POTSDAM, N.Y. –  The Cortland men's hockey team scored four third-period goals to take control of the game and defeated Potsdam, 7-3, in SUNYAC action Friday night on the road. The Red Dragons raised their record to 11-6-1 overall and 6-3 in the conference. The Bears fell to 4-13-1 and 2-7.

Junior Cameron Knowlton (Kenai, AK/Charlotte Rush) led Cortland with two goals and two assists. Sophomores Anthony Bernardo (Hauppauge/P.A.L Junior Islanders) and Domenic Settimo (East Meadow/P.A.L. Junior Islanders) tallied a goal and an assist, while senior Nick Grupp (Depew/Brantford 99ers), junior Nate Berke (Buffalo/Buffalo Jr. Sabres) and sophomore Andrew Clifford (Gloversville/New Hampshire Avalanche) each netted a goal.

Junior Jona Hildreth (Buffalo/Walpole Express) registered three assists for the Red Dragons. Senior Jake Ballagh (Buffalo/New Hampshire Avalanche), juniors Sutter Donegan (Cicero/Buffao Jr. Sabres) and Liam Anderson (East York, ON/Pickering Panthers) and freshmen Evan Beaudry (Mississauga, ON/Kemptville 73's) and Nicholas Serio (Bayville/P.A.L. Junior Islanders) picked up one assist. Senior goalie Luca Durante (Brampton, ON/Aurora Tigers) made 33 saves.

Mason Hoehn, Jack Bloem and Jeremy Quesnel scored Potsdam's goals. Carter Lennon, Drew Rose, Mathieu Parent and Max Klanow recorded assists. Goalie Connor Green registered 38 saves.

Clifford opened the scoring at 5:28 of the first period. After the Red Dragons won a faceoff in their offensive zone, Ballagh slid a pass to Clifford in the high slot where he beat Green with a one-time shot for his third goal of the season. Knowlton made it a 2-0 game four minutes later. After a Cortland faceoff win and a save by Green, Bernardo possessed the puck behind the end line and slipped a pass to Knowlton who scored his seventh goal of the season from the hight slot.

Hoehn put the Bears on the scoreboard just 2:20 into the second period. Potsdam won a faceoff in its offensive zone, which led to a shot by Rose that Durante denied. The puck came out to Hoehn who scored on the rebound to make it a 2-1 score. Settimo gave Cortland back a two-goal lead when he forced a turnover just inside the blue line and scored a short-handed breakaway goal at the 15:30 mark.

Potsdam pulled to within 3-2 on Bloem's unassisted goal 1:34 into the third period when he picked up the puck on a Cortland turnover and scored on a backhand shot in front. Grupp put Cortland ahead, 4-2, with a power-play goal at 8:21, scoring from the left circle on a wrist shot off a pass from Serio. Bernardo scored just 23 seconds later when he cleaned up a loose puck in front for his ninth goal of the season to push Cortland's lead to 5-2.  

Knowlton's second goal of the game came at 16:36 when he picked up a pass at the red line, skated in on a partial breakaway and scored on a wrist shot. Quesnel answered just 21 seconds later, knocking in a rebound after Durante made an initial save. Berke completed the scoring with 16 seconds remaining in regulation on the power play, following up on his own rebound for the 7-3 final.

Cortland 7, Potsdam 3

Score by periods:
Cortland        2-1-4     7
Potsdam       0-1-2     3

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists) 
Cortland: Cameron Knowlton 2-2, Anthony Bernardo 1-1, Domenic Settimo 1-1, Nick Grupp 1-0, Nate Berke 1-0, Andrew Clifford 1-0, Jona Hildreth 0-3, Sutter Donegan 0-1, Evan Beaudry 0-1, Liam Anderson 0-1, Jake Ballagh 0-1, Nicholas Serio 0-1 
Potsdam: Mason Hoehn 1-0, Jack Bloem 1-0, Jeremy Quesnel 1-0, Carter Lennon 0-1, Drew Rose 0-1, Mathieu Parent 0-1, Max Klanow 0-1

Saves: Luca Durante (Cortland) 33 saves (3 GA in 60:00); Connor Green (Potsdam) 38 saves ( 7 GA in 60:00)
Shots on Goal: Cortland 45 (18-15-12), Potsdam 36 (8-14-14)
Penalties: Cortland 4-8:00, Potsdam 2-4:00 
Power Play: Potsdam 0-4, Cortland 2-2

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 11-6-1, 6-3 SUNYAC, Potsdam (Bears) 4-13-1, 2-7 SUNYAC