SUNY Potsdam

SUNY Potsdam Sports Recap- Week of January 16, 2012

01.23.12

It was another full schedule this week for the Bears’ swimming, hockey, and basketball teams.

Men’s Hockey

Daniel Morello scored two goals in 11 seconds as Morrisville State defeat Potsdam 5-3. The Mustangs erased deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 to earn the hard fought victory. The first period was a stalemate with Morrisville holding a slight 13-12 advantage in shots. The Bears came closer to scoring with under two minutes remaining in the first period; sophomore Adam Place ripped a shot at the Mustangs goalie. Sophomore Christopher Azzano got a piece of the shot but it trickled passed him and then ricocheted off the post, keeping the game tied.  The Bears broke through at 9:45 of the second period. Junior Bill Tsekos redirected a shot from the point past the goalie to give Potsdam the early advantage. Less than five minutes later, Place scored a power-play goal. The score was assisted by senior Sy Nutkevitch and freshman Erick Ware. The teams would then score three goals in the next 45 seconds of the period. Morello’s first goal came on the power-play at 18:49 and he would answer 11 seconds later as the Mustangs came storming back to tie the score at 2.  The Bears would answer 34 seconds later off the stick of freshman Dan McCamey. The Mustangs played a very strong third period beginning with a goal at the 11:45 mark. Todd Hosmer scored to tie the game at three. The Mustangs would seize the momentum and score two more goals to put the game away. The following evening, the Bears were defeated 4-0 in a non-conference matchup at Hobart.  

Women’s Hockey

The SUNY Potsdam women’s hockey team earned back-to-back ties against Utica over the weekend. In the first, senior Annmarie Lewis scored the tying goal with at 13:38 in the third period, and also added an assist. The Bears held a 13-10 advantage in shots in the first period, but the Pioneers made the most of their opportunities. 3:04 into the first period, Utica scored a short-handed goal off the stick of Carmen Johnson. 1:32 later, the Pioneers gained a 2-0 advantage with a goal from Megan Myers. Potsdam would respond less than four minutes later on the power-play as senior Breanna Roy beat the Utica goalie with a shot from the point. She was assisted by Lewis and sophomore Brittany Lucky. Utica would storm back and score with just over two minutes remaining in the period to go into intermission with a 3-1 advantage. The defenses tightened in the second period. Again, the Bears held the advantage in shots, 11-9. Potsdam was particularly stout, killing three penalties in the period and sophomore goalie Jen Conophy stopped every shot of the stanza. The Bears would strike at the 13:54 mark on great passing by freshman Emilee Hazelden and Roy who fed junior Kate Komsa to cut the deficit 3-2. The period would end with two Bears in the penalty box and Utica on a 5-on-3 power-play. After successfully killing both penalties, the Bears would tie the game at 3 at the 13:38 mark. Lucky fed Lewis who broke away from the defense and beat the Utica goalie for her eight goal of the season. Neither team could break through in the remaining 13 minutes so the game headed into overtime.  In the extra period, Utica managed four shots to Potsdam’s two with no attempt beating the goalie. In the rematch, Emilee Hazelden scored twice but it was Utica’s turn to erase an early deficit. The Bears held a 3-0 first period lead but the Pioneers stormed back and earned a 4-4 tie.

Men’s Basketball

Without leading scorer and rebounder, Curtis Pierce, the Bears struggled against rival St. Lawrence, ultimately falling 73-42. The team then travel to previously 19th-ranked Buffalo St. The Bears left with a disappointing 86-63 defeat. In the final contest of the week, Potsdam trailed by 13 points at the half, but came storming back in the second half to take the lead. Ultimately, Fredonia came away with the conference win at home, 47-44. The Bears were cold in the first half and converted on 4-of-17 field goal attempts. That didn’t stop them from suffocating the Blue Devils on the defensive end of the court holding Fredonia to 34 percent shooting from the field. However, Fredonia would go into the break with a 24-11 lead. The execution was much more efficient for Potsdam in the second half. The Bears opened the half on a 23-6 run capped by a jumper by senior Brad Drysdale giving Potsdam a 34-30 lead. Six different Bears scored during the run that lasted over 11 minutes. Fredonia refused to give up and made a run of their own. The Blue Devils outscored Potsdam 13-3 to take a 43-37 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the game. Sophomore Rob Duquette cut the lead to 43-39 with a basket in the paint, but only 1:10 remained. Fredonia went 4-for-4 from the free throw line down the stretch and a late three point basket by freshman Zac Adams cut the lead to three as time ran out on the Bears comeback attempt. For the afternoon, Potsdam shot 33.3 percent but held a dominating 36-24 advantage on the glass. Junior Curtis Pierce scored 10 points and grabbed 7 rebounds while sophomore Tony Efese also chipped in 10 points.

