CORTLAND, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men's hockey team (6-14-2, 1-11-1 SUNYAC) outplayed SUNY Cortland (9-11-1, 5-7) on the road Saturday, but fell to the Red Dragons by a 5-1 count in a penalty filled contest. Junior forward Dylan Vander Esch (San Jose, Calif./Hartford Wolfpack) scored for the Bears.

Potsdam peppered Red Dragons goalie Drew Weigman early and often in the first period, but found itself looking down a 2-0 deficit. Mike Crowley put Cortland up for good at the 15:24 mark. Just 1:09 later, Andrew McCann doubled the lead. Vander Esch notched the contest's third goal in a 2:04 stretch at 17:28. Junior defenseman Sean Kacerosky (Kendall Park, N.J./New York Bobcats) and junior forward Jake Martin (Montreal, Quebec/Concordia) earned the assists. Three power plays helped the Bears run up a 16-9 advantage in the period, but they were unable to capitalize.

Potsdam dominated the second period as well, thanks to four more power plays, but couldn't solve Weigman. Weigman made 21 saves in the middle 20 minutes. Despite the effort, Darren McCormick gave Cortland a 3-1 advantage as the teams headed into the second intermission.

The Red Dragons tacked on two more in the third period. Tony Devito struck at the 9:49 mark with an unassisted goal. With 55 seconds remaining, McCormick netted his second on the man advantage to close out the 5-1 win.

Bears sophomore goalie Nate Skidmore (Syracuse, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) finished with 22 saves, while Weigman stood on his head with 46. The Bears outshot the Red Dragons 47-27.

Potsdam was 0-for-9 on the power play and Cortland went 1-for-7.

Next, the Bears host rival Plattsburgh at 7 p.m. on Friday in their final home game of the season.