STYLUS RECAP OF LAST WEEKEND'S GAMES

Brandon Wood wrote this recap of last weekend's games for the Brockport Stylus...



Despite holding two separate two-goal leads against then-No. 4 SUNY Plattsburgh, the College at Brockport’s ice hockey team lost 5-4 after surrendering a goal with just more than a minute remaining in regulation. Brockport did pick up two SUNYAC conference points by beating SUNY Potsdam the night before, however.

Potsdam outshot Brockport (6-10-3 overall, 3-6-1 SUNYAC) in every period and 38-28 in total during its game in Brockport Friday, Jan. 31. Fortunately, sophomore goalie Jared Lockhurst was on his game and stopped 37 Potsdam shots as Brockport earned two crucial conference points in a 4-1 win.

The Golden Eagles were outshot 8-1 and took two penalties in the first ten minutes of the game. Brockport was being outshot 11-4 when senior forward Chris Cangro scored his third goal of the season for the Golden Eagles on the power play 13 minutes into the game.

Brockport doubled its advantage early in the second period when a shot by sophomore defenseman Chris Luker was misplayed by Potsdam goalie Shane Talarico and found the back of the net. There were no players in front of Talarico as the puck appeared to handcuff the senior goaltender and bounce off his glove into his net. It was Luker’s fifth goal of the season.

Potsdam answered with a goal of its own with four minutes remaining in the second period, but Brockport scored twice in the final frame to secure the win. 

Sophomore forward Chase Nieuwendyk scored his sixth goal of the season on a power-play and freshman forward Andrew Parks scored his third goal after a great individual play by freshman forward Nick Marinac. Marinac skated through two defenseman past Potsdam’s net, bringing both defenseman with him behind the net before passing to Parks who was all alone in the slot.

Brockport, which entered the game ranked seventh in the nation on the power play, went 2-for-6 on the power play while holding Potsdam to 0-for-6 with the man advantage.

“I think we have great puck control,” Nieuwendyk said about his team’s power play. “Our biggest thing is that we get pucks to the net off scrambles and we’re always attacking.”

Lockhurst, who missed part of the season with a groin injury, appeared to re-injure his groin with about nine minutes remaining in the game but remained in the game until the end.

Following the game, Lockhurst confirmed he aggravated the injury, but said he felt good enough to stay in the game. Junior goalie Aaron Green got the start Saturday, Feb. 1 against Plattsburgh after the injury.

Brockport held 2-0 and 3-1 leads at different points in the game, but Plattsburgh outscored the Golden Eagles 5-2 in the last two periods of the game.

Freshman forward Jake Taylor opened the scoring for the Golden Eagles 12 minutes into the game and Luker followed up with a power-play goal three minutes later. Brockport’s power play was 1-for-3 in the game.

Plattsburgh’s power play put its team on the board one minute into the second period, but freshman defenseman Rob Hall scored his third goal of the season two minutes later to answer for the Golden Eagles. Shortly after, sophomore Plattsburgh goalie Spencer Finney was pulled for the Cardinals regular starter senior Mathieu Cadieux who allowed just one goal in his 35 minutes in net while Finney allowed three in 25 minutes.

Plattsburgh scored the next three goals unanswered throughout the next period and a half to take a 4-3 lead with slightly more than 10 minutes remaining in regulation. Brockport allowed two power-play goals to Plattsbugh in four chances, much different than when it stopped Potsdam all six times the night before.

“We were running around a little bit,” Brockport captain and penalty killer Matt DeLuca said of his team’s penalty kill. “Because they’re so quick and they like to move around we got away from staying in tight. Other than that, we probably could’ve blocked a few more shots.”

Brockport answered to tie the game with less than nine minutes remaining on the clock when sophomore forward Jesse Facchini tallied his third goal of the season. Facchini got the puck from Luker, broke away from everyone and backhanded the puck into the net.

The game came down to the wire, but Plattsburgh found a way to beat Green with 1:10 remaining in the game and Brockport couldn’t score with an empty net. Green made 28-of-33 stops in net.

Despite the loss, Brockport Head Coach Brian Dickinson said he thought taking a nationally ranked team to the wire was important for his squad and was happy with his team’s effort.

“That was a great sixty minute battle against one of the best teams in the country,” Dickinson said. “We had the lead a couple times and we just have to finish things off. We played with them and put in a good effort and we let everyone know we aren’t going to roll over. They handled us pretty easy in their rink so I was proud of the effort all the way through.”

Plattsburgh defeated Brockport 6-0 when the Golden Eagles traveled there earlier this season.

By earning two conference points against Potsdam, Brockport remained in seventh place in the SUNYAC after the weekend. The Golden Eagles are just one conference point behind SUNY Cortland for the sixth and final playoff spot.

Brockport plays a home-and-away with SUNY Geneseo Friday, Feb. 7 and Saturday, Feb. 8. Friday’s game is at home and is Brockport’s annual Saves-for-a-Cure game. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Tuttle North Ice Arena.

Source:

http://www.thestylus.net/sports/golden-eagles-stuck-at-bottom-of-conference-standings-1.3136211?pagereq=1#.UvN0erQ3myQ