PLATTSBURGH — The Plattsburgh State men’s hockey team has been living dangerously close to the edge the past few weeks.
Saturday night, it finally caught up with the Cardinals.
Anthony Bernardo’s goal at 9:13 of overtime gave fourth-seeded Cortland a 3-2 victory over third-seeded Plattsburgh in the SUNYAC Tournament championship game in front of a packed house at the Stafford Ice Arena.
It was the fourth overtime game in a row for the Cardinals (21-5-2), including 3-2 wins over sixth-seeded Potsdam in the quarterfinals and at second-seeded Oswego in the semifinals.
“I’m having trouble finding the right words,” Plattsburgh head coach Steve Moffat said. “Our guys worked hard, just like they have all season.
“This one really hurts — and it’s going to hurt for a while.”
As a result, Cortland (18-8-2) earns an automatic spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament. It marks the first-ever SUNYAC title for the Red Dragons and their first-ever trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The Red Dragons, before the win over the Cardinals, had skated past fifth-seeded Brockport in the quarterfinals at home and knocked off top-seeded Geneseo in the semifinals on the road.
Saturday’s game-winner came when there was a defensive mix-up in the Plattsburgh end and the puck went to Bernardo, who slipped it low past Cardinals’ netminder Jacob Hearne.
“I give Cortland credit, they came out with some jump in the overtime,” Moffat said. “We were pinned in our end on a couple of shifts. When you’re stuck in your defensive zone, bad things happen.”
The Cardinals needed to some late-game heroics just to get to overtime.
The Red Dragons took a 2-1 lead with 16:22 gone in the third period when Domenic Settimo won a faceoff in the Plattsburgh end and Nate Berke one-timed a shot into the net.
Plattsburgh would then pull Hearne for an extra attacker and Ryan Bonfield put a rebound past Cortland goalie Jack Riedell with just 31 seconds left in regulation. Bennett Stockdale and Tio D’Addario assisted on the play.
The Cardinals, however, were unable to ride that momentum and get the deciding goal in overtime.
The game was scoreless through the first period before Cortland grabbed a 1-0 advantage at 11:28 of the second stanza on Colby Seitz’s goal when Plattsburgh was being called for a delayed penalty at the time.
“We had a couple of defensive breakdowns that led to them scoring goals,” Moffat said.
But the Cardinals drew even just 58 seconds into the second period on Bonfield’s first of two goals in the game, a power-play marker. Paul Bryer and Luk Jirousek added assists.
The fifth-ranked Cardinals finished with a 43-34 advantage in shots on goal. Riedell stopped 41 of 43 shots for Cortland and Hearne 31 of 34 for Plattsburgh. Both made some outstanding saves during the contest.
The loss ended the Cardinals’ 2023-24 season.
The NCAA Division III Tournament pairings were announced on Monday and Plattsburgh, as expected, was left out of an at-large bid despite a 21-5-2 overall record.
Geneseo was selected as an at-large team in the tournament to join Cortland in the field.
“I’m happy with the leadership we’ve had this season,” Moffat said. “Right down the list.
“It’s been a pleasure to coach these players.”
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Cortland 3, Plattsburgh 2, OT
Cort 0 1 1 1 — 3
PSU 0 0 2 0 — 2
Second period- 1, Cort, Seitz (Berke, Settimo), 11:28.
Third period- 2, PSU, Bonfield ppg (Bryer, Jirousek), :58. 3, Cort, Berke (Settimo), 16:22. 4, PSU, Bonfield (Stockdale, D’Addario), 19:29.
Overtime- 5, Cort, Bernardo (Knowlton, Hildreth), 9:13.
Shots on goal- Plattsburgh, 43-34.
Saves- Riedell, Cort, 41. Hearne, PSU, 31.