POTSDAM, N.Y. – The SUNY Potsdam men's hockey team (3-13-1) played host to cross-town rival SUNY Canton (8-3-2) in a non-conference showdown on Tuesday night, falling to the Roos 5-3. Senior forward Nate Zweig (Binghamton, N.Y./Syracuse Stars), sophomore forward Ben Thompson (Canterbury, Conn./New Hampshire Avalanche), and senior forward Vincent Guimond (Sorel-Tracy, Quebec/Gloucester Rangers) scored for the bears.
 
Both teams took the ice looking to strike early in the opening stanza, but it was the Roos who were able to find their way onto the score sheet first. Just 6:43 into the game, Canton beat Bears sophomore goalie Michael Paglucca (North Reading, Mass./New Hampshire Avalanche) on a point shot by Kyler Matthews that found its way through traffic. The Bears wasted no time bouncing back however, as just over two minutes later Zweig found the net following a face off win by junior forward Brett Horn (Cary, N.C./Humboldt Broncos). Junior forward Paul Michura (Chester, N.J./New Jersey Rockets) also recorded an assist on the play. As play carried on, the Bears found themselves killing off a 5-on-3 to close out the first period. Before time expired in the period, the Roos got their second goal of the night on the power play on a shot from the point by Jesse Farabee that hit the left post and made its way into the net. The Roos would take the 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
 
After killing off the remaining penalty time to start the second period, the Bears looked to get back on the attack. Potsdam generated a few offensive chances in the following minutes, but a defensive lapse led to the Roos third goal. Farabee was left wide open in front of the Bears net while the puck was battled for in the corner and made no mistake when it came his way, burying his second goal of the game. Matthews and Jake Mayette recorded the assists on the goal. Finding themselves down by two and in need of an offensive burst to get back in the game, the Bears earned a power play opportunity and made the most of it. Junior defenseman Jon Venter (Guilford, Conn./Syracuse Stars) fed senior Bryce Ferrell (Buffalo, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) in the corner, who walked across the goal line and found Thompson parked in front of the net. Thompson slammed home the sauce pass from Ferrell, making it 3-2. The score would remain unchanged at the break.
 
The Bears began the period on the penalty kill once again but were unable to escape without conceding a goal as they did in the second. Matthews intentionally shot the puck wide of the Potsdam net from the high slot, and Matthew Headland tucked home the rebound off the boards behind Paglucca for the two-goal lead. Farabee was credited with the second assist on the play. The Bears continued to battle as they forced Michael Cerasuolo to make difficult saves in net for the Roos to maintain the lead. The Bears finally solved the Canton netminder at the 9:11 mark of the third with a nifty play. Sophomore forward Rob Clerc (Wappinger Falls, N.Y./Oswego State) gained the Canton zone and gave a drop pass to junior defenseman Joseph Richardson (Palm Beach, Fla./PAL Islanders) who fired a shot on Cerasuolo. A healthy rebound kicked out off the initial shot, leaving the Roos goaltender out of position. Guimond fired the puck into the abandoned net to get the Bears within one. Pushing to get the tying goal, the Bears were whistled for two penalties which once again resulted in a 5-on-3 power play for Canton. After multiple cross ice passes by the Roos, Paglucca made an incredible save, going post-to-post to help kill of the penalties and keep the Bears within striking distance. Despite the strong play of Paglucca, the Bears would inch no closer as the Roos deposited an empty netter to seal the game 5-3 in the final seconds.
 
Cerasuolo made 40 saves in net for the Roos, while Paglucca stopped 28 shots for the Bears.
 
The Bears are off until they take the ice on January 24th as they head to Geneseo for a SUNYAC matchup at 7 pm.