POTSDAM, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam hockey team (12-10-3, 8-6-2 SUNYAC) used a tremendous team effort to erase a 2-0 deficit and stun No. 1 Oswego State (17-3-4, 12-2-2) on Saturday night. The victory combined with a SUNY Geneseo-Buffalo State tie gives the Bears fourth place and a first round home playoff game. The loss canceled Oswego's regular season champion coronation as the Lakers fell to second place with Plattsburgh's victory at Cortland.
 
Freshman forward Dylan Vander Esch (San Jose, Calif./Hartford Wolfpack) remained red hot with two more goals. Junior captain Todd Thomas (Davidsville, Pa./Hartford Wolfpack) scored the game-winner and sophomore defenseman Nick Casacci (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Connecticut Oilers) put the nail in the coffin with an empty-net goal. The reigning SUNYAC Goalie of the Week, junior Jon Hall (Dexter, N.Y./Stouffville Spirit) was brilliant again with 45 saves, including 18 in the third period alone.
 
Early on it looked as though it might be a repeat of the 7-1 drubbing Potsdam experienced at the hands of the Lakers on Dec. 6. Mike Montagna put Oswego up 1-0 at the 4:40 mark of the opening period. Just 26 seconds later, Montagna struck again and the Bears battled to stop the momentum. At 19:23, the Lakers were whistled for too-many men and Potsdam went on the power play. With 27 seconds left in the period, Vander Esch got the Bears on the board with assists from sophomore defenseman Jake Butler (Atlanta, Ga./Smith Falls Bears) and junior forward Billy Pascalli (Deer Park, N.Y./New York Bobcats).
 
The Lakers, with every reason to be confident, turned up the pressure in the second period. Hall and his defense defused every threat that came their way until Vander Esch could strike again. At 14:47, the three-time SUNYAC Rookie of the Week beat Oswego goalie Matt Zawadzki to knot the score at two all. Hall had 27 saves after 40 minutes.
 
The Lakers needed just a tie to claim the top spot in the conference playoffs, but they went all out for the win. Hall and Potsdam weathered the storm again as Oswego built an 18-9 advantage in shots. With just over three minutes left, Laker Kenny Neil broke loose in the Bears' zone and ripped a shot towards the upper right corner of the net. Hall nonchalantly snatched the puck out of the air to keep the game tied. Seconds later, Thomas fired on Zawadski. The Oswego goalie got a piece of the puck, but not enough as it trickled over the goal line at 17:47. Senior forwards Trevor Cope (Swartz Creek, Mich./Atlanta Jr. Knights) and Zach Blake (Campbellford, Ontario/Plattsburgh State) assisted on the game-winner. Zawadski was pulled with 45 seconds left. Five seconds later, Casacci sent the puck the length of the ice to seal the upset at 4-2.
 
Zawadski finished with 25 stops. The Bears were 1-for-2 on the man advantage and the Lakers were 0-for-2.
 
The victory was Potsdam's first over Oswego in exactly six years (Feb. 21, 2009) by an identical 4-2 score.
 
The fourth-seeded Bears will host fifth seeded Buffalo State in a first round match up on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The teams have met only once in the playoffs, a 4-3 Bengal victory in Buffalo on Feb. 22, 2012. Potsdam owns an 8-2-1 postseason record in the friendly confines of Maxcy Ice Arena. Wednesday is the Bears first home playoff game since a 7-2 victory over SUNY Cortland on Feb. 19, 2008.