BUFFALO, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (2-2, 1-2 SUNYAC) scored three unanswered goals to defeat Buffalo State (2-2, 2-2) on the road Friday night. Sophomore forward Mike Arnold scored twice for the Bears.

Potsdam fell behind 2-0 in the first period. Drew Klin gave the Bengals the 1-0 lead just 1:12 into the contest. Eleven minutes later Anthony Orange doubled the advantage in a four-on-four situation. At the 5:05 mark, Arnold capitalized on the power play with assists from senior captain Sy Nutkevitch and freshman forward Trevor Cope. The Bears outshot Buffalo State 14-8 in the first period, but trailed 2-1 at the intermission.

The Bengals were more aggressive in the second period, but wouldn’t solve Potsdam freshman goaltender Dylan Ellis again. The Bears killed off three penalties in the period, while Buffalo State killed two. The score remained 2-1 after 40 minutes of play.

Potsdam picked up the play in the final 20 minutes. Nutkevitch knotted the score at 2-2 at the 9:44 mark with an unassisted marker. Four minutes later Arnold buried the game-winner with assists from junior captain Matt Viola and freshman defenseman Erick Ware. The Bengals pulled goalie Kevin Carr with 48 seconds remaining, but couldn’t net the equalizer.

Ellis finished with 31 saves for his first collegiate win and Carr stopped 28 shots. The Bears were 1-5 on the power play and Buffalo State was 0-4.

“This was a big battle for us,” said Potsdam Head Coach Chris Bernard. “We needed everyone to win this game and everyone came through. Everyone answered the challenge.”

Bernard saw great games from the entire team, but a few stood out.

“Mike Arnold was huge for us with two goals and I think Sy Nutkevitch was the best player on the ice,” added Bernard. “Dylan Ellis was great. He made big saves at big times to keep us in the game and it gave the guys confidence to come back.”

The Bears are back in action tomorrow night at Fredonia. Faceoff is 7 p.m.