy, who earned the Fredonia Booster Club Player of the Game award. Kirbis was picked as the No. 1 star, Oswego’s Tyler Currie the No. 2 star, and Tracy the No. 3 star.
Brandon Spognardi (Warrington, Pa.) and Todd Schauss (Terryville, Conn.) scored the first two Fredonia goals, while Carter Allen had Oswego’s other marker.
Eric Bogart (London, Ont.) made 22 saves and improve to 3-0 this season in the Fredonia net. David Richer made 20 stops for Oswego.
Fredonia’s stellar defensive effort included a season-high 17 blocked shots, with 12 players getting at least one. Schauss was the team leader with three while Hugo Gamache (Val d’Or, Quebec), Tyler Riter (Orchard Park, N.Y.), and Ryan Rosenberg (Dix Hills, N.Y.) had two each.
Spognardi opened the scoring with a rising shot under the cross bar from just inside the blue line at 19:04 of the first period. It was his first goal of the season. Schauss made it 2-0 just 36 seconds into the second period when he snapped a low one-timer from the top of the slot for his third goal of the year. The two goals were 92 seconds apart spanning the two periods.
Allen put Oswego on the board at 4:23 of the second period. Currie evened the score, 2-2, with a short-handed goal at 5:49 mark of the third period while the Lakers were trying to kill off a five-minute major. A subsequent minor penalty gave Fredonia a two-man advantage, leading to the game-winner by Kirbis.
The Blue Devils are back in action Saturday when they take on Cortland at 7 p.m. The SUNYAC contest is the final home game of the first semester.
