BOXSCORE
GENESEO, N.Y. – Fredonia State stayed within striking distance Friday until the final two minutes of a 5-0 SUNYAC road loss to Geneseo in SUNYAC men's hockey.
The Blue Devils (5-12-1 overall, 2-6-0 SUNYAC) trailed 2-0 before the Ice Knights (11-5-1 overall, 7-1-1 SUNYAC) erupted for three goals in a span of 1:08, two of them into an empty net. The first of the three goals came with 1:45 left, the last of the three with 37 seconds remaining.
The outburst came shortly after Geneseo killed off a five-minute major penalty. The best chance for the Blue Devils came on a shot by
Tyler Sheppard (Hermitage, Pa.). Geneseo goaltender Adrian Rubeniuk made a sprawling save.
Rubeniuk finished with 27 saves while recording the shutout.
Mark Friesen (Calgary, Alberta) allowed three goals and made 27 saves for the Blue Devils.
The Blue Devils came out aggressively and outshot the Ice Knights 9-7 in the first period, which ended scoreless.
The game remained scoreless until Geneseo's David Ripple scored his first of two goals in a span of just over five minutes of the second period. His first goal came on a power play following a shot from the point, and his second with a quick wrister from the right faceoff circle.
Friesen also stopped the Ice Knights on a 2-on-1 rush during the period.
The Blue Devils had a power-play chance while trailing 1-0.
Alex Perkins (St. Albert, Alberta) had the best scoring opportunity during the sequence when his shot from the right wing deflected off a player in front of the net and came to rest near the crease, where Rubeniuk covered the puck.
The Blue Devils came out hard again to start the third period by pushing up into their offensive zone. When the Ice Knights managed to break out, Friesen was equal to the task. Twice he kept Ripple from scoring a natural hat trick, first when Ripple drifted away from defenders and received a pass from the halfboards directly in front of the net, and later in the shift on a shot from the left circle which Friesen gloved.
The Ice Knights seemed to gain momentum after killing off the major penalty and put the game away on goals by Tyler Brickler, Corbin Rosmarin, and Brent Bisdee. The goals by Brickler and Rosmarin were empty-netters.
Fredonia State's aggression was evident on faceoffs. They Blue Devils won 30 of 49 draws through the first two periods, and finished with an 45-27 advantage overall.
Matt Owczarczak (Buffalo) won 15 of 22 draws to lead in the category.
The Blue Devils are back in action Saturday at Brockport. Game time is 7 p.m.
