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BOX SCORE)
BUFFALO, N.Y. --
Ben Waldman scored all three goals as Fredonia State defeated Buffalo State, 3-2, in the first round of the SUNYAC Tournament.
The Blue Devils will face No. 1 seed Oswego, the nation's No. 1 ranked NCAA Division III team, at 7 p.m. Saturday in Oswego.
All the scoring took place in the second period Wednesday and two players accounted for all the goals -- Waldman with his three and Shane Avery with two for the Bengals.
Avery opened the scoring just 1:12 into the second frame when he pounced on a loose puck in the slot. Fredonia State answered just under three minutes later when Waldman netted his first of the game on a third-chance whack at a bouncing puck in the crease on the power play.
Avery put the Bengals ahead again with a wrister from 20 feet with less than four minutes remaining in the frame, but the Blue Devils came back to take the lead with two more late Waldman goals, including another power-play tip-in with nine seconds left on the clock.
The Blue Devils relied on freshman goaltender
Mark Friesen down the stretch. He finished with 26 saves, including pad save in the final minute while Blue Devils were killing a penalty and were skating two mendown. The Bengals pulled goaltender Kevin Carr for an extra attacker and had a 6-on-4 advantage as the final horn sounded.
Steve Rizer and
Bryan Ross had two assists each for the Blue Devils. Mac Balso and Kyle Whipple assisted on both Buffalo State goals.
