The SUNY Plattsburgh men’s hockey team tied against Fredonia and topped Buffalo State 2-0 over the week.
During the match against the Devils, the Cardinals hosted Military Appreciation Night in recognition of Veteran’s Day. Assemblyman Billy Jones and Plattsburgh State Athletics partnered up for the second consecutive year to honor the veterans.
Bob Brooks, a World War II Navy veteran, sang the National Anthem before the game started.
Former World War II Army Nurse Dorothy Leclair and Jones then dropped the puck to start the game against the Devils. Jones also purchased over 50 tickets for the veterans to enjoy the game.
“Anytime we can give thanks to our veterans here in town and support them with Military Appreciation Night is huge for us,” head coach Stephen Moffat said. “Anytime we can give back to the community and just say thanks to the people that have served and protected us.”
During the first intermission, veteran Larry Ebere sang his rendition of “More Than A Name On A Wall.”
Veterans were seated in section O to ensure they have the best view of the game for the night.
Senior forward Ryan Kuhn said it was important to pay their respects to the veterans as he believes their sacrifices makes it possible for the team to play hockey and attend college.
The Devils and the Cards each scored a point in the first period at 13:52 and 16:35, respectively. Both teams were not able to score any points for the second and third periods. However, the Cards were more aggressive on offense than the Devils as they outshot them 46-25.
“We’re struggling a bit to score goals right now, so we try to focus on that in practice, getting the pucks to better scoring areas,” Kuhn said.
Kuhn said the team was stressed to do well and score in games. He said there are times they might overthink and miss chances to score goals.
Therefore, he and the team are going back to the basics and putting in extra effort to shooting pucks and try to get rebounds.
Junior goaltender Jimmy Poreda, who recorded 24 saves in the night, was awarded PrestoSports Men’s Ice Hockey Goaltender of the Week by the SUNYAC for the second week in a row.
In the game against the Bengals, after a scoreless first period, junior forward Joe Drabin and junior forward Rich McCartney each scored a goal at 9:10 and 13:50, respectively in the second period.
Both teams were not able to score any points in the third period and the game ended with the Cards’ victory with the score of 2-0.
“We’re not satisfied, definitely not satisfied right now,” Kuhn said. “We got to move forward, those games are done.”
Poreda also helped make the two-goal lead stand as he recorded a season-high 39 saves for his first shutout of the season.
“The nice thing about the weekend was we only gave up one goal, so [it shows] we played pretty well defensively,” Moffat said.
SUNY Plattsburgh has been practicing to prepare for the game with SUNY Potsdam tonight.
He said the team has not been able to score in front of its opponents net yet this season, so the team is working on that.
Moffat said the team will have to manage the puck well, play smart defensively and cash in when they get opportunities. .
“Trying to win this game [against Potsdam] is the battle of North Country and it’s a big rivalry for us,” Moffat said.
