Host Morrisville State came from behind three times and scored three goals in the third period to claim the 5-3 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) victory over the visiting Fredonia State Blue Devils.
The Mustangs improve to 4-15-2 overall and 4-8 in the SUNYAC, while the Blue Devils post a 5-13-2 overall record (3-7-1 in conference play).
Fredonia State jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when they capitalized on a power play opportunity just 4:37 into the first period. Jared Wynia one-timed a pass from Tyler Sheppard past Mustangs goaltender Christopher Azzano (Oshawa, Ontario).
Morrisville State answered back at 14:11 when Daniel Morello (Vaughan, Ontario) scored with Michael Markowitz (Staten Island, N.Y.) tallying the assist.
Fredonia regained the lead early in the second period when Chris Jung found the back of the net at 3:16 with Brett Mueller and Ryan Wilkinson each picking up an assist.
Once again, Morrisville State evened the score when Fredonia’s Alex Perkins was sent to the penalty box for charging, giving the Mustangs a power play. Matt Scherer (Elgin, IL) tallied the power play goal at 17:44 in the second.
Penalties once again hurt the Mustangs early in the third period. Rafal Plonski (Warsaw, Poland) was called for boarding at 6:33 and the Blue Devils wasted little time converting the power play. Just eight seconds into the penalty, Fredonia’s Stephen Castriota gave the Blue Devils a one goal advantage, 3-2.
For the third time in the game, the Mustangs found themselves down by a goal until Ryan Marcuz (Richmond Hill, Ontario) brought them back to 3-3 when he finished a Mike Dolman (Hawthorne, N.J.) pass.
Morrisville and Fredonia stayed deadlocked at three and with the time winding down in the third period, overtime seemed inevitable. With just 1:35 left in the third period, Zach Baker (Denver, CO) won a critical faceoff that Michael Markowitz was able to one-time past Fredonia goaltender Mark Friesen, giving the Mustangs their first lead of the night.
Mike Dolman scored an empty net goal at 19:17, sealing the win for the Mustangs.
Christopher Azzano recorded the win between the pipes, posting 24 saves in 59:43 of play.
Friesen made 42 saves in the losing effort.
Morrisville State returns to the ice Friday, February 1, as they travel to face-off against SUYNAC rival Oswego State.