Brockport goes unbeaten in tournament play
Brockport may have played in the third place game of the Skidmore Invitational, but the Golden Eagles were the only SUNYAC team not to lose a game over the various Thanksgiving weekend tournaments.
That’s because Brockport failed to advance in the first round due to a shootout, which does not count toward your record. The game against Hamilton ended in a 5-5 tie after a five-minute overtime.
After falling behind 2-0 at the end of the first period, Nick Panepinto and Adam Shoff tied it up for Brockport. Hamilton retook the lead before the second period was over.
The teams then alternated power-play goals in the third, which resulted in a 4-4 tie with 5:12 to go. Panepinto got his second and James Cody got the other. Hamilton took the lead once again with two minutes left.
Twenty-one seconds later, it looked all but over for Brockport when Marcus Farmer took a roughing penalty. With no choice, coach Brian Dickinson was forced to pull his goalie, despite being short-handed.
It paid off, as Shoff got his second of the night with 1:10 left in regulation. Each team got off two shots in overtime, but to no avail.
In order to decide who moved on to the championship game, a three-player shootout was used. Hamilton converted on its first two while Brockport missed both, ending the shootout one shot short.
Thus, Brockport played Nichols, which lost to host Skidmore, 8-2, in the third place game. The Golden Eagles won, 7-3.
Once again, the opposition opened a 2-0 lead, this time after a scoreless first period. James Cody (power play) and Troy Polina scored a minute apart late in the second period to tie the game at two.
Cody scored again, this time short-handed, at 2:08 of the third for a lead Brockport would never give up. Steve Sachman scored a power-play goal to make it 4-2.
After Hamilton got one back, Brockport scored three times in the final 2:10 of the game, with Cody getting his hat trick leading it off, followed by Polina for his second and finally Colby Spooner. Brockport outshot Nichols in that final period, 22-5.
Aaron Green made 18 saves for the win.
Other highlights
– Plattsburgh did not score a single goal in the Primelink Tournament, yet did not lose both games. That’s because they also shutout Middlebury in the Third Place game for the 0-0 tie. Josh Leis made 26 saves for the shutout. The previous day, Plattsburgh lost to Norwich, 3-0.
– Buffalo State beat St. Thomas, 3-2, in the first round of the Adrian Tournament. Jim Durham tied the game 1-1 in the first period on a short-handed goal. Matt Bessing gave the Bengals the lead early in the second, but St. Thomas tied the game 13 minutes later. Trevor McKinney scored the winner on a power play at 9:47 of the third. Ryan Malinowski made 29 saves for the junior’s first collegiate win. Buffalo State lost in the championship Game, 3-1, to Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Justin Knee scored in the third period for the Bengals’ only goal after his team was down 3-0.
– Morrisville also won the first game, but lost in the championship game. The Mustangs beat Tufts, 4-2, in the Rutland Invitational. Morrisville held a 3-0 lead after two periods on goals by Ryan Marcuz, Patrick Stillar, and Eric Geertz. The first two were on the power play. Tufts scored twice in the third, with the latter coming with an extra attacker with 48 seconds left. Stillar got it back on an empty-net goal 37 seconds later. Colin Breen made 23 saves.
– Morrisville then lost to host Castleton, 4-3, in the final. After Stillar tied the game 1-1 in the first, Matthew Beer gave his team a 2-1 lead early in the second. Castleton then scored twice before the end of the period. Beer got his second power-play goal to tie it midway through the third, but Castleton scored the winner 1:41 later.
– Cortland lost twice to Neumann, 3-2 and 10-5. In the first game, Cortland fell behind 3-0 after two periods when Adam Bevilacqua and Ryan Markell scored to make it respectable. The second day, Joey Christiano scored twice, including a short-hander, and Bevilacqua scored again.
