BUFFALO, N.Y. – Ryan Salkeld had two goals and Brett Hope had a goal and two assists to left Buffalo State past Fredonia, 3-1, in SUNYAC men's hockey Friday.

Salkeld scored the eventual game-winner during the second period and added an insurance tally in the final minute with Fredonia goalkeeper Jeff Flagler (Owen Sound, Ont.) on the bench in favor of an extra attacker.

Hope opened the scoring and assisted on both goals by Salkeld while Bengal goaltender Mike DeLaVergne collected 28 saves as the Bengals improved to 9-11-2 overall and 5-6-2 and in the SUNYAC.

Jared Wynia (Calgary, Alberta) scored the Fredonia goal and Flagler made 22 saves. The loss dropped the Blue Devils to 4-13-5 overall and 0-10-3 in the conference.

The teams meet again 7 p.m. Saturday at Steele Hall.

Buffalo State took a 1-0 lead when Hope converted at 11:27 of the first period. He began the play by dumping the puck in the corner and continued to in front of the net, where he one-timed a pass out of the corner by Jason Zeleski.

Hope set up the second Bengal goal when he won a faceoff to the left of Flagler. The puck went directly to Salkeld, who was uncovered to the left of the faceoff circle. Salkeld one-timed a hard shot past Flagler at the 2:33 mark of the second period.

The Blue Devils cut their deficit in half to 2-1 with 1:03 left in the second period when Wynia scored his third goal of the season. The scoring play was set up with a pass from the left point to the opposite post, allowing Wynia to cash in. Marcus Andersson (Örnsköldsvik, Sweden) and Oskar Gerhardson (Haessleholm, Sweden) were credited with assists.

Seconds later, Hope was tagged with a five-minute major for interference to put the Blue Devils on the power play. Part of the advantage was lost when Fredonia's Frankie Hart (Timmins, Ont.) was called for tripping as the period ended, so the teams started the third period skating four a side.

The Blue Devils eventually earned some of the extra-man time back yet were unable to capitalize.

Buffalo State put the game on ice with Salkeld scored into an empty net with 30 seconds left. He beat a Blue Devil defender to a loose puck after a dump in by Hope and tucked the puck into the corner.

By winning, Buffalo State earned the first of two points in the Battle By The Lake series between the two Western New York schools – with the second point up for grabs Saturday in Fredonia. The Blue Devils lead the season-long all-sports competition, 10-4.