No. 5 Men's Ice Hockey Edged, 2-1, in Overtime by No. 9 Norwich in NCAA Tournament First Round
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The No. 5 Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team's successful 2022-23 campaign came to an end on Saturday evening in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament, as the Cardinals fell to No. 9 Norwich University, 2-1, in overtime in front of a 2,577-person crowd at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 5 in the DCU/USCHO.com Men's Division III Top-15 Poll, while Norwich is ranked at No. 9. Senior defenseman Callum Jones provided the game winner for Norwich with 9:54 gone in overtime. Sophomore forward Holden Doggett got the puck to first-year defenseman Devon Thibodeau on the left point, and Thibodeau passed D-to-D to Jones. Jones skated to the top of the right circle and wristed a shot into the back of the net high glove side. First-year goaltender Eli Shiller (Toronto, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) finished the year with a program-record-setting 1.38 goals-against average and tied the single-season program record in save percentage (.946). Niklas Sundberg set the previous goals-against average record of 1.41 in 1998-99 and also posted a .946 save percentage that same season. Norwich held a 40-30 edge in shots on goal, while neither team was whistled for a penalty in 69:54 of play. Plattsburgh State finishes its season at 20-6-2 overall after a year in which it won its 24th State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title in program history and the first under fourth-year head coach Steve Moffat. Norwich rises to 20-6-2 overall with the win and visits No. 4 Endicott College in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 18. After a scoreless first period—one in which the Cadets held a 10-9 edge in shots on goal—sophomore forward Jake Lanyi (North Salem, N.Y./Connecticut Jr. Rangers) finally broke the deadlock at 16:59 of the second period. First-year forward Joshua Belgrave (Burlington, Ontario/Burlington Cougars) fed junior forward Trey Thomas (Williams Lake, British Columbia) on the rush, and Thomas passed over to Lanyi on the right point. Lanyi wristed a shot that beat the Norwich goalie blocker side. That lead wound up being short lived, as Norwich knotted the score at 1-all 40 seconds into the third period. Junior forward Patrick O'Neal won an offensive-zone face-off to senior forward Phil Elgstam, and Elgstam skated down to the goal line and scored on a wraparound shot. Shiller made 38 saves in the loss for Plattsburgh State, while senior goaltender Drennen Atherton turned aside 29 shots in the win for Norwich. Saturday marked the final game for graduate students Matt Araujo (Brookhaven, N.Y./Connecticut Jr. Rangers) and Kyle Alaverdy (Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador/Castleton University) and seniors Jacob Modry (Albany, N.Y./Merrimack College), Ryan Hogg (Duncan, British Columbia/Islanders Hockey Club), Brendan Young (Lefroy, N.Y./Blind River Beavers), Adam Tretowicz (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) and Mitchell Hale (Oakfield, N.Y./Johnstown Tomahawks). Print Friendly Version
