It was a slow start for the Plattsburgh State men’s hockey team, but a five-goal third period gave the Cardinals a 6-1 victory against Morrisville State in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opener Friday night at the Stafford Ice Arena.
The Mustangs (0-2-0, 0-1-0 SUNYAC) took an early 1-0 lead when Ryan Marcuz fired a shot that beat Plattsburgh goaltender Josh Leis top shelf. Marc-Antoine Chaput picked up the assist on Morrisville’s lone goal at 10:16 of the first period.
Alex Jensen evened the score at 15:50 of the opening stanza when his shot snuck through the five-hole of Morrisville goalie Jakob Rasmussen. Preston Kaye was credited with an assist on the equalizer.
The score would remain knotted at 1-1 through the second period despite some quality scoring opportunities for the Cardinals. With just under two minutes to go in the second period, Alex Jensen dropped the puck to Nick Jensen, who sent a cross-ice pass to Mark Constantine, but Rasmussen came up with the save to keep the game tied.
Mike Grace broke the tie at the 6:49 mark of the third period with a power-play goal to put the Cardinals up 2-1. Grace took a pass from Constantine and ripped a shot from the point that found the back of the net for the eventual game-winner.
Then the floodgates opened, when Morrisville’s Tyson Avery gave away the puck in front of his net and Connor Gorman capitalized. Gorman picked up the loose puck and found Kevin Emmerling, who tallied his first collegiate goal at 8:38 of the third period.
Constantine scored the Cardinals’ second power-play goal at the 11:24 mark of the third. The Plattsburgh sophomore took a pass Gorman before faking a shot and fooling a Mustangs defender to find the back of the net for his first of the year.
The Cardinals (1-0-0, 1-0-0 SUNYAC) added two more late period goals from Brandon Beadow and Alex Jensen en route to the 6-1 win. The line of the Jensen brothers and Constantine proved to be Plattsburgh’s most productive as the three combined for six points.
Plattsburgh finished the night with a 47-25 advantage in shots on goal and went 2-for-4 on the power-play.
Leis earned the win with 21 saves for the Cardinals. Sam Foley took over in the Plattsburgh net for the final 3:50, making three stops. Rasmussen recorded 38 saves in the loss for Morrisville. Christopher Azzano stepped in the Mustangs’ net with 4:55 remaining in the game, making three saves.