MORRISVILLE STATE NETS 6-5 OVERTIME VICTORY OVER SUNY CORTLAND
Brandy Thurston
Morrisville State’s Tom Longland (Dunnville, ONT) followed his own shot and tallied the game winning goal in the overtime period give the Mustangs a 6-5 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) victory Friday night over visiting SUNY Cortland in Morrisville.
The Mustangs are now 4-16-1, 3-9-1 in SUNYAC play while the Red Dragons dropped to 5-15-1, 3-8-1 SUNYAC.
Morrisville State had the lead 3-1 after the first period with Geoff Matzel (Chittenango, NY), Curtis Renaud (Carlisle, ONT) and Jamie Nelson (Stratford, ONT) each posting scores; Renaud and Nelson’s on power plays.
In both the second and third periods Cortland State out scored the Mustangs 2-1 with Chris Kaleta posting the game tying goal with 9:17 remaining in the third for Red Dragons.
The Mustangs began the overtime period on a power play and with 3:01 remaining, Longland scooped the puck into the back of the net for the win, with Todd Hosmer (Scarborough, ONT) and Jonathan Cristini (Mississauga, ONT) earning the assists.
Chris Azzano (Oshawa, ONT) recorded the win between the pipes for the Mustangs with 32 saves. Jeff Molner had 47 saves in net for the Red Dragons.
Morrisville State returns to the ice tomorrow hosting #2 nationally ranked Oswego State at 7 p.m.
POTSDAM, N.Y. – The Morrisville State College men’s ice hockey team scored three unanswered goals in the final period as they posted a 5-3 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) victory over host SUNY Potsdam Friday night in Potsdam.
Morrisville State improves to 3-13-1 overall, 2-6-1 in SUNYAC play, while Potsdam drops to 6-9-2, 4-5 in conference action.
Playing to a scoreless opening period, Potsdam took a 2-0 lead midway through the second, breaking the silence with a tally at the 9:45 mark and adding another nearly four minutes later on a power play opportunity.
Morrisville State answered with two straight tallies from Daniel Morello (Vaughan, Ont.), the first a man advantage score at 18:49, before posting another just 11 seconds later.
Despite the rally in the second, Potsdam added their third of the period with 26 seconds to go to take the 3-2 lead at the end of two.
In the third, the Mustangs took advantage of a 6-on-4 opportunity and Todd Hosmer (Scarborough, Ont.) put his 13th score of the season in the back of the net, tying the game at three with 8:14 remaining on the clock.
With just under three minutes to go, Ryan Marcuz (Richmond Hill, Ont.) gave Morrisville State their first lead of the contest, firing the unassisted score, and eventual game winner, past Potsdam netminder Dylan Ellis for the 4-3 advantage.
Jamie Nelson (Stratford, Ont.) put the game away for the Mustangs, netting the third tally of the period at 18:59 as Morrisville State collected the conference victory.
Christopher Azzano (Oshawa, Ont.) recorded the win between the pipes for Morrisville State, turning away 33 on the night, including eight in the final period.
Ellis had 36 stops for the Bears, 14 in the third period, as Morrisville State posted the 41-36 advantage in shots on net in the contest and converted 2-of-4 power plays.
The Mustangs return to the ice tomorrow night, traveling to #3 nationally ranked Plattsburgh for a 7 p.m. contest.
Brandy Thruston
Visiting 13th nationally ranked Elmira College netted two goals in both the second and third periods to top host Morrisville State College hockey Saturday night in Morrisville.
Elmira improves to 11-5-1, while the Mustangs fall to 2-13-1, dropping their ninth straight.
Morrisville State was first to post a tally, as Rafal Plonski (Warsaw, Poland) fired a shot on the left side of the net to put the puck past Elmira goaltender Matt Milne 7:35 in following a Soaring Eagle turnover within their own zone. Tom Longand (Dunnville, Ont.) and Michael Cordi (Mississauga, Ont.) were credited with the assists.
Longland added a second for the 2-0 lead midway through the period for the Mustangs, notching the one-timer off a cross from James Jarvis (Pickering, Ont.).
Elmira was finally able to get one past Morrisville State netminder Colin Breen (Waterloo, Ont.) 16:54 in, recording their first of two power play scores on the night. Brendan Sanders collected the puck and poked it past Breen, cutting the Mustang lead to one at the end of the first period.
Early in the second, Morrisville State was whistled for a boarding penalty and Elmira took advantage, netting the equalizer just 2:04 in. Despite a vicious attack on net, Breen was able to keep Elmira out of the back of the net until the 17:07 mark when Colin Hoey put the Soaring Eagles ahead by one to end the period.
D’Arcy Oakes tallied a fourth Elmira score midway through the final period for the 4-2 lead, before Morrisville State pulled Breen and the Soaring Eagles sealed the win with an empty net tally by Sanders in the closing seconds.
Breen recorded a collegiate best 57 stops between the pipes for the Mustangs, including 22 stops in the second and 21 in the third period.
Milne recorded 21 saves as Elmira held the 62 to 23 advantage in shots on goal over the Mustangs.
Morrisville State was whistled for 15 penalties on the night, playing nearly 30 minutes without a full line, as Elmira converted 2-of-12 opportunities.
The Mustangs return to the ice Friday, resuming State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play on the road at Potsdam.
Brandy Thurston
NORTHFIELD, VT – Visiting Morrisville State College men’s ice hockey tallied two straight scores in the third period, but fell short as top nationally ranked Norwich University collected the 4-2 victory in the opening round at the Northfield Savings Bank Tournament held in Northfield, Vermont Friday night.
Morrisville State drops to 2-10-1 overall, while Norwich remains unbeaten with a 9-0-1 record. The Mustangs will face Elmira in the consolation round of the tournament Saturday at 4 p.m. while Norwich advances to the championship against Fitchburg State, who topped the Soaring Eagles 2-1 in a shoot out earlier in the evening.
