POTSDAM, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men's hockey team (4-14-1, 2-8 SUNYAC) rallied twice before falling to No. 6 Oswego State (12-6-1, 7-2) 4-3 on Saturday evening. Graduate Student forward Robert Clerc (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Oswego State) scored twice against his former team and junior forward Josh Bifolchi (Ottawa, Ontario/Mississauga Chargers) added a power-play goal.
 
Oswego State slowly gained an edge in play as the first period wore on. At 10:43, senior defenseman Quinn Warmuth (Olmstead Falls, Ohio/Robert Morris University) put the Lakers in front 1-0 on a shot from the right point. Despite being outshot, Potsdam made the most of its chances. At 16:44, Clerc moved down the left side of the ice, slipped the puck between his skates and jammed it between junior goalie Richie Parent's (Montreal, Quebec/Shreveport Mudbogs) pads to tie the game. Senior forward Justin Vernace (Mississauga, Ontario/Brampton Admirals) and graduate student assistant captain Justin Geary (Clifton Park, N.Y./Wilkes University) assisted on the goal. Oswego outshot the Bears 11-5, but the teams were even after one.
 
The Lakers took the first penalty of the game at 5:08 of the second period and Potsdam made the most of the chance. Bifolchi struck at 6:30 to put the Bears up 2-1. Sophomore defenseman Drew Rose (Brasher Falls, N.Y./Utica Jr. Comets) and senior defenseman Connor Cruickshank (Brampton, Ontario/Brampton Admirals) had the assists. Oswego battled back and scored twice in 35 seconds nearly 10 minutes later. Jackson Aran tied the game at 16:08 and Connor Gatto made it 3-2 at 16:43. Potsdam trailed by one after 40 minutes.
 
Three Laker penalties helped the Bears build momentum in the third period and effectively shutdown Oswego's offense. After a boarding call, Clerc notched his second of the game at 8:11 with assists from Rose and senior captain Nick Alfieri (Buffalo, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres). Potsdam earned a final power play at the 16:32 and pressed the attack. Just 25 seconds later, Oswego junior forward Connor Sleeth (Markham, Ontario/Vernon Vipers) fired the puck down the ice to kill time. Bears senior goalie Stephen Friedland (West Bloomfield, Mich./East Coast Wizards) raced up to shoot the puck to a teammate to maximize the Bears' time on the man advantage. Unfortunately, the puck skipped past him and into the net. Potsdam pulled Friedland for an extra attacker with just over a minute left, but Oswego escaped with the win.
 
Friedland finished with 27 saves and Parent had 21. The Bears were 2-for-4 on the power play and the Lakers were 0-for-3.
 
Potsdam is back on the road next weekend. They travel to No. 8 SUNY Geneseo on Friday and SUNY Brockport on Saturday. Both games start at 7 p.m.