POTSDAM, N.Y.—SUNY Cortland (1-1, 1-1 SUNYAC) defeated the SUNY Potsdam men's hockey team (0-2, 0-2) 4-1 on Saturday night. Junior forward Jack Bloem (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Connecticut Rangers) scored in his second straight game for the Bears and junior goalie Connor Green (New Port Richey, Fla./Tampa Bay Juniors) made 31 saves.<br />  <br /> The first period saw lots of action, but very few whistles over the first 15 minutes of the contest. The teams then combined for three goals in a 2:20 span. At 17:19, Red Dragons sophomore forward Cameron Knowlton (Kenai, Alaska/Charlotte Rush) knocked home a loose puck at the right post after freshman defenseman Johnny Facchini's (Succasunna, N.J./PAL Junior Islanders) shot went wide of the left post. Potsdam tied it 17 seconds later after senior forward Robert Clerc (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Oswego State) fed Bloem in stride. He went in all alone and beat Cortland junior goalie Luca Durante (Brampton, Ontario/Aurora Tigers) with a high shot. Senior forward Brett Horn (Cary, N.C./Humbolt Broncos) picked up the second assist. At 19:39, Knowlton struck again with assists from junior defenseman Nick Grupp (Depew, N.Y./Brantford 99ers) and senior forward Ethan Homitz (Allison Park, N.Y./New Hampshire Monarchs). Potsdam outshot the Red Dragons 14-12, but trailed by one at the break.<br />  <br /> Cortland extended its lead on the power play at 4:04 of the second period. Graduate student forward Alex Storjohann (Phoenix, Ariz./Kirkland Lake) scored with helpers from senior forward Michael Sciore (Syracuse, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) and Grupp. The goaltenders were busy throughout the period facing a combined 34 shots, but Durante turned aside all 19 he faced. Cortland picked up its fourth goal of the game at 10:27 to close the scoring. Sophomore forward Jona Hildreth (Lockport, N.Y./Walpole Express) redirected a shot from sophomore defenseman Liam Anderson (East York, Ontario/Pickering Panthers) past Green. Junior defenseman Giancarlo Romano (Yorktown, N.Y./Connecticut Rangers) notched the other assist.<br />  <br /> Each team had two power-play opportunities in the third period, but were unable to add to their totals. Durante stopped 10 more shots in the period and Green made eight more saves to close out the 4-1 contest.<br />  <br /> Potsdam outshot Cortland 43-25, but were frustrated by Durante's 42-save performance. The Red Dragons were 1-for-3 on the man advantage and the Bears were 0-for-2.<br />  <br /> Potsdam is back in action on Friday when the Bears head to Brockport for a 7 p.m. contest. They face Geneseo on Saturday at the same time.<br />