BOXSCORE
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Fredonia State was unable to slow down No. 4 ranked Plattsburgh in SUNYAC men's hockey Saturday night.
The Blue Devils' defensive style was no match for the Cardinals, who improved to 4-0 with a 5-0 home win before a sellout crowd of 2,053 at the Stafford Ice Arena.
The Blue Devils fell to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in the SUNYAC.
Kevin Emmerling scored three goals – one in each period – and Mathew Cadiuex made 22 saves to earn the shutout.
Alex Brenton and Nick Jensen each had one goal for Plattsburgh, who outshot the Blue Devils 36-22. Fredonia State junior goaltender
Mark Friesen (Calgary, Alberta) made 31 saves.
The Blue Devils entered the game on a three-game winning streak on the strength of solid defense in front of Friesen. They allowed two goals during the streak. They got away from their game-plan during the first period Saturday. Plattsburgh possessed the puck for long stretches, including two full minutes of offensive zone time on its one power-play chance of the period.
Emmerling gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead at 11:33 with a backhander into the open side of the net. The puck came to him off a deflection of a shot from the opposite wing. Friesen had moved left on the first shot and was unable to slide back to his left in time to stop Emmerling's shot.
Plattsburgh scored both early and often in the second period.First, Brenton scored from point-blank range 11 seconds into the period. Emmerling scored his second goal of the night on a power-play to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead with a wrist shot from the left face-off circle. Nick Jensen then connected from the top of the circle and it was 4-0 Plattsburgh.
Emmerling completed his hat trick at 7:05 of the third period. He skated away from the halfboards and curled through defenders before wristing a shot over Friesen's shoulder.
The Blue Devils are back on the SUNYAC road next weekend with stops at Cortland and Oswego.