Norwich jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period, netting the first score of the night 14:47 into the period, as Kyle Thomas put one past Morrisville State keeper Christopher Azzano (Oshawa, Ont.).
Doug Lindensmith gave the Cadets a two goal advantage, netting a wrap around score with just over two minutes to go in the first.
Travis Janke extended the Norwich lead to three with a tally at the 17:07 mark in the second.
Morrisville State posted two straight in the final period to cut the Norwich lead to one, the first an unassisted tally from Todd Hosmer (Scarborough, Ont.) 6:42 in and a second from Kevin Gaughran (Pawling, N.Y.) on a power play opportunity at 18:50, but the Cadets added an empty net tally in the closing seconds to secure the win.
Azzano turned away 31 in the contest for the Mustangs, playing 59 minutes between the pipes.
Parker Carroll collected 15 saves to advance Norwich to the tournament championship. The Cadets held the 35-17 advantage in shots on goal on the night.
Nationally ranked third, Castleton State University ice hockey battled to a 4-3 victory over visiting Morrisville State College Sunday afternoon, clinching the Rutland Herald Invitational Championship at the Spartan Arena in Rutland, Vermont.
Morrisville State dropped to 2-5-1 overall, as Alex Tillaart (Ashburn, ONT) earned All-Tournament Team honors.
Castleton remains undefeated at 9-0.
Matthew Beer (Corunna, ONT) led the Mustangs with two goals, while Patrick Stillar (Burlington, ONT) posted a goal and assist.
Nick Lazorko recorded a hat trick for the Spartans, assisting the fourth Castleton goal scored by Ryan Frost.
Castleton put the first tally up on the board just 4:56 in, taking advantage of an early Mustang penalty for the man advantage score from Lazorko. Within minutes, Morrisville State evened the contest at one, as Stillar put the backhanded score into the net off a Castleton turnover within their own zone.
Geoff Matzel (Chittenango, NY) and Jamie Nelson (Stratford, ONT) were credited with the assists.
Early in the second, Castleton was whistled for a holding penalty, and Morrisville State took advantage as Beer gave the Mustangs a one goal advantage with the power play tally just 6:48 into the period. Stillar and Todd Hosmer (Scarborough, ONT) earned assists on the score.
The Spartans evened it up for the second time of the afternoon, as Lazarko posted his second tally nearly three minutes later, and Lazarko recorded his third of the day at 13:18, converting the second power play advantage for Castleton, for the 3-2 lead.
Morrisville State took advantage of two Spartan penalties called in the third, as Beer notched his second tally of the day, collecting the rebound off an initial Mustang shot for the power play score at 9:01 to tie the contest at three.
Castleton responded nearly two minutes later, as Frost broke up the middle of the ice and was able to get the puck past Morrisville State netminder, Colin Breen (Waterloo, ONT) for the game winning score.
Breen was pulled in the final 1:22 of the contest in an effort to net another Mustang tally, but Spartan goaltender Thomas Shelley was able to keep Morrisville State scoreless, earning the win in net. Shelley turned away 21 in the contest to post the win in net.
Breen had 30 saves in the loss of the Mustangs, who return to the ice Friday night at conference opponent, SUNY Geneseo.
RUTLAND, VT - Despite being outshot 35-25, SUNY Morrisville capitalized on a pair of Tufts penalties and skated away with a 4-2 victory over the Jumbos in the first game of the Rutland Herald Invitational at Spartan Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Mustangs were the more physical team on Saturday and earned just their second victory of the season with the win. They now advance to the championship game where they will face the winner of the Castleton vs. Becker contest at 6 p.m.
It was a back-and-forth opening 20 minutes with both teams getting good looks at the goal. Morrisville struck first on a power-play goal 18:40 into the period. The Mustangs' Ryan Marcuz (Richmond Hill, ONT) got a pass off the boards and whipped a wrist shot from the right circle over the shoulder of Tufts goalie Scott Barchard (Reading, MA). Jamie Nelson (Stratford, ONT) and Alex Tillaart (Ashburn, ONT) were credited with assists on the play.
The Jumbos were assessed another penalty early in the second period and it came back to haunt them as Morrisville converted with the man-advantage just 3:51 in. Freshman Matthew Beer (Corunna, ONT) got the puck off the boards and found classmate Patrick Stillar (Burlington, ONT) right in front and he wristed it past Barchard for the 2-0 lead.
Tufts nearly cut its deficit in half midway through the period, as a one-timer off a pass from behind the net clanged off the crossbar and bounced away harmlessly.
The Mustangs pushed their lead to 3-0 at the 14:53 mark as Eric Geertz (Penn Yan, NY) took a rebound off Barchard's pads right in front of the net and went top shelf for his first collegiate goal.
A rash of penalties in third period's first seven minutes gave Tufts a 5-on-3 at the 7:28 mark. They converted less than a minute later as Kyle Gallegos (Westminster, CO) took a pass from Blake Edwards (Columbus, OH) and sniped a slap shot over goalie Colin Breen's (Waterloo, ONT) right shoulder.
The Jumbos pulled their goalie in the final two minutes and it paid off as Gallegos fired a slap shot from the left circle on pass from Dylan Plimmer (Phoenix, AZ) to cut the deficit to 3-2 with 49 seconds remaining. However, the comeback wouldn't be fully imagined, as Morrisville scored an empty netter in the final 15 seconds to secure the 4-2 victory.
Breen finished with 33 saves on the afternoon to earn the victory while Barchard finished with 22 stops between the pipes. Tufts falls to 2-2 overall and will play Sunday at noon in the consolation game of the Rutland Herald Invitational.
