Morrisville Splits with ECAC West Foe
The team nobody wants to play, Morrisville, split with Neumann, with the loss coming in overtime.
The first night, Morrisville cruised to a 4-1 victory. After letting up a goal 3:23 into the game, the Mustangs wound up outshooting Neumann, 42-27, scoring two goals in the second (Derek Matheson and Jonathan Cristini) and two in the third (Brent Quinn and Geoff Matzel).
Colin Breen started in net, making 12 saves, before being replaced by Caylin Relkoff who made 14 saves.
The next day, Neumann came back fighting hard. After taking a 1-0 lead, Bobby Cass tied it on a power play just before the first period ended. Neumann again took the lead, and again Cass tied it on a power play. Rob Sgarbossa gave Morrisville a 2-1 lead, with Cass getting an assist, but Neumann tied it just before the second period ended.
A scoreless third period meant overtime, where Neumann got the game winner with 32 seconds left on the power play. Relkoff made 35 saves.
Fredonia, Buffalo State Sweep
The two Western New York schools had no problems against their weaker competition.
Buffalo State beat Johnson and Wales in the first game, 5-1, thanks to four third period goals. Trevor McKinney got one in the first while Johnson and Wales tied it up in the second. Then McKinney again, followed by Nick Petriello, Justin Knee, and Eric Bajc put the game away. Kevin Carr made 20 saves.
The second game, Carr got the shutout with 29 saves in a 7-0 romp. Drew Klin scored twice with the other goals registered by Knee, Jim Durham, Petriello, Mike Zannella, and Kyle Granville.
Fredonia also scored seven goals in their first game against Franklin Pierce, winning 7-2, and outshooting the Ravens, 56-19. Franklin Pierce did take 1-0 and 2-1 leads before Fredonia put the game away thanks to two goals within 44 seconds and a short-handed score by Chris LaBella. Jordan Oye (2-2-4), Bryan Ross (2-1-3), and Alex Morton (0-3-3) led the way.
The Blue Devils won the second game, 6-2, in a much closer shot advantage of 30-29. Bryan Ross got four assists along with a goal and Morton got two goals and two assists. Fredonia broke a 2-1 game open early in the second, scoring at the 12 (Oye) and 32 (Chris de Bruyn) second marks.
Tough Loss for Geneseo
Things were looking good for the Ice Knights, as they led Elmira, 3-1, after the first period. Elmira scored first and then Stefan Decosse, Jake Yard, and Jimmy Powers, the latter two on the power play, turned the game around. The Ice Knights outshot Elmira in the first, 21-7.
However, Geneseo couldn’t hold on, letting one up in the second and two in the third for the 4-3 loss, despite outshooting Elmira, 38-29. Adrian Rubeniuk lost for the first time this year in goal.
This loss may be a significant blow to Geneseo’s chances of landing a Pool C slot in the NCAA tournament.
Other Highlights
– Geneseo stomped Western New England, 9-1. Michael Forgione was the only multiple goal scorer with two.
– Potsdam shutout Southern New Hampshire, 6-0, as Kevin McFarland only needed 14 saves. The Bears unleashed 57 shots as Fraser Smith scored twice.
– Plattsburgh got their game against Williams off to a quick start with Ryan Corry scoring 19 seconds in. Ryan Craig made it 2-0 before the Ephs scored. Dan Sliasis notched one in the second, Dylan Clarke scored in the third, and Ryan Farnan got an empty netter. Josh Leis made 24 saves.
SUNYAC Players of the Week (selected by the conference)
Player of the Week: Bobby Cass, Morrisville (F, Sr., Burlington, Ontario) was involved in each scoring play for the Mustangs in the 4-3 overtime loss to Neumann College. Cass tallied two power-play goals to even the score each time against the Knights. He assisted on the other Morrisville score in the second period to give the Mustangs their only lead of the game.
Rookie and Goaltender of the Week: Kevin Carr, Buffalo State (Unionville, Ontario) led Buffalo State to a 2-1 week. He stopped 69 of 72 shots faced in the three-game stretch, playing 182 minutes between the pipes. Carr posted 20 saves in the 2-1 overtime loss to Hobart and then followed up with 20 and 29 saves, respectively in back-to-back games against Johnson and Wales. He earned his second career shutout in the second game against the Wildcats.
Last week’s selections
Player of the Week: Ian Finnerty, Brockport (F, Jr., Ardmore, Penn.) notched three goals and six assists in a 2-1 week for Brockport. In a 9-6 win against Western New England Friday, Finnerty figured in six of the Golden Eagles’ nine goals, tallying two goals and four assists. It was the first time a Brockport player had six points in a game since 2000. In Saturday’s action, he contributed two more assists. Earlier in the week, he scored a goal against Hobart. The nine-point week brought his season point total to 20.
Co-Rookie of the Week: Joe Reagan, Brockport (G, Yonkers, N.Y.) stopped 20 shots and did not allow a goal in 32 minutes against Hobart Tuesday. He then went 2-0 against Western New England over the weekend. In the two games against the Golden Bears, Reagan made a combined 43 saves. For the week, he finished with a .926 save percentage and 2.13 goals-against average.
Co-Rookie of the Week: Rich Manley, Geneseo (F, Buffalo, N.Y.) doubled his season point total to 16 after an eight-point weekend in two Geneseo wins against Franklin Pierce. In Friday’s 8-2 win, he tallied a goal and three assists. In Saturday’s 5-1 win, Manley figured in four of Geneseo’s five goals, netting two goals and two assists. He was also credited with the game-winning goal.
Goaltender of the Week: Josh Leis, Plattsburgh (So., Kitchener, Ontario) helped lead Plattsburgh to a 1-0-1 week against strong competition, including a win against No. 7 Norwich on Tuesday. Leis made 27 saves as the Cardinals defeated the defending national champion Cadets, 7-4. In a 2-2 tie Saturday against Elmira, Leis stopped 25 shots, including a combined 16 in the third period and overtime. Leis is 9-1-1 on the season.
