WATERVILLE, MAINE-Junior forward Anthony Merante (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Thorold Blackhawks) scored twice and freshman goalie Ryan Glander (Campbell Hall, N.Y./Rochester Junior Monarchs) picked up his first collegiate win as the SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (5-4) defeated Bowdoin College (2-3) 6-4 on the final day of the Bowdoin/Colby Face-Off Classic. Junior forward Bryce Ferrell (Buffalo, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) and sophomore forward Joey Sollazzo (Ottawa, Ontario/Navan Grads) each registered a goal and an assist and senior defenseman Trevor Dennis (Rochester, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) and sophomore defenseman Joseph Richardson (Palm Beach, Fla./PAL Islanders) also scored for the Bears.
Potsdam jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening period. Dennis put the Bears up for good with an unassisted goal 10:44 into the first. At 16:28, Ferrell notched the Bears’ second goal with assists from freshman forward Jack Bloem (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./ Connecticut Jr. Rangers) and junior forward Tyler Young (Massena, N.Y./Kanata Lasers). With just 29 seconds left in the period, Richardson scored a power-play goal on a feed from freshman forward Devin Panzeca (Lake Zurich, Ill./East Coast Wizards). Junior assistant captain Vincent Guimond (Sorel-Tracy, Quebec/Gloucester Rangers) collected the second assist. Potsdam allowed just three shots in the first 20 minutes.
Albert Washco got the Polar Bears on the board at 12:56, but Merante netted his first 4:30 later on the power play. Ferrell and junior forward Nate Zweig (Binghamton, N.Y./Syracuse Stars) each assisted on the goal. Glander made 11 saves in the second period and the Bears took a 4-1 advantage into the second intermission.
Merante buried the eventual game-winner just 1:55 into the third period with helpers from Sollazzo and senior captain Ben Mariano (Harrisburg, N.Y./Hartford Wolfpack). At 5-1, Potsdam looked to run away with the game, but Bowdoin charged back into it. Washco scored again at 7:05 and then completed his hat trick with a power-play goal at 8:52. The Polar Bears called timeout at 17:23 and pulled goalie Kyle St. Denis for an extra attacker. They made the most of the opportunity as Kyle Jadatz got Bowdoin within 5-4 with 1:18 on the clock. Potsdam held off the Polar Bears rest of the way and with 10 seconds left, freshman forward Tom Terranova (Middletown, N.J./Syracuse Stars) set up Sollazzo for the empty-netter.
Glander stopped 22 shots for the win. Alex Zafonte allowed three goals and made eight saves in the first period. St. Denis made 18 stops and allowed two goals in 37:23.
Potsdam outshot Bowdoin 32-26 and was 2-for-6 on the power play. The Polar Bears were 1-for-2.
The Bears are back in action on Friday at 7 p.m. when they host SUNY Fredonia for an important SUNYAC contest on Bear Pride Night.
