POTSDAM, N.Y.—SUNY Cortland (5-2, 3-1 SUNYAC) survived a third period surge by the SUNY Potsdam men's hockey team (4-4, 2-2) for a 4-2 win on Saturday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Freshman forward Justin Legault (Oakville, Ontario/Burlington Cougars) opened the scoring at 7:39, slamming home a pass across the crease from freshman forward Sam Cristiano (Buffalo, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres). Sophomore defenseman and Canton Native Nate Boak (Canton, N.Y./El Paso Rhinos) picked up the second assist.
- At 9:31, graduate student forward Nate Berke (Williamsville, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) finished a give-and-go from senior forward Domenic Settimo (East Meadow, N.Y./PAL Junior Islanders) to make it 2-0. Junior defenseman Evan Beaudry (Mississauga, Ontario/Kemptville, Ontario) had the second assist.
- The Bears closed to 2-1 at 16:25 of the first period after sophomore forward Jakub Hall (Anchorage, Alaska/Richmond Generals) buried a shot from the slot. Freshman forward Owen Watson (Smiths Falls, Ontario/Smiths Falls Bears) and junior forward Mathieu Parent (Kapuskasing, Ontario/Renfrew Wolves) had the assists.
- Junior forward Max Klanow (Holly, Mich./Hawkesbury Hawks) made the most of a Red Dragons turnover at the side of the net to get the Bears even at 11:38 of the third period.
- Berke gave Cortland the lead for good with a power-play goal at 13:04 off an assist from Settimo.
- Bears sophomore goalie Lenny Perno (Rochester, N.Y./Richmond Generals) was pulled for an extra attacker with 1:24 left as Potsdam went on the power play. However, Cortland sealed the win with a shorthanded, empty-net goal 21 seconds later from junior forward Colby Seitz (Eden, N.Y./Corpus Cristi IceRays). Berke and freshman defenseman Dino Mannetta (Wading River, N.Y./PAL Islander) had the assists.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- The Red Dragons outshot the Bears 44-19.
- Cortland was 1-for-4 on the power play and the Bears were 0-for-3.
- Perno gave his team a chance to win with more stellar play, stopping 40 shots.
- Junior goalie Ronan Mobley (Playa Del Rey, Calif./New Hampshire Avalanche) finished with 17 saves for the win.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Bears face Rivier University on Saturday, November 30, at 3 p.m. in the first round of the North Country Tournament at SUNY Canton.