MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – Freshman Joey Christiano (Rochester/Port Hope Predators) scored two goals and freshman Mike Reilly (New York City/Bismarck Bobcats) made 35 saves as Cortland posted a 6-1 SUNYAC win at Morrisville.

With the victory, the Red Dragons (8-11-2, 5-5-2 SUNYAC) moved into a tie for fourth place with Potsdam (4-5-4 SUNYAC) in the league standings with 12 points. Cortland has four games remaining in the regular season – road games at sixth-place Geneseo (11 points) and third-place Brockport (14 points) next weekend and home games the following weekend versus Potsdam and first-place Plattsburgh. The top six teams in the standings qualify for the SUNYAC tournament, with the top two teams earning byes and the third and fourth-place teams hosting first-round contests.

Freshman Jake Saville (Bellingham, WA/Marquette Rangers) finished with a goal and two assists versus the Mustangs. Freshman Ryan Durocher (Canton/Boston Bulldogs) recorded a goal and an assist, while junior Gerard Heinz (Kings Park/NY Apple Core Jr. A) and junior Craig Cole (East Islip/Fredonia St.) scored once apiece. Junior Patrick Palmisano (Ann Arbor, MI/Bay State Breakers) and freshman Ryan Markell (Columbus, OH/Ohio St. University) garnered two assists each.

Dave Schultz scored the lone goal and Caylin Relkoff made 31 saves for Morrisville (5-17-1, 1-12-1). The game featured a combined 26 penalties – 13 on each team – and Cortland held the Mustangs scoreless on all 10 of their power play attempts. The Red Dragons converted on 2-of-11 power-play opportunities and also scored a shorthanded goal.

Cortland took a 2-0 lead less than eight minutes into the contest. Durocher netted a power-play goal at the 4:36 mark, assisted by Saville and Markell, and Christiano scored off a Saville assist 7:40 into the period. Schultz drew Morrisville within 2-1 with 9:31 left in the first with his eighth goal of the season, assisted by Will Scott and Stefan Carnegie.

The Red Dragons outshot Morrisville 21-6 in the second period and scored three goals during the stanza to increase their lead to 5-1. Heinz scored 6:08 into the period with each team down one skater. Palmisano and Mike Maier (Rochester/Niagara University) assisted on the goal.

Saville found the net 14:43 into the second with Morrisville two skaters short and Cortland down one player. Markell and Durocher notched assists on the play. Just over a minute later, with each team down one skater, Cole lit the lamp off assists from Palmisano and Jarrett Gold (East Setauket/NY Bobcats).

Morrisville failed to score on five power-play chances in the third period, including a brief two-man advantage. Christiano closed the scoring with 32 seconds left when he scored shorthanded off a Mark Gonsalves (Bristol, CT/Northern Cyclones) assist.


Cortland 6, Morrisville St. 1

Score by periods:
Cortland        2-3-1     6
Morrisville     1-0-0    1

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists)
Cortland: Joey Christiano 2-0, Jake Saville 1-2, Ryan Durocher 1-1, Gerard Heinz 1-0, Craig Cole 1-0, Patrick Palmisano 0-2, Ryan Markell 0-2, Jarrett Gold 0-1, Mike Maier 0-1, Mark Gonsalves 0-1
Morrisville St.: Dave Schultz 1-0, Will Scott 0-1, Stefan Carnegie 0-1

Saves: Mike Reilly (Cortland) 35 saves (1 GA in 60:00); Caylin Relkoff (Morrisville) 31 saves (6 GA in 60:00)
Shots on Goal: Cortland 37 (10-21-6), Morrisville 36 (11-6-19)
Penalties: Cortland 13-29:00, Morrisville 13-37:00
Power Play: Cortland 2-11, Morrisville 0-10
Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 8-11-2, 5-5-2 SUNYAC; Morrisville (Mustangs) 5-17-1, 1-12-1 SUNYAC