Senior forward Chris Kaleta (Hamburg, N.Y.) registered a hat trick and assisted one to lead the visiting SUNY Cortland Red Dragons to a 5-3 hockey State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) victory over host Morrisville State Saturday night in Morrisville.
The win is the first for the Red Dragons in 2012, as they improve to 1-4 overall, 1-3 in conference play, while the Mustangs drop to 0-7, 0-6 in SUNYAC action.
Michael Dolman (Hawthorne, N.J.) led Morrisville State with a goal and two assists while teammates Michael Markowitz (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Jamie Nelson (Stratford, Ont.) each added a tally.
Christopher Azzano (Oshawa, Ont.) posted the loss in net for the Mustangs, turning away 36 as Cortland held the 41-38 edge in shots on goal.
Cortland also got numbers from forward Michael Lysyj (Hillsborough, N.J.) who added a goal and assisted two others, while teammate Adam Bevilacqua (Toronto, Ont.) registered a tally while assisting one.
Lyle Rocker (Buffalo, N.Y.) recorded the win between the pipes, turning away 35, including 15 in the second period.
Morrisville State found the back of the net quick, as Dolman found Markowitz for the one-timer in front of net just 42 seconds in.
Cortland was finally able to respond to the tally in the 13th minute, as Kaleta converted a Red Dragon power play for a score, and nearly five minutes later added another for the 2-1 lead after one.
In the second, a costly turnover by the Mustang defense in the Cortland offensive zone led to a short handed score by Bevilacqua just 1:19 into the period.
Dolman brought Morrisville State to within one midway through, connecting on the feed from James Jarvis (Pickering, Ont.) on a power play advantage, but Kaleta got past Azzano for the third time at 16:07 collecting the rebound on a scuffle in front of net for a two goal Red Dragon cushion.
Lysyj posted the lone tally in the third and Rocker turned away nine to secure the win for Cortland.
Cortland was 2-for-9 in power play opportunities, while Morrisville State converted just 1-of-10.
Morrisville State returns to the ice next Saturday, traveling to Manhattanville.