CORTLAND, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men's hockey team (5-0, 5-0 SUNYAC) trailed early at SUNY Cortland (1-2-1, 1-2-1), but rallied for a 4-2 victory on Friday night. The win puts the Bears at 5-0 for the second time in program history and the first since a 7-0 start 20 years ago. Sophomore forward Dylan Vander Esch (San Jose, Calif./Hartford Wolfpack) scored twice along with a short-handed marker from junior forward Vinny Caligiuri (Shoreham, N.Y./Hartford Wolfpack) and an empty-netter from freshman forward Tyler Donaldson (Northumberland, Ontario/Trenton Golden Hawks). Sophomore goaltender Brendan McMenimen (Merrimack, Mass./Islanders Hockey Club) played his finest game in a Potsdam jersey, turning aside a career-high 47 shots.
 
Special teams played a key role in the development of the first period. Potsdam went on its first power play just 1:36 into the contest. They fired two shots on Red Dragons goalie Drew Weigman, but couldn't draw first blood. The last eight seconds of the man advantage were negated by a high-sticking call against the Bears, which resulted in Cortland's first power play. The Red Dragons moved the puck well, creating several solid chances, but McMenimen stopped all four shots. Cortland's momentum lasted until it earned its second man advantage at 7:07 and made the most of it. Spencer Gourlay struck from the left side of the net at 8:00 to make it 1-0. The Red Dragons stayed on the offensive after the goal and were granted their third power play of the period after a Potsdam hooking call at 17:27. McMenimen stopped two more shots, before the Bears cleared the zone. At 18:34, Donaldson fed Caligiuri for a short-handed tally to tie the score. Cortland outshot Potsdam 15-10 in the opening period, but the score was still even after 20.
 
The Red Dragons compiled a 12-9 edge in shots during the second period, but failed to score on two more power plays. Cortland created good pressure on their first man advantage and a brief flurry at the end of the period, but the score was unchanged after two periods.  
 
The teams traded shots in the opening seconds, but it was Vander Esch giving Potsdam it's first lead 1:33 into the third period. Less than a minute later, Cortland went on its sixth power play of the game. McMemimen shut the Red Dragons down with three more saves to kill off the penalty. At 7:19, Vander Esch struck again to make it a 3-1 Bears' lead. Junior forward Logan Brown (North Woodstock, N.H./Boston Rangers) and senior forward Jake Rivera (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Hartford Wolfpack) each assisted on the goal. Potsdam then killed off another penalty, but Cortland wasn't finished. At 15:52, Mike Davie got the Red Dragons within 3-2 and 43 seconds later they went on their final man advantage. McMenimen made two more saves of his 21 in the third period alone, and Cortland finished the night a dismal 1-for-8 on the power play. The Red Dragons pulled Weigman for an extra attacker with 1:06 remaining in the hopes tying the contest. Donaldson had other ideas. With under a minute to go, he chased down a Red Dragon defenseman in the Cortland zone. The freshman then took the puck away and backhanded it into the empty net for his first collegiate goal with 32 seconds left.
 
Weigman, the reigning SUNYAC Goalie of the Week, finished the night with a solid 27 stops. The Red Dragons outshot the Bears 49-31 on the night. Potsdam was 0-for-3 on the power play.
 
Tomorrow night, Potsdam faces easily its toughest challenge of the season when it travels to No. 10/11 Oswego State. Not only will the Lakers be looking for revenge for the Bears' 4-2 upset on Feb. 21, that cost them the SUNYAC regular season title, they will be looking to bounce back from tonight's grueling 5-4 overtime loss to Plattsburgh.