MORRISVILLE — You wouldn’t think Plattsburgh State’s goalie would be a key player in game in which the Cardinals won 7-1 and owned the shots 56-16.
But Plattsburgh coach Bob Emery said Mathieu Cadieux made the difference in the second period Friday, and then the Cardinals broke open the game in the third for a SUNY Athletic Conference men’s hockey victory over Morrisville.
“We had another bad second period, and if it wasn’t for our goalie I think things would’ve have been different heading into the third period,” Emery said. “We were very fortunate that it was 3-1 after two periods. We played well in the first period, played well in the third, but we had a bad second period.”
Cadieux made 15 saves — 10 in the second period — and Alex Jensen led Plattsburgh offensively with a goal and two assists. The Cardinals (5-0-1, 5-0-1 SUNYAC) and Mustangs (1-5-1, 1-5-1) will match up again tonight.
As has been the trend this season, the Cardinals got off to a hot start and then allowed their opponent to push back in second period. Dillan Fox and Jensen scored less than two minutes apart, and Luke Baleshta’s short-handed tally late in the first gave Plattsburgh a 3-0 lead.
The Mustangs answered with a short-handed goal by Josh Baker early in the second and put 11 shots on goal in the period after just four in the opening frame.
“I was just happy to get out of the second period,” Emery said. “They took it to us. They had some great chances. But with a goalie like Chewy there for you, like one of the assistant coaches said, it masks everything. He can mask all of our mistakes.”
Emery added that after taking the early lead, the Cardinals stopped focusing on defense first and started turning the puck over.
The floodgates opened in the third.
Ryan Farnan put their lead back to three at 8:17 of the third, and Connor Gorman added another goal just over four minutes later. Mark Constantine and Adam Scuglia also scored before the period ended.
“In the third period we were able to get that three-goal lead back, and I think that took the wind out of Morrisville’s sails,” Emery said.
Morrisville took 12 penalties in the third period, including bench penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct and game misconduct. The Mustangs totaled 38 penalty minutes.
Farnan and Scuglia both got into the scoring column after lengthy droughts. Scuglia, who played sparingly the last two seasons, scored a goal for the first time since late 2011, while Farnan found the net for the first time since early 2012. Farnan also earned an assist Friday.
Defenseman Barry Roytman had two helpers for Plattsburgh, and Fox also finished the night with two points.
Christopher Azzano turned away 49 shots for the Mustangs.
—
Plattsburgh 7, Morrisville 1
Plattsburgh 3 0 4 — 7
Morrisville 0 1 0 — 1
First period- 1, PSU, Fox (A. Jensen), 7:12. 2, PSU, A. Jensen (Roytman, Kaye), 9:09. 3, PSU, Baleshta (A. Jensen), 18:54 (sh). Penalties: Scuglia, PSU (checking from behind), 18:44.
Second period- 4, Mor, Baker (Avery), 2:24 (sh). Penalties: Beer, Mor (elbowing), 1:47. Huizenga, Mor (interference), 3:15. Chaput, Mor (tripping), 5:58. Radisa, PSU (boarding), 9:34. Roytman, PSU (interference), 11:57.
Third period- 5, PSU, Farnan, 8:17. 6, PSU, Gorman (Roytman), 12:24. 7, PSU, Constantine (Fox), 18:39 (pp). 8, PSU, Scuglia (Farnan), 19:12 (pp). Penalties: Marcuz, Mor (hooking), 4:07. Scherer, Mor (tripping), 5:01. Carvalho, Mor (roughing), 11:41. Botting, PSU (roughing), 11:41. Bench, Mor (unsportsmanlike conduct), 12:24. Beer, Mor (roughing), 14:25. Santino, Mor (hitting after the whistle), 16:42. Roytman, PSU (roughing), 16:42. Doyle, Mor (elbowing), 17:16. Bench, Mor(Game Misconduct), 17:16. Morrello, Mor (slashing), 18:16. Ftoma, Mor (cross-checking), 18:50. Santino, Mor (checking from behind), 19:37. Doyle, Mor (roughing), 19:37.
Shots on goal:
Plattsburgh 15 13 28 — 56
Morrisville 4 11 1 — 16
Goaltenders (shots-saves): Cadieux, PSU, 16-15. Azzano, Mor, 56-49. Rasmussen, Mor, 0-0.
Power plays (goals-opportunities): Plattsburgh 2-11, Morrisville 0-3.
Attendance: 450.
