PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Head coach Bob Emery won his 600th game on Saturday evening during Hall of Fame Night, as the No. 14/14 Plattsburgh State men’s ice hockey team blanked Morrisville State College, 3-0, at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action.
It was fitting for Emery’s 600th victory to come on a day in which his first national championship team (1991-92) and 1991 graduate Martin Beliveau were inducted into the Plattsburgh State Athletic Hall of Fame. Emery becomes just the 12th head men’s ice hockey coach across both divisions of the NCAA to reach the 600-win plateau. He finished the evening with an overall career record of 600-192-62 for a .739 winning percentage.
The Cardinals are ranked at No. 14 in both the USCHO.com Men’s Division III Top-15 Poll and the D3hockey.com Men’s Top-15 Poll.
Plattsburgh State moves to 2-1-0 overall (2-0-0 SUNYAC) with the win and next visits The College at Brockport on Friday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. Morrisville drops to 0-2-2 (0-2-0 SUNYAC) with the loss and next visits SUNY Cortland on Friday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m.
After a scoreless first period, sophomore forward Joe Drabin (Rochester, N.Y./Wenatchee Wild) wasted no time in getting the Cardinals on the board early in the second, scoring just 24 seconds into the period. Senior forward Matt Quilty (Midland, Ontario/Caledonia Corvairs) knocked a loose puck to Drabin in the high slot, and Drabin took a shot that was saved by the Mustang goaltender. Drabin then collected the rebound and went top shelf to put the Cardinals on top, 1-0.
Quilty scored shorthanded with 7:58 gone in the second period, relying on an assist from junior forward Cam Owens (Wilmington, Mass./Islanders Hockey Club). Owens stole the puck in the neutral zone and skated down the left wing before hitting Quilty with a centering pass. Quilty one-timed a shot from the slot that beat the Morrisville goalie to add insurance to Plattsburgh State’s cause.
Junior forward Pat Egan (Rochester, N.Y./Lone Star Brahmas) put the game on ice midway through the second on the power play. Owens passed the puck to freshman forward Rich McCartney (Hershey, Pa./Philadelphia Revolution) at the bottom of the left face-off circle, and McCartney crossed the slot with a pass to Egan, who was sitting at the foot of the right face-off circle. Egan took advantage of the Morrisville goalie’s attention to McCartney, and he fired a shot into the back of the net.
Plattsburgh State finished with a 39-24 edge in shots on goal, and the Cardinals went 1-for-5 on the power play. The Cardinals also scored a shorthanded goal for the second time in as many games.
Freshman goaltender Jimmy Poreda (Tonawanda, N.Y./Connecticut Jr. Rangers) earned his first career win in net for the Cardinals, making 24 saves in the shutout. Sophomore goaltender Jared Young stopped 36 shots in the loss for the Mustangs.
Prior to the start of the game, the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics honored the 1991-92 national champion men’s ice hockey team that got inducted into the Plattsburgh State Athletic Hall of Fame earlier in the day. At the first intermission, the Cardinals honored the four individual inductees that rounded out the Hall of Fame Class of 2017: Martin Beliveau ’91 (men’s ice hockey), Richard Keegan ’71 (men’s soccer/baseball), Erin (Hutchinson) Lorah ’04 (women’s basketball/women’s volleyball) and Lisa (Marlow) Turner ’02 (softball).
