POTSDAM, N.Y. – The SUNY Potsdam men's hockey team (7-16-1, 3-11-1 SUNYAC) opened up their final weekend of play Friday night, falling to third ranked Oswego State (18-4-2, 11-3-1 SUNYAC) 3-2. Freshman forwards Jack Bloem (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Connecticut Rangers) and Devin Panzeca (Lake Zurich, Ill. East Coast Wizards) each scored for the Bears, while senior goaltender Nate Skidmore (Syracuse, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) made 30 saves on the night.

Play started fast and furious in the first period, with Oswego holding the edge in shots to start the game. Just over seven minutes into the first period, the Lakers struck first on a goal by Josh Nenadal as he redirected shot from the point taken by Max Novick. The remainder of the period featured almost non-stop action with limited whistles. Both the Bears and Lakers had quality scoring opportunities, the best of which for the Bears came on a backdoor pass from junior forward Tyler Young (Massena, N.Y. Kanata Lasers) to fellow junior forward Bryce Ferrell (Buffalo, N.Y. Buffalo Jr. Sabres) that barely jumped over Ferrell's stick. With just over two minutes left in the period, Oswego looked to have netted their second goal of the game. However, the referee disallowed the goal as he had blown the whistle after he lost sight of the puck in the crease prior to the Oswego player shooting it into the net. At the close of the period, the score remained 1-0 in favor of Oswego.

The Lakers would start the second period on the powerplay following a 5-minute major for spearing at the conclusion of the first period. The Bears killed of the start of the non-releasable penalty with ease, icing the puck several times within the first three minutes of play. Despite strong penalty killing early, Oswego capitalized on the man advantage three and a half minutes into the period on another redirected shot from the point by Tanner Spink. A few minutes later, the Bears were shorthanded again, leading to another Oswego power-play goal by Josh Zizek. Following Oswego's goal, the Bears had two power play opportunities in the next seven minutes. Both opportunities were unsuccessful, but the Bears continued to push, scoring on a 2-on-1 chance just seconds after Oswego returned to full strength. Bloem scored the goal, assisted by senior captain Ben Mariano (Harrisburg, Pa./Hartford Wolfpack) and junior forward Vincent Guimond (Sorel-Tracy, Quebec/Gloucester Rangers). The score was 3-1 after two periods of play.

Play started evenly in the third, with shots 8-5 in favor of Potsdam. The Bears looked to cut into the Laker lead early in the period, but were unable to find the back of the net in the first 10 minutes. Halfway through the period the Bears went on the power play for the third time. Despite registering several shots on net during the power play, the score remained the same as the penalty expired. With seven minutes remaining in the period, senior captain Mike Sweeney (Pittsburgh, Pa./PAL Islanders) caused a turnover at the blue line and drove to the net hard, drawing both defenders with him. Laker David Richer made the initial save, but the rebound came directly in front of the net and was buried by Panzeca from just outside the crease. The Bears searched frantically in the final minutes for the equalizer, pulling Skidmore with 1:45 remining in the period for the extra attacker. Potsdam put on the pressure, but were whistled for hooking while trying to prevent the Lakers from scoring on the open net. Following the penalty call, the Bears were unable to clear the zone and pull the goalie for one last rush. Time expired with the score 3-2.

The Bears wrap up their season tomorrow night at 7 p.m. against the Cortland Red Dragons. The game will honor and close out the careers of seniors Skidmore, Mariano, Trevor Dennis (Rochester, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres), Sweeney and Dom Horvath (Toledo, Ohio/Brantford 99ers).