PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Aaron Catron scored twice including an empty net goal to back Colin Callanan's goal 9:38 into the game as the State University of New York at Plattsburgh scored a goal in each period to post a 3-0 win over the visiting Keene State College men's ice hockey team at the Stafford Ice Arena on Friday night.
Highlights
Postgame Interview (Coach Enright)
Postgame Interview (Octavio Brito)
Venturing three and a half hours north into the Empire State and near the border of Canada, the Owls (5-6-1) got off to a slow start and never recovered, getting outshot 13-3 while falling behind 1-0 in the opening half of the first period. The Cardinals' (6-5-0) first tally, which ultimately proved to be the game-winner and their only 5-on-5 goal, came on their fourth high-danger chance in a span of 10 seconds at the 9:38 mark. Jack Ring appeared to have the entire left side of the net to shoot for following a perfect feed from Callanan, but he missed to the left. KSC goalie
Ben Skelton subsequently made two saves, including one on a rebound right in front, but he could not corral the puck and Callanan cashed in on a third-chance opportunity to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. It would stay that way into the second period as Skelton made 12 saves overall to keep KSC in it despite a slow offensive start in their first game since December 8.
The Owls found their legs in the middle 20 minutes, but Cardinals goalie Jacob Hearne made 17 saves to preserve his team's advantage, including three in an eight second span seven minutes into the period from
Sean McBride,
Jared Martin, and
Luke Festa. McBride was called for interference on Jake Sacratini after he tipped
Jack Lindholm's pass out of the zone, and Plattsburgh cashed in just 10 seconds into their power play as Catron rifled home Kevin Weaver-Vitale's pass to the far post from right around the left faceoff dot. Hearne would make 13 saves over the final 11:02 of the second to keep his team up 2-0.
Keene State kept pressing in the third looking to get within one, but their early push did not amount to any damage on the scoreboard as Plattsburgh blocked three shots in the opening 3:13 while the Owls sent three others wide. Hearne made three more stops in the initial 5:30 of the period. Patrick Cole was called for a trip with 14 minutes to go to give KSC a power play chance, but it was unproductive, as they did not generate a shot on goal and Skelton was forced to make a save on Sacratini. Another man-up opportunity for KSC came with seven minutes to go in regulation, and this time they generated more offensively, but Hearne made a save on
Thor Hansen before
Marcus Chrisafideis and
Shane Mazur had shots blocked. Two other bids went wide before the expiration of the power play, and Plattsburgh limited the Owls in the final five minutes before salting the game away with an empty net goal by Catron.
The teams ultimately combined for 35 blocked shots (KSC 18, Plattsburgh 17) in the first-ever meeting in the series. The Cardinals began the season nationally-ranked following a 21-5-2 mark last season and 23 NCAA tournament appearances since 1985 to go along with a 2001 national championship, but stumbled out of the gates to a .500 start through 10 games. Tonight's victory gave them consecutive wins for the first time in 2024-2025.
Keene State, which continues to make their first rounds in the Division III landscape, saw a three-game winning streak snapped despite 33 saves by Skelton (Hearne stopped 26 for Plattsburgh).
"We really didn't play a very good first period," said Owls head coach Bobby Rodrigue. "That Plattsburgh squad is battle-tested and I think they are finding their groove, but we are satisfied with the way the boys played in the second and third periods. We did not get any puck luck tonight, but still a solid first outing of the semester."
KSC is back at it on Sunday afternoon when they travel to Amherst College (4-3-1, 2-2-1 NESCAC) for a 3:00 p.m. start. The Owls will then visit ninth-ranked Curry College on Friday night.
