Potsdam, N.Y.—Three times the SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (3-8) battled back from a one-goal deficit to tie Manhattanville (7-3-1). However a power-play goal and a shorthanded tally in third period made the difference as the tenth-ranked Valiants went on to the 5-3 victory. Senior forwards Fraser Smith (Fonthill, Ontario/Oakville Blades), Colin MacLennan (Whitby, Ontario/Ajax Attack), and Kevin MacLellan (Kensington, Prince Edward Island/Summerside Capitals) each scored for the Bears (3-8).

Manhattanville was very physical early in the first period and was able to sustain some pressure. The pressure resulted in a goal from Valiant freshman Marc Zanoni (Lethbridge, Alberta/Calgary Canucks) on a shot from the point just 3:14 into the contest. Potsdam’s offense came alive soon after and created several scoring chances. At 5:52 Smith scored on a shot from the right side of the crease. Junior forward Sy Nutkevitch (Montreal, Quebec/Cornwall Colts) and freshman defenseman Kevin Carpenter (Parker, Colo./Notre Dame Hounds) assisted on the goal. Both defenses tightened up and blocked many shots for the rest of the period.

The two teams traded goals throughout the second period. Freshman forward Brian Elser (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./Bay State Breakers) roofed a pass from the corner to give Manhattanville a 2-1 lead 6:27 into the second stanza. After killing off a Valiant 5-3 advantage a few minutes later, the Bears received one of their own and made it count. At 11:49, freshman Nick Avgerinos (Bolton, Ontario/Georgetown Raiders) and Brandon Couto (Bowmanville, Ontario/Cobourg Cougars) set up MacLennan to knot the score at two. Two minutes later Manhattanville sophomore forward Brendan Turner (Tisdale, Saskatchewan/Lloydminster Bobcats) fired a shot from the blue line that evaded screened Potsdam junior goalie Trevor O’Neill (Bobcaygeon, Ontario/Stouffville Spirit) for a 3-2 advantage. At 17:46, MacLennan and Couto set up MacLellan for the Bears third and final goal. Shortly after the goal Valiant senior goaltender Sergiy Sorokolat (Karkiv, Ukraine/South Kent School) was replaced with junior goaltender Pierre-Olivier Lemieux (Rimouski, Quebec/Neepawa Natives).

Five penalties in the third period put the Bears on the defensive. At the 6:22 mark, freshman forward Luc VanNatter (Fort Erie, Ontario/Aurora Tigers) tipped a shot past O’Neill for the Valiants’ lone power-play goal. Almost 10 minutes later Manhattanville got the back breaker as junior forward Evan Michalchuk (Edmonton, Alberta/Salmon Arm Silverbacks) poked the puck off the stick of a Bear and took it the length of the ice for a shorthanded goal.

Lemieux earned the win with eight saves in the final 21:22, while Sorokolat stopped 12 shots in the in the first 38:38. O’Neill made 24 saves for Potsdam. The Bears were 2-5 on the power play and Manhattanville finished 1-8.

Potsdam Head Coach Chris Bernard said undisciplined play late in the game really hurt the Bears.

“Manhattanville is a very good hockey team, but if we played 60 minutes we could beat that team,” said Bernard. “We took undisciplined penalties and that ended up being the difference in the game. There’s no way that you can play 10 minutes in a period shorthanded against the tenth-ranked team in the country and not pay the price for it. And we did.”

Potsdam wraps up its eight-game homestand and the 2010 portion of its schedule with one more crack at the Valiants tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.