POTSDAM, N.Y.- Junior goalie Jon Hall (Dexter, N.Y./Stouffville Spirit) shuts down SUNY Geneseo (8-8-3, 5-5 SUNYAC) to send SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (7-9-2, 3-5-1 SUNYAC) over the Ice Knights, 1-0 Friday night at Maxcy Ice Arena. Freshman Dylan Vander Esch (San Jose, Calif./Hartford Wolfpack) recorded the lone goal during the contest.
Geneseo hit the ice with something to prove after a 2-1 loss to the Bears back on November 7, 2014. The Ice Knights outshot Potsdam 25-13 in the period, but couldn’t solve Hall. At 12:28, Geneseo was called for a slashing penalty and Bears went on the hunt. Just over a minute into the power play, junior forward Billy Pascalli (Deer Park, N.Y./New York Bobcat) made the pass to sophomore Jake Butler (Atlanta, Ga./Smith Falls Bears) who fired a shot from the blue line. Vander Esch found the puck to the right of the goal post and knocked it home for the 1-0 lead and the eventual game-winner.
Play evened out during the second stanza but neither team could get anything past Hall and Geneseo senior goalie Nick Horrigan (Mount Forest, Ont./Elmira Sugar Kings). The Ice Knights still led 15-12 in shots, but Potsdam held on to the one-goal advantage as the teams headed into the final period.
The Bears’ offense had limited opportunities in the third period, but their defense shined with Hall and kept Geneseo off the board. Desperation started to kick in for the Ice Knights as the time inched closer-and-closer to zero. At 1:41, Geneseo pulled Horrigan for an extra skater, but Potsdam hung on and only allowed one shot in the remaining minutes to seal the conference victory.
Hall was stellar between the pipes with 53 saves for his seventh win this season and Horrigan stopped 29 shots for the Ice Knights. Potsdam was 1-3 on the man advantage and Geneseo was 0-2.
Hall’s shutout was the Bears’ first since Kevin McFarland’12 blanked Southern New Hampshire on Jan. 15, 2011. The victory also marks Potsdam’s first season sweep of Geneseo since 1999-00 campaign.
The Bears are back in action tomorrow night at 7 p.m. as Potsdam takes on the College at Brockport Golden Eagles.
