Plattsburgh Sends Buffalo State Home With 4-2 Loss

2010.02.12 Plattsburgh squares off against Buffalo StateTonight's NCAA Division III men's ice hockey matchup between Plattsburgh State and Buffalo State had all the makings of a physical and demanding battle. With Buffalo State averaging eighteen (18) minutes or so in the penalty box per game - and the recent disqualification from post-season play - all indications were that the 6-15-1 Bengals would be out for blood.

Both teams played a fairly respectable first period until Buffalo State's Sean Murray earned a five (5) minute major and ten (10) minute game misconduct penalty for hitting from behind at the 13:13 mark. 

Of course, what home game at the Stafford Arena would be complete without a scoreboard malfunction?  Tonight would not disappoint - as the boards went dark (again) as the penalty was assessed.  Despite the one man advantage, Plattsburgh simply could not generate any meaningful offense or control.  Buffalo managed to kill off the penalty; with momentum starting to swing in their general direction. Patience eventually worked in the Cards' favor, though, when Kyle Kudroch (with the assist of Jared Docking and Cody Adams) put the Cards up 1-0 at 18:33.  Forty-one (41) seconds later, Docking would set Kudroch up for another great goal (19:14) - sending Plattsburgh out to a solid 2-0 lead at the first intermission.  

The second period found both squads squaring off with an even style of play. At 4:11, Buffalo State's D'Arcy Thomas managed to blast the black biscuit past Cardinal goaltender Ryan Williams (assisted by Nick Petriello and Ryan Ramage) to pull the Bengals within one.  It remained fairly even throughout the period until Plattsburgh's Ryan Corry (courtesy of Ian DeLong and Vick Schlueter) put the Cards up 3-1 at 15:42.

Plattsburgh had this game seemingly in the bag until goaltender Ryan Williams made a poor call in the third period in an attempt to play the puck.  As he was rocked back on his skates and dancing on the ice, Buffalo State was quick to capitalize on the amateurish flub.  Justin Knee (assisted by Trevor McKinney and Shareef Labreche) sent the power play goal into the net at 12:05. This miscue was costly to the Cardinal momentum; however the Cards managed to retain their focus (and Williams played noticeably closer to the cage).  Buffalo State put up a valiant effort, and as the goalie was pulled late in the third period it could have been anyone's game...at least, until Plattsburgh's Jared Docking sent the red and white's fourth goal of the night (unassisted at 19:17) into an empty net.

Final thoughts - Plattsburgh has stepped it up a notch compared to their last effort. I was a bit surprised to see the special teams were unable to capitalize on the five (5) minute major - and even more surprised to see the entire power play unit go 0 for 5 on the night.  Having said that, it was a great night to be a Cardinal fan.  Although I had to fight the urge to pull out my hair when that second goal went in, Plattsburgh maintained a very controlled level of play - firing thirty-six (36) shots on goal compared to Buffalo's seventeen (17).  Go Cards!