SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT.—Senior assistant captain Dylan Vander Esch (San Jose, Calif./Hartford Wolfpack) had a hat trick and freshman forward Joey Sollazzo (Ottawa, Ontario/Navan Grads) scored twice as the SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (1-0-1) rallied to beat Saint Michael’s College (0-1-1) 5-2 on Saturday afternoon. Junior goalie Nate Skidmore (Syracuse, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) made 28 saves for the win.
The Purple Knights played their best hockey in the first period. They outshot Potsdam 14-8 and jumped on the board first. At 4:21, Jack Ouellette fired from the right point and Skidmore made a pad save, but Sam Finkelstein was there to stuff home the rebound.
After killing off two penalties to open the second period, Vander Esch got the equalizer. After picking up a pass from junior defenseman Dom Horvath (Toledo, Ohio/Brantford 99ers), Vander Esch descended all alone on Saint Mike’s goalie Chris Johnson. He dragged the puck across the crease and tucked it past Johnson for the second period’s lone goal.
At 5:54 mark of the third period, the Bears used a little luck to grab the lead. Sollazzo tossed a pass in front of the net and a sliding defenseman deflected it into the goal. Senior forward Joey Gilhooly (Brooklyn, N.Y./New York Bobcats) assisted on the play. Just 32 seconds later, Eric Salzillo tied the game a final time with a backhander. At 12:09 while shorthanded, Sollazzo picked off a pass and beat Johnson stick side. Senior captain Kyle Thacker (Mississauga, Ontario/North York Rangers) recorded the assist. Vander Esch provided all the insurance Potsdam needed. At 16:49, sophomore forward Tyler Young (Massena, N.Y./Kanata Lasers) carried the puck into the offensive zone and fed Vander Esch at the top of the circles and he drove it home. The Purple Knights pulled Johnson with 3:03 remaining and at 18:34, Vander Esch created another turnover and buried it in the empty net.
Johnson finished with 25 saves. The shots were dead even at 30 apiece. Potsdam was 0-for-3 on the man advantage and Saint Mike’s was 0-for4.
The Bears are now 10-0-1 in the all-time series with Saint Michael’s. The hat trick is the fifth of Vander Esch’s career.
Potsdam heads down Route 11 to start a home-and-home series with SUNY Canton next Friday night at 7 p.m.
