Fredonia tops Potsdam, 3-1
MASSENA, N.Y.—Fredonia State (4-2, 3-1) scored three unanswered goals to
down the SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (2-2, 1-2) 3-1 at Massena Arena on
Friday night. Freshman forward Mike Riley (Brantford, Ontario/Brantford
Golden Eagles) scored his first collegiate goal for the Bears.
Both sides played tight defense early on and prevented quality scoring
chances. The after an unsuccessful power play Potsdam jumped out in front.
Senior captain Brett Waters (Uxbridge, Ontario/Markham Waxers) connected
with Riley in the neutral zone. Riley let a slap shot fly from the blue
line and Blue Devil junior goalie Mark Friesen (Calgary, Alberta/Langley)
stopped the shot. However, the puck popped up in the air and tumbled over
Friesen into the net for a 1-0 Bears advantage. Potsdam freshman goalie
Austin Keiser (Dunwoody, Ga./Boston Bulldogs) stopped all eight shots he
faced in the first period.
Fredonia pressured the Bears defense for much of the second 20 minutes,
but didn’t break through until just over four minutes left in the period.
Freshman forward Chad Bennett (Burlington, Ontario/Aurora Tigers) fired a
shot from the left faceoff dot and ringing the post to knot the score at
1-1. Sophomore forward Stephen Castriota (Bellport, N.Y./New York Bobcats)
and senior forward Matt Hehr (Sherwood Park, Alberta/Sherwood Park) each
assisted on the goal. Potsdam responded with a late flurry of its own, but
couldn’t regain the lead before the break.
The Blue Devils jumped out in front just 1:58 into the final period as
freshman forward Taylor Bourne (Calgary, Alberta/Olds) jammed a rebound
past Keiser. Junior forward Alex Perkins (St. Albert, Alberta/St. Albert)
and sophomore defenseman Cory Melkert (Ottawa, Ontario/Trenton) recorded
the assists. At the 13:22 mark, senior forward Will McLaughlin (Mountain
Top, Pa./Trenton) scored off a deflection with helpers from senior forward
Chris Jung (Sandy, Utah/Battleford) and Castriota. The Bears pulled Keiser
with 1:15 left on the power play, but couldn’t get any closer.
Keiser finished with 28 saves, while Friesen stopped 23 shots to earn the
win. The Blue Devils outshot the Bears 31-24. Both teams were 0-3 on the
power play.
