By Rosie Sculco
After a thrilling two-game weekend and a heartfelt senior night, the Plattsburgh Cardinals men’s hockey team (12-10-1, 6-6) is set to gear up one more team before heading into playoffs.
The Cardinals came out on top 5-4 in overtime against the Buffalo State Bengals (13-10, 7-5) at home on Feb. 14. They followed that win with another one against the Fredonia Blue Devils (7-17, 5-8), ending 4-3 for a senior night victory on Feb. 15.
Competing in the playoffs is a sealed deal, but seeding has not yet been determined, making the last game of the regular season crucial for the Cards.
“If we can win on Friday, that gives us another opportunity to play at home the following Wednesday. It is important to play at home for a number of reasons, and we want to go into the playoffs on a high note,” said head coach Steve Moffat.
BUFFALO
Last year, Buffalo State finished 4-10-2 in conference play. Since then, the Bengals have made a push, sitting right above the Cards in third place in the SUNYAC rankings.
This was a gritty battle early on as both teams earned opportunities to score. Midway through the first period, first-year student Patrick Cole lit the lamp after an assist from junior Jake Sacratini, marking his eighth of the season.
Junior Brannon Butler quickly found the back of the net for his third goal of the season in the second period.
Shortly after, first-year student Tyler Ramm scored for his eighth goal of the season and fourth in four games putting the Cards up 3-0 at the 9:15 mark in the second period.
“It’s always good to get ahead early in the game to build that initial momentum both on the ice and the energy in the crowd,” wrote first year Patrick Cole in a text.
The Bengals were far from defeated. Obtaining a penalty and earning a power play goal that put them right back in the game with little over five minutes left in the second period.
Buffalo State then added another goal with less than ten seconds left in the second period, making it a 3-2 Plattsburgh lead heading into the third and final period of regulation.
The Cards remained composed and continued to execute as a team.
“It’s just belief in each other and having trust in each other as players, your linemates, as a group and trust within the coaches that we can get it done,” said Moffat
No goals were scored for the majority of the third period. As the game moved past the two-minute mark, the Bengals pulled their goalie to utilize an extra skater, and senior Jake Lanyi scored in an empty net assisted by first-year student Shane Bondy.
The Bengals continued to fight, scoring with little over a minute to go, only trailing by a goal. The decision to pull the goalie paid off as Buffalo State tied the game with less than ten seconds left.
“We have a very tight group of guys that know not to get discouraged and to work even harder to get the result we’re looking for,” Cole said.
Heading into overtime with a score of 4-4, the two teams would battle for the outcome of this game. While the Bengals continued to battle, they would fall short in front of the standout Goalie for the Cards, senior Jacob Hearne, who stopped a would-be shot attempt.
“In overtime, he kept us in the game and enabled us to have a chance to win,” said head coach Steve Moffat.
Graduate Student Kevin Weaver-Vitale broke away into the offensive zone, scoring the overtime winner, giving Plattsburgh high spirits and an extra point in the SUNYAC standings.
“Getting the win in the end was a very rewarding feeling knowing we didn’t get down when the game was tied up late in the third,” Cole said.
FREDONIA
The Blue Devils fell short of the playoffs for the second year in a row, landing seventh in the SUNYAC standings.
While playoff hopes are silenced with elimination present, the motivation to finish strong is not. Fredonia put up a battle against the Cards, ultimately losing 4-3.
The Cardinals outshot the Blue Devils 41-38 on the night and went 1-2, while Fredonia went 1-4 on the power play.
“We were all shooting, we were all fighting, and we were all making an impact on this game,” said first-year Tyler Ramm.
Fredonia scored early on at 9:17 in the first period, but their lead would not last for long as the Cards went on the power play. Grad-student Kevin Weaver-Vitale scored on a deep shot, tying the game at 12:33 with an assist from Junior Jake Sacratini and a secondary assist from sophomore Vlad Pshenichnikov.
A score of 1-1 was upheld throughout the rest of the first period and halfway through the second
until the Blue Devils regained the lead, scoring at 11:14 of the second period.
The beginning of a standout performance from first-year Tyler Ramm sparked with under 40 seconds left before entering the final period of regulation as he scored on an undefended net with the goalie out of position.
In the third period, Fredonia’s Gavin Bloder Gave his team back the lead with his second goal of the game.
First-year Blake Hall would attract his first career goal, taking back the lead, ultimately creating the momentum for the rest of the game. Sophomore Simon Singher picked up his first points of the season on Hall’s goal with the secondary assist.
Shortly after, Ramm was in a two-on-one situation and buried a shot past Fredonia’s goalie for his second goal of the game, giving the Cards a 4-3 lead with 9:04 to go in the final regulation period.
“I can’t even describe it, but it’s a great feeling, just making sure those boys are happy — It was great,” said Ramm
With this win, the Cardinals clinched a SUNYAC playoff berth and honored six seniors for their careers.
SENIOR NIGHT
After the game, Jagger Benson, Jacob Hearne, Jake Lanyi, Ryan Poorman, Jack Ring and Eli Shiller were among the seniors who were celebrated for their careers with the Cardinals.
“They just inspire all of us with their work ethic mostly and their will to not quit and keep going,” Ramm said. “They set a foundation for us to work hard, and we’ve had our downs, but the ups feel way better.”
Six seniors as well as one graduate student have shaped the dynamic of the Cardinal’s hockey team with their leadership qualities, dedication, and experience which is crucial as they head into their final game of the season and through to playoffs.
“They have to be the guys that are setting the example, they are the seniors, they are the leaders, we have Kevin Weaver-Vitale who is not in that group necessarily, but he is a leader,” said Moffat.
After this year, there will no longer be student-athletes affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2024-2025 season will also conclude the fifth year of COVID players.
The Cardinals will gear up one more time during the regular season when they face off the
Potsdam Bears on the road on Friday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m.
“A home playoff game is on the line Friday night and there’s no better place to play than at the Ronnie B, so our best effort will be on the ice Friday,” said Cole.
With a win, the Cards will earn a home playoff game on Wednesday, Feb. 26.
Spirits are high as the Cards look to go all of the way after falling short last year to Cortland in the SUNYAC championship game.
“They did a really nice job this weekend, but we’re going to need more of that going forward,” said Moffat
