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Bears men's hockey rally falls short at Fredonia, 3-2

Posted 1/31/16

FREDONIA, N.Y.—SUNY Fredonia (6-10-3, 3-7-2 SUNYAC) jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held off the SUNY Potsdam men's hockey team (10-7-3, 6-4-1) for a 3-2 victory on Saturday night. Sophomore forward …

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Bears men's hockey rally falls short at Fredonia, 3-2

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FREDONIA, N.Y.—SUNY Fredonia (6-10-3, 3-7-2 SUNYAC) jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held off the SUNY Potsdam men's hockey team (10-7-3, 6-4-1) for a 3-2 victory on Saturday night. Sophomore forward Dylan Vander Esch (San Jose, Calif./Hartford Wolfpack) and senior captain Todd Thomas (Davidsville, Pa./Hartford Wolfpack) each scored for the Bears.

The first period was evenly played until a power play tipped the scales in the Blue Devils' favor. Potsdam was whistled for an interference call at 5:02 and 38 seconds later Fredonia capitalized. Bobby Polachek gave the Blue Devils the 1-0 lead with a goal on the man advantage. The Bears went on the power play three minutes later, but were unable to tie the score. Potsdam then killed off a second power play in the opening 20 minutes and entered the first intermission down one.

Midway through the second period Fredonia struck twice in a 2:05 span. At 11:30 Luke Rivera made it a 2-0 contest. Hunter Long scored at 13:35 to make a three-goal game. Potsdam earned its second man advantage at 15:50 and Vander Esch got the Bears on the board at 17:06. Senior forward Billy Pascalli (Deer Park, N.Y./New York Bobcats) and junior defenseman Jake Butler (Atlanta, Ga./Smith Falls Bears) each assisted on the goal. Potsdam trailed 3-1 after 40 minutes.

The Bears dominated the third period, pinning the Blue Devils in their zone for much of the stanza and outshooting them 17-8. However, they'd only solve Fredonia goalie Eric Bogart once more. At the 13:34 mark, Thomas buried a feed from freshman forward Mike Sweeney (Pittsburgh, Pa./PAL Islanders) to close the gap to 3-2. Potsdam pulled freshman goalie Trever Ralph (Middletown, N.J./New Jersey Titans) with 29 seconds left, but couldn't find the equalizer.

Ralph finished with 24 saves in his second collegiate start and Bogart stopped 34 shots for the win. The Bears outshot Fredonia 36-27 and both teams were 1-for-3 on the power play.

Potsdam now closes the regular season with five straight games in the friendly confines of Maxcy Ice Arena, beginning with a 7 p.m. battle against Cortland this Friday on Bear Pride Night. The Bears are 6-0 at home this season.