Plattsburgh Sports Information Department
OSWEGO, N.Y. – Ryan Hogg (Duncan, British Columbia/Islanders Hockey Club) tallied his second goal of the game in overtime, sending the third-seeded and sixth-ranked Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team to the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championship game with a 3-2 win over Oswego State. The third-seeded Cardinals will host the fourth-seeded Cortland Red Dragons on Saturday, March 2 at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena as Cortland upset the top-seeded Geneseo Knights on the road Saturday.
The Plattsburgh State Cardinals are ranked No. 6 in the USCHO.com Division III Top-15 Poll.
Hogg tallied two goals, after having just one all season, to lead the Cardinal offense while Jack Ring (Hingham, Mass./Northeast Generals) scored his first goal of the season to break open the scoring for Plattsburgh in the second period. Kevin Weaver-Vitale (Toronto, Ontario/Markham Royals) had two assists for the Cards, while Jacob Hearne (Ennismore, Ontario/Toronto Jr. Canadiens) made a season-high 35 saves for the win in net. Ryan Butler (Kelowna, British Columbia/Adrian) and Colin Callanan (Stony Point, N.Y./New York Apple Core) each tallied assists for the Cards in the win.
The game on special teams was won by Oswego State, as the Lakers were 2-3 with the extra man and killed all three Plattsburgh power plays. Oswego also won the shot battle, just the second time the Cardinals have been outshot, 37-25 over the 63-plus minutes of play.
Plattsburgh State improves to 21-4-2 and will host the SUNYAC Championship game on Saturday, March 2 as they take on the fourth-seeded Cortland Red Dragons. Oswego State concludes their season, falling to 16-9-1.
The game began on Oswego State's terms as they won the loose puck time and time again, forechecking the Cardinals, and applying strong pressure to Plattsburgh as they tried to lead the defensive zone. This allowed them to hold Plattsburgh to just seven shots each in the first two periods and kept them off the board in the first period. The Lakers broke the scoreless tie at the 10:57 mark, as they went on the power-play and scored a second before the advantage expired off the stick of Tyler Flack.
With a 1-0 game in the second period, Plattsburgh State put up a stronger attack offensively and tied the game at the 3:19 mark of the second stanza. After a Cardinal turnover in the Laker's defensive zone, a pass up the ice from Oswego was intercepted by Ring, where he fired off a shot from just in front of the blue line that snuck past the goalie for the score. The goal was Ring's first since December 3, 2022, in a loss against Potsdam.
The 1-1 stalemate held through the remainder of the second period, as each team killed a power-play opportunity for the other to keep the score tied.
In the third period, the Cardinals put up their best offensive attack taking nine shots as they looked to take the lead. The Cards got what they were looking for at the 13:22 mark of the period, as a Hogg shot from just inside the point snuck past the Laker's netminder's glove to give Plattsburgh the lead.
Down one, Oswego State did not relent, as they once again went on the power-play and scored, with a one-timer from Shane Bull finding its way past Hearne. Over the final two-and-a-half minutes, neither team could generate the look they needed, sending the game into overtime.
Playing in their third straight overtime game, the Cardinals did what they had in the two previous contests, finding an offensive rhythm and getting shots on target. At the 3:15 mark, Hogg nailed the game-winner on another deep shot from the point, as the puck snuck through the five-hole to keep the Cardinal's chances for a championship repeat alive.
Cal Schell made 22 saves in net for Oswego State, while Rocco Andreacchi notched an assist and Tristan Francis tallied two.
