POTSDAM, N.Y. – The SUNY Potsdam men's hockey team (2-12-1) took on the Neumann University Knights (4-9) in the first game of a back-to-back weekend matchup on Friday night. The Bears scored early and dominated the play, outshooting the Knights 53-28, but were unable to maintain their early lead, falling by a final score of 5-3.

The Bears jumped out to a quick start Friday evening, scoring 2 goals in the opening 5 minutes of play. The Bears first goal of the night came just 3:56 into the period from senior captain Vincent Guimond (Sorel-Tracey, Quebec/Gloucester Rangers) as he caused a turnover in the corner of the offensive zone and drove to the net, slipping the puck past the Knights goaltender. Less than a minute later, sophomore forward Rob Clerc (Wappinger Falls, N.Y./Oswego State) slammed home a rebound off of a point shot by senior captain Tyler Young (Massena, N.Y./Kanata Lasers). Junior defenseman Jon Venter (Guilford, Conn./Syracuse Stars) gathered the second assist on the goal. Following the Bears second goal, the Knights offense woke up as they cut the lead in half on a power play goal with 3:49 left to play in the period. Danny Cangelosi redirected a point shot from Evan Hoey to beat Bears freshman goalie Connor Green (Newport Richey, Fla./Tampa Bay Juniors). Looking to even the score before the intermission, Neumann put on the pressure. The Knights scored the equalizer less than a minute later as Mario Tropea gained control of the puck in the corner, shook the Bears defenders at the top of the right circle and fired the puck past Green. The score was deadlocked at two at the end of the first. 

The second period featured even play, with quality scoring chances at both ends. The only tally of the period was recorded by Cangelosi for his second goal of the night, again coming on the power-play. The Knights fired a shot from the slot that missed the net, but the rebound bounced back in front directly onto Cangelosi's stick for the easy poke in. The Knights took the 3-2 lead into the third period.

The Bears came out flying in the final stanza, searching for the equalizer. As time wound down, it seemed as though the Bears might not be able to solve the Knights netminder. However, with 7:40 remaining in the period the Bears found themselves on a 2-on-1 break, with Guimond finishing on a beautiful cross-ice pass from sophomore forward Tom Terranova (Middletown, N.J./Syracuse Stars). Senior captain Bryce Ferrell (Buffalo, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) also recorded an assist on the play. Just as it seemed the momentum might start to swing the Bears way, the Knights rallied to regain their lead just 23 seconds later. The Knights capitalized on a 2-on-1 opportunity of their own, as Tommy Dougherty fed the puck up the ice to Tropea who found Barry Kneedler for the backdoor finish. The Knights capped off the scoring with one final tally coming at the 17:49 mark on a goal by Glenn Florczak. 

Neumann goalie Kyle Pantelone stopped 50 shots in net for the Knights, earning him the victory. Green finished with 23 saves in net for the Bears. Neumann was 2-2 on the power play, Potsdam was 0-6. 

The two teams face off again tomorrow at 6:00 pm.