It was a scene right out of the movie Slap Shot.
As Plattsburgh State’s Rob Retter was leaving the ice for a game misconduct, a Geneseo State fan attacked the player. Others got involved, but a potentially explosive situation did not escalate. Meanwhile, down at Brockport State, a potential game-winning goal was disallowed, though afterwards the Potsdam State coach agreed it was in. And Fredonia State only got 17 shots on goal while letting through 42, yet won 4-0.
Amongst all the craziness, Plattsburgh and Fredonia swept, Potsdam got three points, and Oswego State and Cortland State split the weekend.
PREVIOUS WEEK'S RESULTS
11/07/00 Hobart - 7, Buffalo State - 1
11/10/00 Potsdam - 1, Brockport - 1 (OT)
11/10/00 Plattsburgh - 6, Geneseo - 4
11/10/00 Cortland - 4, Buffalo State - 1
11/10/00 Fredonia - 4, Oswego - 0
11/11/00 Potsdam - 4, Geneseo - 3 (OT)
11/11/00 Plattsburgh - 9, Brockport - 1
11/11/00 Fredonia - 3, Cortland - 1
11/11/00 Oswego - 7, Buffalo State - 1
UPCOMING GAMES THIS WEEK
11/14/00 RIT at Geneseo NC 7:00 ET
11/15/00 Brockport at Elmira NC 7:30 ET
11/16/00 Fredonia at Hobart NC 7:30 ET
11/18/00 Buffalo State at Manhattanville NC 4:00 ET
11/18/00 Elmira at Plattsburgh NC 7:00 ET
11/19/00 Buffalo State at Manhattanville NC 2:00 ET
Team-by-Team Report
PLATTSBURGH — The Cardinals survived a scare from Geneseo State, both the team and the fans, to defeat the Ice Knights, 6-4. After falling behind 2-0, Brent Armstrong and Joe Dolci tied it up before the end of the first period. Bryan Murray, Jason Kilcan, and Derrick Shaw gave Plattsburgh State a 5-2 lead after two. Then the game exploded in the third period. Rob Retter was called for a five-minute major and game misconduct for hitting from behind. As he left the ice, an irate Geneseo fan ran out of the stands and jumped him. Eric Weidenbach and Peter Ollari left the ice to assist their teammate. Needless to say, the fan got the worst of it and was hauled off in handcuffs before Kilcan ended up getting a shorthanded goal to put the game away. The next night a fired-up Plattsburgh team blew out Brockport State, 9-1, in a game which was already 5-0 after the first period. Kilcan got another pair of goals, including another shorthander, and seven other Cardinals scored a goal as all three goalies got a chance to play. Plattsburgh hosts Elmira for their only game this week.
OSWEGO — Usually if a team gets 42 shots on goal and only gives up 17, it’s a sure win. But not only did Oswego State not win against Fredonia State, it didn’t put a single one of those 47 shots in the net, losing 4-0 while going 0-for-8 on the power play. The next night Oswego got 56 shots on net with better results, defeating Buffalo State, 7-1. Mike Lukajic and John Hirliman each scored twice, while single tallies were registered by Joe Pecoraro, Matt Vashaw, and Chris DiCarlo, who also got three assists. Tyson Gajda made 21 saves. Oswego has the week off.
POTSDAM — The Bears struggled last weekend and ended up extending their overtime game streak to three. Potsdam State escaped with a 1-1 tie at Brockport State after a seemingly-clear goal by Brockport was ruled not to have gone into the net. Instead of trailing 2-0 late in the game, Potsdam was able to tie it on a goal by Mike Snow. Ryan Venturelli made 20 saves. The next night, Potsdam needed to come back again against Geneseo. This time they took the lead on a first-period goal by Joe Munn, but then fell behind, 3-1. With 6:07 left in regulation, Chris Hesse scored a power-play goal, and with 53 seconds left and an extra attacker, Joe Wlodarczyk got the equalizer. Mike McCabe won the game on an unassisted goal 1:02 into overtime. Venturelli again made 20 saves. Potsdam takes a rest this week.
FREDONIA — The Blue Devils swept the weekend to move into fourth place, surprising Oswego State 4-0 despite getting outshot 42-17. In the first period alone, they only got three shots but still took a 1-0 lead on Dave Barnett’s goal. Dave Mugavero got a power-play goal in the second, and Erik Dolesh added a shorthander in the third followed by one by Erik Hlavaty. The star of the game was Will Hamele, who stymied the Oswego onslaught with 42 saves. Fredonia finished the weekend off with a 3-1 victory over Cortland State, getting a goal per period by Lionel Crump, B.J. Bouschor, and Mugavero. Hamele made 33 saves. Fredonia plays at Hobart on Thursday.
CORTLAND — Cortland State was poised to make a leap forward, but didn’t come through, beating Buffalo State 4-1 to set up a crucial game against Fredonia State, then falling short 3-1, despite outshooting Fredonia 34-18. First-game goals were scored by Shaun Spaniol, Ryan Schmidt, Greg Menchen, and Mike Ricupero. Mark Paine missed his shutout by 16 seconds, but still made 40 saves for the win. Against Fredonia, Tim Kneer scored a third-period goal to cut the lead to 2-1, but an empty-netter stopped the comeback attempt. John Larnerd made 15 saves. Cortland takes off for a week.
GENESEO — It was a tough weekend both on and off the ice for Geneseo State. After taking a 2-0 lead against powerhouse Plattsburgh State on goals by David Bagley and Andy Ford, Geneseo let in five unanswered goals to fall behind 5-2. Then in the third period, a Geneseo fan attacked a Plattsburgh player coming off the ice. Geneseo did manage two more goals by Pat McKendry, but the damage had been done. Jeff Phelps tried his best to keep it close with 36 saves. Phelps again played outstanding against Potsdam State, keeping the Bears at bay for most of the game while his team built a 3-1 lead. Kyle Langdon, Jason Gurnett, and Aaron Coleman scored. However, Geneseo could not hold onto the lead, losing in overtime, 4-3. Geneseo hosts RIT on Tuesday.
BROCKPORT — The Golden Eagles put all their eggs in one basket on Friday night, tying Potsdam State, 1-1. However, Brockport State felt it should have won, and felt even worse when the Potsdam coach suggested the non-goal was in. Nick Smyth scored 25 seconds into the second period to give Brockport the lead, but a late goal allowed Potsdam to tie it. Tom Payment played outstanding, making 47 saves including three in overtime. Brockport and Payment had nothing left for Plattsburgh State, falling behind 5-0 in the first period and eventually losing 9-1. The lone Brockport goal was scored by Christian Christensen. Payment was relieved after two periods. The Golden Eagles play the Soaring Eagles when they travel to Elmira on Wednesday.
BUFFALO STATE — The Bengals dropped three games this past week each time only scoring one goal while they remain winless in conference play. Joe Urbanik tied the game in the first period, but Hobart scored the next six goals for a 7-1 win. Then came Cortland State, and the Bengals didn’t score until 16 seconds were left in the game. The Mike Katz goal meant nothing as Buffalo State fell 4-1. It was also 4-0 the next game against Oswego State before Rocky Reeves scored. In that case, there was more time on the clock, and Buffalo State eventually lost 7-1 while letting up 56 shots. Harley Pottratz made 49 saves. Buffalo State travels to Manhattanville for a pair of games.
Game of the Week
This is an easy one — Elmira at Plattsburgh. There is a long history between these two teams and the success of both programs guarantees this to be one of the premier matchups in the country. The Stafford Ice Arena should be rocking on Saturday.
