PLYMOUTH, N.H. - The 13th ranked nationally Cortland men's hockey team fell to ninth ranked Plymouth State, 5-2, in the opening round of the NCAA Division III playoffs Saturday night at Hanaway Rink.
 
With the loss comes the end of the first NCAA postseason appearance in Cortland's program history, following a 3-2 overtime win over Plattsburgh the previous weekend to secure the program's first conference title. The Red Dragons finished the year 18-9-2, while Plymouth State improved to 24-2-2 and advances to travel to Utica in the NCAA quarterfinals.
 
Senior Nate Berke (Williamsville/Buffalo Jr. Sabres) and sophomore Colby Seitz (Eden/Corpus Christi Ice Rays) each found the back of the net for the Red Dragons. Freshman Stephen Kyrkostas (Selden/Johnstown Tomahawks) tallied two assists on the night and senior goalie Jack Riedell (Greensboro, NC/Charlotte Rush) picked up his second assist of the season while recording 40 saves in net.
 
David Matousek and Connor Tait both scored twice for the Panthers, with Will Redick and Cameron Patton each assisting on two goals. Goaltender Kalle Anderson turned away 32 of 34 of the shots he faced.
 
The final score is not indicative of the tightness of the contest. Tied at 2-2 with 8:55 to play in a back-and-forth game filled with penalties, Tait converted on a power play opportunity, scoring what would prove to be the game-winning goal. Cortland pulled Riedell for an extra skater with just over a minute to play, but 16 seconds later Tait scored an empty-netter to give the Panthers insurance. David Matousek added one more for Plymouth State with 29 seconds on the clock, securing the victory.
 
Berke scored 10:46 into the second to tie the game at 1-1 less than four minutes after the hosts had taken the lead. Plymouth scored with 48 seconds left in the second to go up 2-1, but Seitz knotted the game 6:20 into the third.
 
 
Plymouth State 5, Cortland 2

Score by periods:
Plymouth State              0-2-3     5
Cortland                          0-1-1      2
 
Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists)
Plymouth State: Connor Tait 2-0, David Matousek 2-0, Will Redick 1-2, Cameron Patton 0-2, Rider McCallum 0-1, Patrick O'Connell 0-1, Will Pray 0-1
Cortland: Colby Seitz 1-1, Nate Berke 1-0, Stephen Kyrkostas 0-2, Jack Riedell 0-1
 
 
Saves: Kalle Anderson (Plymouth State) 32 saves (2 GA in 60:00); Jack Riedell (Cortland) 40 saves (4 GA in 59:43), Empty Net (1 GA in 0:17)
 
Shots on Goal: Plymouth State 45, Cortland 34
Penalties: Plymouth State 9-29:00, Cortland 10-31:00
Power Play: Plymouth State 1-4, Cortland 0-3
 
Records after game: Plymouth State (Panthers) 24-2-2, Cortland (Red Dragons) 18-9-2