PLATTSBURGH — A weekend of opportunity for the Plattsburgh State men’s hockey team turned into a weekend of disappointment.
The Cardinals (10-9-1, 4-5) dropped a pair of SUNYAC contests at the Stafford Ice Arena, a 2-0 decision to Canton on Friday and a 5-3 setback to rival Oswego on Saturday.
So, instead of taking a step up in the conference standings, Plattsburgh took a big step back.
“My message to the team after the Oswego game was to keep working and stay after it,” Plattsburgh head coach Steve Moffat said. “We can’t sulk about it.
“It was disappointing to lose the Oswego game after we led 2-0. But I was proud of the team for the energy they showed rather than the lack of energy on Friday night.”
The Cardinals will look to get back on the right track with SUNYAC games this weekend at Morrisville on Friday at 7 p.m. and defending conference tournament champion Cortland on Saturday at 5 p.m.
CANTON 2
PLATTSBURGH 0
Moffat said earlier in the week how important it was for the Cardinals to do all the little things in order to be successful.
But it was Canton (6-12-1, 4-5) that did the little things while putting together a dominating performance in an outcome that wasn’t expected by many.
Plattsburgh skated to a 7-1 win earlier in the season in Canton.
The Roos got an even-strength goal from Reilly McKinnon at 6:15 of the second period and a short-handed goal from Jackson Drysdale at 11:19 to account for all the scoring in the game.
Nate Hopkins recorded the shutout with 23 saves.
“We had no energy in the game,” Moffat said. “We didn’t play with any desperation in treating it like it was a playoff game. They did and wanted it more.
“It was surprising because we had a great week of practice. We must have left it all in practice earlier in the day. I just don’t know. They blocked 19 shots to our seven and dominated us in every way.”
OSWEGO 5
PLATTSBURGH 3
The Cardinals gave a much better effort the following night against their longtime SUNYAC rivals.
All three Plattsburgh goals came on the power play, with Tyler Ramm netting two and Shane Bondy one.
The Cardinals held a 2-0 lead after one, the Lakers (11-6-3, 6-2-1) tied it with two goals in the second and Plattsburgh regained the lead early in the third.
But Oswego scored the final three goals of the game, with Brandon Cohen’s second goal of the game, coming at 5:54 of the third, putting the Lakers ahead to stay.
The Lakers outscored the Cardinals, 4-0, with the teams skating 5-aside in the penalty-filled game. Oswego was whistled for 11 penalties and Plattsburgh seven.
“We played pretty well,” Moffat said. “But we took two really bad penalties when we were skating five-on-three. We need to be smarter than that, and it could have been a turning point in the game. Our margin of error in games is slim.
“Both teams played pretty well defensively, blocking shots. The shot totals for both teams were pretty low in a game with numerous penalties. One of their goals took a bad bounce off the boards and right to their player.”
—
Friday
Canton 2, Plattsburgh 0
Can 0 2 0 — 2
PSU 0 0 0 — 0
Second period- 1, Can, McKinnon (Morrow, Seamans), 6:15. 2, Can, Drysdale shg (Fryfogle, Howard), 11:19.
Shots on goal- Canton, 26-23.
Saves- Hopkins, Can, 23. Hearne, PSU, 24.
Saturday
Oswego 5, Plattsburgh 3
Osw 0 2 3 — 5
PSU 2 0 1 — 3
First period- 1, PSU, Ramm ppg (Weaver-Vitale, Bellina), 3:51. 2, PSU, Bondy ppg (Cole, Sacratini), 17:22.
Second period- 3, Osw, McQuade, 6:38. 4, Osw, Cohen ppg (Paone, Horacek), 14:03.
Third period- 5, PSU, Ramm ppg (Bellina, Catron), 2:57. 6, Osw, Colabufo (Simpson, Balah), 4:23. 7, Osw, Cohen (Simrad, Burke), 5:54. 8, Osw, McQuade (Vassallo), 10:07.
Shots on goal- 23-all.
Saves- Milberg, Osw, 20. Hearne, PSU, 18.