CORTLAND, N.Y. – Nationally 14th-ranked Plattsburgh scored five third-period goals to defeat Cortland, 5-2, Saturday night in SUNYAC men's hockey action at Alumni Arena. The Red Dragons fell to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the conference, while the Cardinals improved to 5-0, with all of their wins coming in league play.

For Cortland, sophomores Patrick Palmisano (Ann Arbor, MI/Bay State Breakers) and Frank Rizzo (St. James/NY Bobcats) each scored a goal, and seniors Zach Dehm (Trumbull, CT/Sacred Heart) and Matt Goslant (Northfield, VT/SUNY Plattsburgh) and sophomores Gerard Heinz (Kings Park/NY Apple Core) and Craig Cole (East Islip/Fredonia St.) added one assist each. Sophomore goalie Benjamin Binga (Rochester/Syracuse Stars) made 38 saves.

Senior C.J. Tozzo (New Rochelle/Niagara University), sophomore Ward Smith (Forest, ON/Sarnia Blast) and freshman Eric Satim (Montreal, QC/Millbrook School) each collected a goal and an assist for the Cardinals. Freshmen Dylan Clarke (Belleville, ON/Kingston Voyageurs) and Ryan Corry (Calgary, AB/Calgary Royals) scored a goal apiece. Corry's score was the first of his career. Freshman goalie Simon LeBlanc (La Prairie, QC/Grande Prairie Storm) turned aside eight shots.

After a scoreless first period, the Red Dragons grabbed a 1-0 lead at six minutes, 56 seconds of the second period when Palmisano scored on a deflection in front. Cortland made the lead stand behind Binga, who stopped all 19 shots he faced in the period.

The Cardinals, however, responded with the first four goals of the third period to take a 4-1 lead. Smith scored from the right face-off circle just 40 seconds into the stanza. Corry followed with a power-play goal at 9:24. Clarke connected on what would prove to be the game-winner at 12:45, and Satim gave Plattsburgh a 4-1 advantage at 15:57.

The Red Dragons pulled to within 4-2 at the 18:24 mark when Rizzo scored a power-play goal on a rebound. Binga was pulled for an extra skater 12 seconds later, but Tozzo deflected a pass into the empty net with two seconds remaining to complete the scoring


Plattsburgh 5, Cortland 2

Score by periods:
Plattsburgh    0-0-5    5
Cortland    0-1-1    2

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Plattsburgh: Ward Smith 1-1, Eric Satim 1-1, C.J. Tozzo 1-1, Ryan Corry 1-0, Dylan Clarke 1-0, Nick Rolls 0-1, Mike Baccaro 0-1, Riley Hill 0-1, T.J. Cooper 0-1, Kyle VanDermale 0-1
Cortland: Patrick Palmisano 1-0, Frank Rizzo 1-0, Craig Cole 0-1, Gerard Heinz 0-1, Matt Goslant 0-1, Zach Dehm 0-1

Saves: Simon LeBlanc (Plattsburgh) 8 saves (2 GA in 60:00); Ben Binga (Cortland) 38 saves (4 GA in 58:55), Empty Net 1 GA in 1:05
Shots on Goal: Plattsburgh 43 (8-19-19), Cortland 10 (2-5-3)
Penalties: Plattsburgh 2-4:00, Cortland 7-14:00
Power Play: Plattsburgh 1-7, Cortland 1-2
Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 1-4, 0-2 SUNYAC; Plattsburgh (Cardinals) 5-0, 5-0 SUNYAC