POTSDAM, N.Y.-The SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (7-9-3, 3-5-2 SUNYAC) scored twice in the final 2:16 to earn a 3-3 draw with the College at Brockport (9-8-2, 4-5-2) on Senior Night at Maxcy Ice Arena. Freshman forward Dylan Vander Esch (San Jose, Calif./Hartford Wolfpack) scored the game-tying goal with 42 seconds left. Senior assistant captain Ken Simon (Norwell, Mass./Philadelphia Revolution) and sophomore defenseman Nick Casacci (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Connecticut Oilers) also scored for the Bears.
The contest was a physical, blue-collar effort by both teams from the opening faceoff. The Golden Eagles got on the board first as junior forward Chase Nieuwendyk (Georgetown, Ontario/Trenton Golden Hawks) scored a four-on-four goal. Sixteen seconds later, Brockport junior defenseman Chris Luker (New Hartford, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) was whistled for cross-checking, giving Potsdam a four-on-three power play. At 16:09, Simon blasted home the rebound off a shot from sophomore defenseman Jake Butler (Atlanta, Ga./Smith Falls Bears) to tie the game. Freshman defenseman Kyle Thacker (Mississauga, Ontario/North York Rangers) notched the second assist on the play. The score remained knotted at 1-1 after 20 minutes.
The second period was nearly as tightly contested as the first. Brockport outshot Potsdam 14-12 and jumped out in front again just over midway through the stanza. At the 12:05 mark, junior forward Kody Vaisanen (Dundalk, Ontario/North York Rangers) slammed the second rebound past Bears junior goalie Jon Hall (Dexter, N.Y./Stouffville Spirit) to regain the one-goal lead. Potsdam killed off the Golden Eagles’ only man advantage of the game moments later and the score was still 2-1 at the break.
The Bears matched the high level of play of Brockport in the third, but had trouble solving junior goalie Jared Lockhurst (Caledon, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) in the final period. Hall matched Lockhurst with 13 stops in the third period alone. With time ticking away, Potsdam finally evened the contest at 17:44. Junior forward Billy Pascalli (Deer Park, N.Y./New York Bobcats) backhanded a loose puck from in front of the net that Lockhurst stopped. However, the rebound popped out to Casacci at the left side of the net and he didn’t miss. Vander Esch recorded the second assist on the play. The momentum and relief lasted just 12 seconds. Nieuwendyk carried the puck in on the right side of the Bears zone and maneuvered it around Hall for the apparent nail in the coffin. Hall was pulled for an extra attacker with exactly one minute remaining in regulation. Eighteen seconds later, Vander Esch pushed the puck to senior forward Trevor Cope (Swartz Creek, Mich./Atlanta Jr. Knights) in the right corner of the Brockport zone as he fell. He then got up as Cope returned the favor in the slot and wristed it past Lockhurst to tie the game at 3-3.
Overtime was anticlimactic as the Eagles outshot the Bears 3-1, but neither team could net the game-winner.
Hall made 42 saves to raise his total to 95 for the weekend. Lockhurst finished with a respectable 37. Potsdam was 1-for-3 on the power play and Brockport was 0-for-1.
With the three-point weekend, the Bears find themselves in a three-way tie for sixth place and the final playoff spot, but just four points out of third place.
The contest was the final regular season home game for seniors Kevin O’Connor (Ann Arbor, Mich./New Mexico Mustangs), Max Fogel (Williamsville, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres), Zach Blake (Campbellford, Ontario/SUNY Plattsburgh), Simon, Dan McCamey (Dayton, Ohio/Minnesota Flying Aces), Erick Ware (Huntsville, Ala./Kenai River Brown Bears) and Shane Talarico (Greensburg, Pa./Elmira College)
