PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -- Fredonia's bid to wrest control of third place in SUNYAC hockey was thwarted with a 3-1 loss to Plattsburgh at Stafford Arena.

Goals by Evan Lindquist, Philip Middleton, and Cole Stallard staked goaltender Brady Rouleau to a 3-0 lead before Fredonia's Hunter Long (Lebanon, Tenn.) cut into Plattsburgh's margin.

Long's goal, his fourth of the season, came at 5:51 of the third period. He received a pass from behind the net from Mac McAvoy (Port Colborne, Ont.), spun, and fired through a maze of players to beat Rouleau, who finished with 24 saves. Marcus Ortiz (Richardson, Texas) also assisted on Long's goal.

The loss went to Eric Bogart (London, Ont.), who made 34 saves in the Fredonia net.

The Blue Devils dropped to 5-6-1 in the conference while the Cardinals improved to 6-4-1 and temporarily broke clear of a three-team jam for third place. Buffalo State -- in action Saturday night at Potsdam -- was the third team in the jam. The Bengals have two games in hand on Fredonia and one on Plattsburgh.

Next up for Fredonia are its final two non-conference games of 2017 at SUNY Canton next Friday and Saturday.