SUNY Potsdam

SUNY Potsdam Sports Recap—Week of January 2, 2012

01.09.12

SUNY Potsdam Sports Recap—Week of January 2, 2012

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

Men’s Hockey

Junior forward Bill Tsekos scored with 52 seconds left in overtime to lift the SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team to a 5-4 victory over Skidmore College on Friday evening as five different Bears scored in the victory. Potsdam got on the board just 3:05 into the first period. Sophomore defenseman Nick Avgerinos snapped a wrist shot from the left point past Thoroughbred freshman goalie Brad Cray for a 1-0 lead. At the 15:16 mark, sophomore forward Adam Place made the most of a Skidmore turnover with an unassisted tally to make it 2-0.  Bears senior goaltender Kevin McFarland looked sharp early in his fourth straight start, stopping all 10 shots he faced in the first period. The second period saw three goals scored in the first 2:39. Just 32 seconds in, senior forward Alex Essaris tipped a shot past McFarland to get the Thoroughbreds within 2-1. Less than a minute later, junior assistant captain Matt Viola fed freshman defenseman Dan McCamey at the left side of the net for a 3-1 Potsdam lead. At the 2:39 mark, Skidmore freshman forward Erik Nilsson ripped a shot over the left shoulder of McFarland to cut the gap to 3-2. With under two minutes to go, the Thoroughbreds were awarded a five-on-three power play and made the most of it. At the 18:41 mark, Skidmore senior defenseman Nick Dupuis tied the game on a shot from the point. At the 12:48 mark, freshman forward Tim Colvin gave the Thoroughbreds their first lead with a power-play goal. Immediate following the goal, freshman forward Kenny Simon appeared to tie the game after a scramble in front, but the officials ruled the play dead. However, Bears junior assistant captain Brett Waters did get the equalizer on the man advantage with 3:10 left. In overtime, the teams traded chances as time wound down. With less than a minute left, Simon set up Tsekos who slipped the puck between Bienkowski’s left pad and the post for the victory. The following afternoon, the Bears came up short against No. 4 Castleton State by a score of 9-1 with Mike Foy scoring the lone goal for the Bears.

Women’s Hockey

The SUNY Potsdam women’s hockey team jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, but was unable to hold off eighth-ranked Plattsburgh State, falling 5-2 at home on Friday afternoon. Cardinal junior forward Teal Grove scored two goals and freshman forward Shannon Stewart added a goal and two assists to lead Plattsburgh. Potsdam struck first on its very first opportunity of the contest. Just 1:49 into the game senior captain Annmarie Lewis took control of the puck at the left side of the net and centered it. Freshman forward Izzy Fayerman tipped the pass and sophomore forward Jenn Crawford slammed it home from the slot. The goal seemed to wake up the Cardinals. After building pressure over the next four minutes sophomore defenseman Allison Era ripped a shot from the point that rang the crossbar on its way in to tie the score at 1-1 at the 6:10 mark. Just 52 seconds later junior forward Jordan Caldwell picked up the puck in the neutral zone, got behind the Potsdam defense and lifted a shot over the right shoulder of Bears junior goalie Jen Conophy for a 2-1 lead. The second period was played much tighter defensively. Neither team had many shots through the first 10 minutes, but Plattsburgh capitalized on its second power play. Cardinal freshman defenseman Alyssa Parke fired a shot from the point and Grove tipped it past Conophy for a 3-1 lead. The Bears killed off one other penalty in the period and trailed 3-1 at the break. Potsdam wasted no time in the third period. At the 1:10 mark, sophomore forward Jessica Silveria fired the puck off the right pad off Plattsburgh junior goalie Sydney Aveson and in, to cut the gap to 3-2. However, two minutes and 18 seconds later, the Cardinals regained the two-goal lead with another power-play marker. Stewart tipped a Parke shot from the point to make it 4-2. With just 42 seconds remaining, Grove buried a rebound off a Stewart shot to close the scoring at 5-2.

