UTICA N.Y.-A second period goal was the difference as tenth-ranked Utica (7-3) edged the SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (5-5) 1-0 in a nonconference contest on Friday night. The Pioneers got the game-winner from Evan Chlanda and a 30-save shutout from Nick Therrien. In one of his finest performances in a Bears’ jersey, senior goaltender Kevin McFarland stopped 42 of 43 shots he faced.

Potsdam was very physical right out of the gate in the first period, but Utica controlled the much of the action. McFarland made 13 saves in the opening stanza to keep the Pioneers off the board. The Bears best offensive opportunity came from the stick of sophomore forward Adam Place with six minutes left in the period, but Utica’s Nick Therrien foiled him with the blocker.

The Bears misfortunes in the offensive zone continued in the second period as they were outshot 21-5. Just 2:05 into the period Chlanda struck on assists from Tim Coffman and Ridge Garbutt. The Bears got caught in transition and Utica made the most of the opportunity

Potsdam finally got their offense moving in the third period. They sustained offensive pressure and challenged Therrien with 17 shots, but couldn’t solve the Pioneer goalie. With just under eight minutes to go, Therrien stymied freshman forward Trevor Cope on consecutive attempts. Despite the pressure, Potsdam was unable to net the equalizer.

The Bears were 0-4 on the power play, but held Utica to 0-5.