BOXSCORE: FREDONIA 5, CANTON 2
FREDONIA, N.Y. -- Fredonia State opened its 2012-13 men's hockey season with a 5-2 win Friday over SUNY Canton at the Steele Hall Ice Arena.
Mat Hehr (Sherwood Park, Alberta) had two goals while
Jared Wynia (Calgary, Alberta),
Matt Owczarczak (Buffalo), and
Mitch Kaufmann (Red Deer, Alberta) had one goal each. It was the first collegiate goal for Kaufmann in his first collegiate game.
The goaltending duties were split between
Mark Friesen (Calgary, Alberta) and
Jeff Holloway (Red Deer, Alberta). Friesen started and made six saves in a period and a half. Holloway picked up the win with nine saves over the final 29:50.
Cory Giczewski and Jordan Grimsley scored for the Kangaroos, who were also opening their season Friday night.
The Blue Devils are back in action 7 p.m. Saturday at Utica.
The Blue Devils carried the play in the opening six minutes before the game's first penalty, a slashing call against Canton's George Curry. The Blue Devils kept puck in attack zone yet were unable to cash in.
With the teams skating 4-on-4 following coincidental minor penalties, Giczewski won a scrum in the crease and tapped the puck behind Friesen for the game's first goal.
The Blue Devils went back on the power play when Canton's Joe Casale was assessed a 5-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for checking from behind. It resulted in the first of two Fredonia State power-play goals, a Wynia backhander into the top of the net at 17:02 to forge a 1-1 tie.
Blue Devils went back on power play at 1053 when Curry's Brad Wilson was whistled for interference. Hehr made the Kangaroos pay when he converted a three-way exchange with Declan Gonovski (Newmarket, Ont.) and
Ryan Wilkinson (Calgary, Alberta). The power-play goal gave the Blue Devils their first lead of the night, 2-1.
The lead was short lived. Following a 2-on-1 rush, Holloway made the initial save yet was unable to cover the puck and a Blue Devil defenseman attempted to clear the puck and instead gave it away. The Kangaroos converted the exchange into a goal by Jordan Grimsley to forge the game's final tie at 2-2.
The Blue Devils took the lead for keeps when Owczarczak scored on rebound of a shot from the point at 15:40 of the second period. Third-period goals by Hehr and Kaufmann completed the scoring.