Men’s Basketball

The SUNY Potsdam men’s basketball team was down by as many as 16 in the second half, before falling to Alvernia University by just four points, 60-56. Sophomore captain Rob Duquette led the Bears with 20 points and junior captain Curtis Pierce scored 17. The Crusaders scored the first four points and never trailed. With 16:05 on the clock in the first half, junior guard Josh Lambert (Brooklyn, N.Y. / East New York Transit Tech) hit a jumper to tie the game at 6-6, but Potsdam wasn’t able to pull even again. Alvernia followed the basket with a 9-0 run and led 17-6 at the 9:56 mark. The Bears picked up their play offensively after the run and outscored the Crusaders 14-11 to close the half, trailing just 28-20. Pierce opened the second half with a layup to close the gap to six, but Alvernia’s Josh Vargas answered with a three-pointer. The Crusader lead hovered around 10 points until 12:15 when Vargas started a 10-2 run with a jumper. The Bears started to claw their way back into the game at 8:34 when sophomore guard Greg Torchon completed a three-point play. Duquette and Pierce combined for 17 of Potsdam’s final 23 points. Pierce hit three three-pointers in the final two minutes, including two with under 41 seconds to go. Freshman forward Zac Adams drained a three to cut the lead to 60-54 with three seconds left, but the Bears ran out of time. Alvernia outrebounded Potsdam 41-31 on the night. Both teams turned the ball over 18 times and shot an identical 39.3 percent from the floor. Senior forward Brad Drysdale had a solid night for Potsdam with six points and 12 rebounds. The following afternoon, the Bears fell 74-52 to DeSales as Adams led the team with 11 points.

Women’s Basketball

St. Lawrence University opened up a 12 point halftime lead en route to a 71-49 victory over the SUNY Potsdam women’s basketball team in Canton.  Sophomore forward Jessica Kouzan and junior guard Katy Bredis each scored 10 points to lead the Bears. After trading leads in the opening minutes, the Saints pulled away from Potsdam with a 15-0 run to build a 23-10 lead with 9:34 left in the half. St. Lawrence eventually extended its lead to 18, 32-14, with 5:23 on the clock. At 4:20, Briedis connected for a three-pointer and ignited a 12-6 finish to the half. A jumper by Kouzan at 1:26 cut the gap to just eight, but the Saints closed the half with the final four points and took a 38-26 lead into the break. The Bears shot nearly 38 percent in the opening 20 minutes and St. Lawrence hit a scorching 53 percent of their shots. The Saints opened the second half on an 18-4 run to build a 24-point 56-32 advantage, their biggest of the game. The Bears struggled from the floor in the final period, shooting just under 24 percent. However Potsdam was stronger defensively as it held St. Lawrence to just 27 percent shooting in the second half. Katie Edgerton and Casey Capello each led the Saints with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Freshman guard Bailey Weigel scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds for Potsdam and senior captain Kaley Arsenault chipped in another six points and five boards.

Performers of the Week

Junior forward Bill Tsekos is the Bears Male Performer of the Week. He scored the dramatic game-winner in overtime against Skidmore College. Tsekos beat the defense and scored with only 52 seconds remaining.

Sophomore Jessica Kouzan is the Bears Female Performer of the Week. The forward scored 10 points and grabbed two rebounds in a loss against rival St. Lawrence. 

Weekly Preview

The men’s hockey team (6-6-2, 4-4 SUNYAC) hits the road for two games at Manhattanville in Purchase, N.Y. The teams will play on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m.

The women’s hockey team (4-7-1, 2-7-1 SUNYAC) has three road games upcoming. On Tuesday, the Bears travel to Castleton St. at 4 p.m. They will then head to Cortland on Friday at 7 p.m. and the re-match is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday.

The men’s basketball team (4-7, 2-3 SUNYAC) hits the road for road conference games against New Paltz, on Tuesday at 6 p.m., and Plattsburgh on Saturday at 4 p.m.

The women’s basketball (4-7, 2-3 SUNYAC) hosts New Paltz on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. From there, the team travels to Plattsburgh on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip-off.