FREDONIA, N.Y. — Nationally ranked Plattsburgh turned aside an upset-minded Fredonia, 4-3, in SUNYAC men’s hockey Friday.
Plattsburgh was clinging to a 4-3 as Fredonia swarmed the net in the final seconds looking for the equalizer. A rising shot by Fredonia’s Taylor Bourne (Calgary, Alberta), who had already scored twice, was deflected by goaltender Brady Rouleau just ahead of the final buzzer to preserve the Cardinals’ road win.
Ranked No. 3 in one national Division III poll, and No. 5 in another, the Cardinals improved to 15-3-1 overall and a league-leading 8-1-1 in the SUNYAC.
The Blue Devils fell to 5-10-3 overall and 2-7-2 in the conference. They are back at home Saturday night — 7 p.m. faceoff — against the Potsdam Bears.
Plattsburgh’s Kevin Emmerling opened the scoring when he converted a cross-ice pass from Dillon Fox from the opposite faceoff circle. It was Emmerling’s 11th goal of the season.
Fredonia’s Kyle Jelinski (Edmonton, Alberta) tied the game at 1-1 when he banged home a rebound after trailing Samuel Wilbur (Saginaw, Mich.) up ice. Wilbur charged hard on net and took a point-blank shot on Rouleau, who made the initial stop yet could not recover in time to stop Jelinski for scoring his fifth goal of the year.
Bourne’s first goal later in the first period put the Blue Devils on top 2-1. It came on a breakaway set up by Ryan Wilkinson (Calgary, Alberta), whose long lead pass put Bourne into the clear as a penalized Plattsburgh player was just getting back onto the ice. Marcus Ortiz (Richardson, Texas) was also credited with an assist.
The Cardinals scored the next three goals — one each by Chris Taff, his second; Pat Egan, his 10th; and the eventual game-winner by Cole Stallard, his 11th, on a power play at 1:12 of the third period. Stallard’s shot from the doorstep came off a rebound, one of 31 saves by Fredonia’s Jeff Flagler (Owen Sound, Ont.).
Three successive Plattsburgh penalties in the third period gave Fredonia extended time on the power play, including two 5-on-3 opportunities. Bourne eventually got one behind Rouleau, who finished with 27 saves, with a wide-angle shot from the faceoff circle to the right of goaltender at the 12:44 mark.
It was Bourne’s team-leading 10th goal of the season. Wilkinson — back in the lineup after missing time with an injury — picked up his second assist of the game, his team-high 14th. Jon Carlson (Fort Frances, Ont.) was also credited with an assist.
