Posted: May 04, 2013
No. 1 ranked Cortland State faced off at Cortland State's Stadium Red on Saturday, May 4th at noon against No. 2 ranked Plattsburgh State for the SUNYAC title. Cortland defeated Plattsburgh 9-2 for the SUNYAC title. Coming into the championship, Cortland was 16-0 overall and Plattsburgh was 14-3.
Just two minutes into the first period, Cortland Red Dragon James Stravarkis (Hillsborough, NJ / Hillsborough) scored the first goal of the game. Plattsburgh fought back and netted one 36 seconds later with 12:24 remaining in the period. Brendan Damm (Montauk / East Hampton) was able to net one when Plattsburgh was man-up. Cortland's Stephen Burke (Yorktown / Yorktown) acquired a penalty with 12.31 remaining for slashing, which gave Plattsburgh the extra-man opportunity.
In the second period, Cortland's Benjamin Dunlavey (Elmira / Corning East) had the first goal of the period. Dunlavey scored with 8:44 remaining, with an assist by Zachary Hopps (Akwesasne / Massena). Luke McNaney (Marcellus / Marcellus) took a shot at 8:22 in the game, but missed. He picked up his missed shot and passed it to Cody Consul (Webster / Webster Schroeder) who scored with 8:20 remaining.
The third period was a successful time for the Red Dragons. At the end of the third period the score was only 3-1. By the end of the third, Cortland captured a lead of 8-1, with five new goals. Cortland's Mike Cantelli (Holmdel, NJ / Holmdel) caused a turnover by Plattsburgh's Ryan Phillips (Levittown / Levittown-Division) at 13:56 in the game. He picked up the ground ball and scored on his own at 13:52. Cortland Red Dragon, Brandon Mulholland (Levittown / MacArthur) scoring with 13:40 remaining in the third. Cortland's Zachary Hopps scored at 8:04 remaining in the third on an assist by Cody Consul. This made the score 6-1. Plattsburgh Cardinal Nick Parrella (Miller Place / Miller Place) was given a penalty for slashing with 5:10 remaining in the third. Cortland Red Dragon, Matt Rakoczy (Clifton Park / Albany Academy) scored on an assist by JoeSlavik (Binghamton / Seton Catholic) at 4:49 on the man-up opportunity. The final Cortland goal of the third period came from Billy Davis (Manhasset / Manhasset) on an assist by Taylor Mendoza (Greensboro, NC / Western Guilford) with just 27 seconds remaining.
Plattsburgh broke their scoreless streak with 8:29 left in the fourth period. James Higgins scored on an assist by James Read (Miller Place/Miller Place). The game was now 8-2, Cortland. With 3:09 left in the period, Cortland's Benjamin Dunlavey scored on assist by Zachary Hopps. The final score was 9-2, Cortland.
Gordie Gehring played goal for Plattsburgh. He played all 60 minutes, allowing 9 goals and saving 13 shots.
Cortland goalie, Mike Kaminski played all 60 minutes as well. He had 14 saves and allowed only two goals.
With the win, SUNYAC Champions, SUNY Cortland earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Complete game stats can be found here.
All-Tournament Team:
Nick Peryea, Potsdam
Brady Fremont, Potsdam
Jesse Elliott, Brockport
Keenan Sullivan, Brockport
Tom Duggan, Plattsburgh
Gordie Gehring, Plattsburgh
Nick Parrella, Plattsburgh
Cody Consul, Cortland
Joe Slavik, Cortland
Craig Sullivan, Cortland
Pat Baldwin, Cortland
Mike Kaminski, Cortland (MVP)
