GENESEO, N.Y. – Geneseo edged Fredonia State, 2-1, in SUNYAC men's hockey Saturday.
Despite a wide statistical advantage through the first two periods, the Ice Knights needed a goal early in the third period to stave off the pesky Blue Devils.
David Arduin broke the 1-1 tie when he scored at 16:14 after a three-way play with a pair of Ice Knight teammates.
Fredonia State sophomore goalkeeper
Mark Friesen made 29 saves to keep his team in the game. Geneseo's Adrian Rubeniuk also had 29 saves.
The Ice Knights improved to 3-0 overall, 2-0 in the SUNYAC. The Blue Devils fell to 1-1-1 overall, 0-1-1 in the conference.
The Blue Devils failed to score on the first power-play by either team two minutes into the game, then were guilty of three straight penalties.
Each time the penalty kill was successful.
Yet the Blue Devils tempted fate once too often. A slashing call sent
Tyler Matecki to the box early in the second period. Geneseo converted the extra-man advantage into a goal by Corbin Rosmarin at 3:12 of the period.
Rosmarin received a pass while streaking up the middle of the ice. He switched from his forehand to his backhand and flipped the puck over Friesen, who had come out to cut down the angle.
The goal ignited the Geneseo attack as several good scoring chances followed. Friesen and the Blue Devils weathered the storm.
Later in the second period, Fredonia State failed to take advantage of a 5-of-3 advantage. Once the Ice Knights killed the penalties, they went back on the attack. Friesen made several good stops during the stretch.
The Blue Devils were outshot in the second period, 14-9, and lost 18 of 25 faceoffs.
Twenty seconds into the third period, Geneseo's good work in the second period was erased. That's when
Andrew Christ found Bradley Nunn wide open in the slot in front of Rubeniuk.
Nunn one-timed Christ's pass from the side of the net and beat the Geneseo goaltender into the top of the net. It was Nunn's second goal of the season.
The momentum swung back toward the Ice Knights just three minutes later. Arduin scored his second goal of the season on passes from Ryan Bulach and Jimmy Powers.
The Blue Devils had one more power-play opportunity, but failed to convert. They were 0 for 4 on the power-play and 3 of 4 on the penalty kill.
