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JOHN CULLEN
Special to The Leader
The Fredonia men’s hockey team suffered its first two road losses of the season over the weekend when it traveled into north country to take on SUNYAC opponents Plattsburgh Cardinals and Potsdam Bears.
On Friday night the Blue Devils took on the nationally-ranked Plattsburgh Cardinals in front 2,042 fans in attendance for the home opener. Fredonia got off to an impressive start when freshman forward Luke Rivera picked up a loose puck in front of the net during a goalmouth scramble late in the period and buried his third goal of the season as the Blue Devils took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
“It definitely felt good to put us on the board first after a hard-fought period,” said Rivera, “I try to be a presence in front of the net, [freshman defensemen Michael] Freeman took a good shot from the point that got through, and I was able to get a stick on the rebound.”
Plattsburgh wasted no time responding in the new period when Kevin Emmerling netted a powerplay goal — the first of his two second period goals — to tie the game at 1, breathing life back into the restless Cardinal fans inside Stafford Arena.
After taking the 2-1 lead, Plattsburgh showed why it’s one of the top teams in the country, capitalizing on the momentum shift by scoring three more times in the final period for a total of five unanswered goals.
Fredonia’s senior goaltender Jeff Flagler stood tall in the pipes turning aside 42 out of 47 shots to keep the Blue Devils in the game at times. The final score ended up 5-1 with Plattsburgh scoring twice on a powerplay.
Losing the special teams battle was a consistent theme throughout the weekend — an area the team wanted to address going forward.
“I think it was a teaching point for our young guys” said junior defenseman Zach White in an email, “that you can’t play a man down against a power play of their caliber.”
Looking to rebound from their first loss of the season, Fredonia traveled down the highway to take on the unbeaten Potsdam Bears for their second and final game of the weekend.
The Blue Devils were unable to repeat the hot start they had the night before in Plattsburgh, falling behind 2-0 early to Potsdam after allowing two powerplay goals in the first period.
“Once again the problem was special teams,” said White, “we didn’t capitalize on our power plays and that came back to bite us in the end.”
White was able to get the Blue Devils on the board in the second period when he scored on a point shot with Rivera providing the screen cutting the deficit to 2-1. But just 30 seconds later Potsdam was able to restore its two-goal lead after Jake Butler beat Flagler to make it a 3-1 game.
The Blue Devils pushed the pace and controlled the play for most of the third period. The team was rewarded when sophomore forward Sam Wilbur scored his first collegiate goal to once again pull Fredonia within one goal with 12 minutes remaining.
Fredonia continued to apply pressure late in the third period looking for the equalizer, but Potsdam netminder Brendan McMenimen was up to the challenge making 38 saves as the Blue Devils outshot the Bears 40-21 on the night. The Blue Devils were unable to tie the game after hitting the post in the dying seconds and the game finished 3-2.
“Giving up two powerplay goals in the first period and then a goal the next shift after we pulled within one was tough for us,” said Assistant Coach Mike Lysyj in an email. “It taught us that we have to have a consistent 60[-plus minute] effort every night from every guy. We are not a team that can coast and get by with skill alone.”
The Blue Devils look to get back in the win column this weekend with a home and home series against SUNYAC opponent Morrisville State. Friday night the two teams will play in Morrisville before returning to Steele Hall Saturday night for Fredonia’s second home game of the season with a puck drop time of 7 p.m.
John Cullen currently serves as the Fredonia men’s ice hockey team’s goaltender coach.