MASSENA, N.Y.—The fourth-ranked Plattsburgh State Cardinals (2-0, 2-0
SUNYAC) scored four second period goals to erase a 2-0 deficit and hand
the SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (2-1, 1-1) a 6-4 defeat at Massena
Arena on Saturday night. Ten different players scored in the contest.
The Bears started with two quick goals. Just over a minute into the game
freshman forward Billy Pascalli (Deer Park, N.Y./New York Bobcats) tucked
the rebound off a shot from sophomore defenseman Erick Ware (Huntsville,
Ala./Kenai River Brown Bears) under Cardinals senior goalie Josh Leis
(Kitchener, Ontario/Listowel Cyclones) for a 1-0 advantage. Junior
assistant captain Mike Arnold (Didsbury, Alberta/Kingston Voyageurs)
recorded the second assist on the play. At the 9:49 mark, sophomore
forward Ken Simon (Norwell, Mass./Philadelphia Revolution) beat an out of
position Leis after the puck was deflected in front and the Bears led 2-0.
Junior defenseman Kevin Carpenter (Dever, Colo./Notre Dame Hounds) and
freshman forward Mike Riley (Brantford, Ontario/Brantford Golden Eagles)
assisted on the goal. Potsdam freshman goaltender Austin Keiser (Dunwoody,
Ga./Boston Bulldogs) stopped all nine shots he faced in the first period.
Plattsburgh responded with a vengeance in the second period. Six minutes
in, sophomore forward Alex Brenton (Kanata, Ontario/Kemptville 73’s)
tipped a shot from the point past Keiser to cut the gap to 2-1. At 11:35,
sophomore forward Mark Constantine (Haddonfield, N.J./The Hill School)
scored a power-play goal to knot the score at 2-2. Junior forward Nick
Jensen (Helsingborg/Bismarck Bobcats) scored another man-advantage tally
to give the Cardinals the lead for good at 17:07. With just over a minute
on the clock, senior forward Jared Docking (Toronto, Ontario/Toronto Jr.
Canadiens) had his own pass deflect back to him in front of the goal and
found the back of the net for a short-handed tally and a 4-2 lead.
Three minutes into the final stanza, Arnold forced a Plattsburgh turnover
at the blue line and took it home for a Bears short-handed goal. At the
12:51 mark, the Cardinals regained their two-goal lead on a goal from
freshman forward Connor Gorman (Shrewsbury, Mass./New Hampshire Monarchs)
. Potsdam responded with a power-play marker at 18:09 as sophomore forward
Trevor Cope (Swartz Creek, Mich./Atlanta, Jr. Knights) wrapped the puck
around Leis to make it 5-4. Pascalli and senior captain Brett Waters
(Uxbridge, Ontario/Markham Waxers) notched the assists. With 1:13 on the
clock, Bears Head Coach Chris Bernard pulled Keiser for the attacker.
However, Cardinals sophomore forward Alex Jensen (Helsingborg,
Sweden/Fairbanks Ice Dogs) sealed the win with an empty netter with 45
seconds on the clock.
Leis finished with 20 saves to earn the victory, while Keiser stopped 28
shots. Plattsburgh outshot Potsdam 34-24. The Cardinals were 2-7 on the
power play and the Bears were 1-6.
Potsdam finishes its five-game home stand as Fredonia and Buffalo State
invade Massena Arena next weekend. The Bears host the Blue Devils on
Friday and the Bengals on Saturday. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m.
