FREDONIA, N.Y. – The SUNY Potsdam men's hockey team (6-15-2, 5-8-2 SUNYAC) finished up their weekend road trip against SUNY Fredonia (5-9-7, 2-7-3 SUNYAC) on Saturday night, battling to a 4-4 tie with the Blue Devils.
 
The first period featured a scoreless contest with play remaining even for much of the period. The Bears were able to successfully kill off their only penalty of the period, allowing only 3 shots on the Blue Devil powerplay. The Bears would outshoot Fredonia 14-7 in the opening stanza; however, the Blue Devils held the slight edge in faceoffs going 12-22. The teams would head to the locker room in a scoreless deadlock.
 
Starting the second period, the Bears came out flying looking to gain a lead. It appeared as though they had done so as senior forward Bryce Ferrell (Buffalo, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) put home a rebound in the Blue Devil crease, however, the referees waived off the goal. On the ensuing faceoff following the no-goal call, the Bears broke onto the score sheet for real. Sophomore forward Thomas Terranova (Middletown, N.J./Syracuse Stars) won the draw to sophomore defenseman Ethan Clarke (Seven Valleys, Pa./New Hampshire Avalanche) who fired a point shot under the legs of Fredonia goaltender Anton Rosen for the 1-0 lead just 3:42 into the period. The Bears would hold the 1-0 lead for just under ten minutes until the Blue Devils tallied their first of the night with 7:29 remaining in the period. Following a scrum in the corner of the Bears defensive zone, Jasper Korican-Barlay came away with the puck behind the net for the Blue Devils. Korican-Barlay fed Tommy Martin at the left side of the Bears net for the one-time shot that found its way past Bears sophomore goalie Michael Paglucca (North Reading, Mass./New Hampshire Avalanche) to tie the game at one. Tyler Riter would tally the second assist on the goal. The score would remain unchanged at the break.
 
In a roller coaster of a third period, both teams would score three goals and force the game into overtime. The Bears would score their second of the night on a goal by Ferrell. Sloppy play by the Blue Devils in their own end would lead to a loose puck in the slot that would be collected by senior forward Tyler Young (Massena, N.Y./Kanata Lasers). Young would find Ferrell waiting unmarked at the back door for the tap in goal exactly four minutes into the period. The Blue Devils would respond just 1:28 later as Victor Tracy got behind the Potsdam defense and was fed for the breakaway opportunity by Max Blitz, beating Paglucca to tie the game at two. Jacob Haynes would also assist on the goal. Less than a minute later, the Bears would regain their lead on a goal by sophomore forward Devin Panzeca (Lake Zurich, Ill./East Coast Wizards). Another careless giveaway by the Blue Devils in their own end led to the Potsdam goal as junior forward Paul Michura (Chester, N.J./New Jersey Rockets) attacked the net, feeding the puck to Panzeca who buried the puck behind Rosen. The back-and-forth scoring would continue, as a Potsdam turnover at their blue line would lead to the third Fredonia goal just past the halfway mark of the period. Matt Letmanski caused the turnover, and then fed Bryce Witman behind the Bears defenders for the one-on-one chance against Paglucca. Witman beat Paglucca low glove-side to tie the game once again. Fredonia would take their first lead of the night with 5:56 remaining in the period, as Tracy would score his second of the night. Haynes would find Tracy wide open in the slot for the open shot and the 4-3 lead. The Bears continued to battle late in the period, tying the game with just 1:22 remaining as Ferrell threw a puck towards the net from a bad angle that managed to squeak past Rosen. The third period would end with the score tied 4-4.
 
With their playoff hopes once again hanging in the balance and their backs against the wall, the Bears looked to score the overtime winner as they did last night against Buffalo State, but neither team was able to find the net in extra time. The Bears would have to settle for the hard-fought tie as time expired.  
 
The Bears out shot the Blue Devils 39-31 on the night. Paglucca finished with 27 saves in net for the Bears, Rosen made 35 saves at his end of the ice for the Blue Devils.

The Bears host SUNY Plattsburgh next Saturday at 7pm.