Women’s Basketball

In the first game of the week, the SUNY Potsdam women’s basketball team dropped a road game at Hamilton, 63-43. The Bears were led by an 11 point performance by sophomore Jessica Kouzan and junior Adedoyin Akingba grabbed 10 rebounds off the bench. In the following game on Friday night, Potsdam struggled against a tough Buffalo St. defense, falling by a score of 58-31. In the final game of the week, Fredonia State used a late run to hold off the Bears for a 66-55 conference victory on Saturday afternoon. Becky Hebert scored a game-high 20 points to lead the Blue Devils. Junior guard Katy Briedis led the Bears with 14 points senior captain Kaley Arsenault recorded a double-double 12 points and 10 rebounds. Every time Fredonia looked to start a run the Bears would answer. A three-pointer from sophomore forward Chenice Russell tied the game at eight apiece early. With 11:06 on the clock, Potsdam erased a six-point deficit with a 7-0 run. A layup from Briedis gave the Bears a 17-16 lead. A Nicole Calbi three-pointer with 3:50 left in the half gave the Blue Devils a 31-24 lead, but Potsdam closed the half on a 10-4 run. Senior forward Sophie Parks closed the a period with a jumper to get Potsdam to within 35-34 at the break. The Bears shot 42 percent from the floor in the first half. The Blue Devils jumped out to a 42-34 lead just 14:23 into the second half, but Arsenault ignited a 6-0 Potsdam run to close the gap to 42-40. The teams went back-and-forth until another Briedis bucket made it a 52-50 Fredonia lead with 7:41 remaining. However, it was the Blue Devils pulling away with a final 9-0 run over the next three minutes. Potsdam’s final spurt came on a three-pointer from forward Kouzan, which made it a 61-55 contest with 1:01 remaining. Fredonia scored the final five points of the contest from the free throw line to ice the 66-55 win. 

Swimming and Diving 

The SUNY Potsdam swimming and diving teams earned a split decision at Clarkson on Friday night. The women won a 138-121 decision and the men fell 157-123 to the Golden Knights. The Bears won 18 of the competition’s 32 events. Junior Liz Ringer led all Potsdam swimmers with three solo victories and a place on the winning 400 medley relay team (4:56.41). Ringer won the 200 butterfly (2:36.55), the 100 freestyle (1:04.72) and the 100 butterfly (1:11.75). Sophomore Ghena Binzer joined Ringer on the 400 medley relay team and also swam to wins in the 100 breaststroke (1:20.84) and the 200 breaststroke (2:59.62). Junior Alexander Taylor and sophomore Richie Zimmerman were each members of the victorious men’s 400 medley relay team (4:19.71) and captured two solo victories apiece. Taylor won the 200 freestyle (2:06.93) and the 200 individual medley (2:21.18). Zimmerman won the 100 (1:12.14) and 200 breaststroke (2:41.46) events. The following afternoon, the team earned another split in a dual meet with a North Country rival. The Bears men downed St. Lawrence University 145-134, while the women fell to the Saints, 164-110.

Performers of the Week

Sophomore Richie Zimmerman is the Bears Male Performer of the Week. The swimmer was a member of the victorious men’s 400 medley relay and captured two solo victories at Clarkson on Friday. He followed that strong performance with another relay win along with winning the 50 freestlye in a win against St. Lawrence.

Junior Liz Ringer is the Bears Female Performer of the Week. For the weekend, Ringer won five individual events and was also a member of the winning 400 medley relay team. She won the 200 butterfly (twice), 100 freestyle, 100 butterfly, and 200 individual medley in meets against Clarkson and St. Lawrence.

Weekly Preview

The men’s hockey team (6-9-3, 4-5 SUNYAC) will travel to rival Plattsburgh on Friday night for a 7 p.m. SUNYAC contest.

The women’s hockey team (7-7-3, 4-7-3 SUNYAC) is off for the week.

The men’s basketball team (4-12, 2-7 SUNYAC) hosts Cortland Friday night at 6 p.m. and Oswego on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.

The women’s basketball (4-12, 2-7 SUNYAC) hosts two conference foes this weekend. Cortland comes to town on Friday at 6 p.m. and then Oswego on Saturday at 2 p.m. 

The swimming team hosts St. Michael’s on Saturday at 1 p.m.