PLATTSBURGH — The Plattsburgh State men’s hockey team tested the patience of their head coach at times on Friday and Saturday.
Still, the Cardinals (6-5-1) came within 1:38 of two wins on a rare home and away non-conference weekend.
Plattsburgh skated to a 3-0 home victory over Keene State on Friday night at the Stafford Ice Arena and then hit the road for Connecticut on Saturday in a 2-2 tie at Wesleyan University in overtime.
The Cardinals held a 2-1 lead in the late going at Wesleyan before Patrick Morrissey’s power-play goal at 18:22 of the third period pulled the hosts into a 2-all tie, forcing overtime.
PLATTSBURGH 3
KEENE STATE 0
Colin Callanan’s goal midway through the first period put the Cardinals ahead to stay.
Aaron Catron, who had a strong weekend, scored a power-play goal in the second period and then added an empty-net goal with 53 seconds left in regulation.
Jacob Hearne was a standout in net for the Cardinals, stopping all 26 shots that came his way.
“We played an okay first period,” Plattsburgh head coach Steve Moffat said. “We led, 1-0, and held something like a 13-3 edge in shots on goal at the time. The guys saw that and took their foot off the gas, and it ended up not being easy for us.
“We were lucky to be ahead, 2-0, after two. Hearne was outstanding in goal for us. I was not happy at all with our second period and Hearne kept us in it.”
Plattsburgh ended up with a 35-26 shot advantage.
“A turning point came early in the third period when we killed off a penalty in the first five minutes,” Moffat said. “After that, we knuckled down for the final 15 minutes and played pretty well the rest of the way.
“I knew and said going in that Keene State wasn’t your typical first-year NCAA program. They have been successful a long time on a club level.”
PLATTSBURGH 2
WESLEYAN 2, OT
The Cardinals grabbed a 2-1 lead at 11:20 of the third period when Luk Jirousek scored a power-play goal on Plattsburgh’s lone power play of the game.
But with time winding down and Wesleyan having pulled its goalie, Morrissey tallied a power-play goal to force overtime.
The Cardinals were called for a hooking penalty in the offensive zone with 2:13 left in regulation and Wesleyan took advantage.
“We took a bad penalty that ended up giving them a 6-on-4,” Moffat said.
Lonan Bulger scored late in the first period to give Plattsburgh the lead before Owen Sweet pulled Wesleyan into a 1-all tie midway through the second.
Plattsburgh had one power play in the game and Wesleyan had seven. Moffat, however, wasn’t blaming the officials.
“We had talked on Friday about being more disciplined,” he said. “It turned out to be a big deal because of all the bad penalties we took on Saturday. We took penalties behind the play, 200 feet from our own goal and after the whistle.
“We did do a great job killing the penalties until the end.”
Hearne recorded 34 saves on 36 Wesleyan shots.
“We played pretty good hockey at times, especially in a 10-minute span in the second period,” Moffat said. “It was a battle and Wesleyan is a young team that will only get better.
“One of the areas we had to improve on heading into the second semester was cutting down on our goals-against. In our last two games in the first semester, we gave up two goals to Fredonia and one to Buffalo State. We gave up a combined two goals in two games this past weekend. (Goalie coach) Bill Corbo has been doing a great job with our goalies.
“But we still need to find a way to score more goals.”
The Cardinals are home this weekend to host the annual Comfort Inn Winter Classic on Saturday and Sunday.
In Saturday’s opening round, Wilkes skates against the University of New England at 4:30 p.m. and Plattsburgh hosts Wentworth Institute of Technology at 7:30 p.m.
The consolation and championship contests will be held at 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Sunday.
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Friday
Plattsburgh 3, Keene State 0
KS 0 0 0 — 0
PSU 1 1 1 — 3
First period- 1, PSU, Callanan (Jirousek, Ring), 9:38.
Second period- 2, PSU, Catron ppg (Weaver-Vitale, Bellina), 7:38.
Third period- 3, PSU, Catron eng, 19:07.
Shots on goal- PSU, 35-26.
Saves- Skelton, KS, 33. Hearne, PSU, 26.
—
Saturday
Plattsburgh 2, Wesleyan University 2, OT
PSU 1 0 1 0 — 2
WU 0 1 1 0 — 2
First period- 1, PSU, Bulger (Catron, Sacratini), 19:06.
Second period- 2, WU, Sweet, 11:36.
Third period- 3, PSU, Jirousek ppg (Ring, Pshenchnikov), 11:20. 4, WU, Morrissey ppg (Sweet, Davidson), 18:22.
Shots on goal- WU, 36-34.
Saves- Hearne, PHS, 34. McDevitt, WU, 32.