CORTLAND, NY – The Cortland men's hockey team scored the final five goals of the contest, and earned a comfortable 7-3 win over Buffalo State in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opener for both sides on Friday evening. Cortland jumps to 3-2-0 (1-0-0 SUNYAC), while Buffalo State drops to 2-3-0 (0-1-0 SUNYAC).
 
Sam Christiano (Buffalo/Buffalo Jr. Sabres) and Colby Seitz (Eden/Corpus Christi IceRays) each provided a goal and two assists for the Red Dragons. Justin Legault (Oakville, ON/Burlington Cougars) had a goal and an assist, and Conor Humphrey (Penfield/Rochester Jr. Americans) and Brady Hildreth (Lockport/New Jersey Titans) both chipped in two assists apiece.
 
Garrett Krieger (Skaneateles/Utica Jr. Comets), Stephen Kyrkostas (Selden/Johnstown Tomahawks), JC Humphreys (Canonsburg, PA/Rochester Jr. Americans), and Devlin O'Kane (Chicago, IL/New Jersey 87's) each netted a goal. Shane Shelest (Pointe-Claire, QC/Wellington Dukes) played the final 45:27 in goal, making 10 saves and allowing just one goal to earn the victory. 
 
Mike Marquez scored two goals, and Jason Kwestel had the other goal for Buffalo State. Marcus Cumberworth made 31 saves and allowed five goals for the Bengals. 
 
Humphreys opened the scoring for the Red Dragons under four minutes into the first period. After Andrew Clouden (Hamburg/Seacoast Spartans) intercepted a pass from Buffalo State, Hildreth picked up the puck near center ice and skated down the right side towards the Buffalo State goal. Hildreth then slid a pass back to the center of the ice near the blue line, where Humphreys skated in and fired a wrist shot into the top corner of the net for his second goal of the season. 
 
The Bengals tied the game on just their second shot on goal after a turnover by the Red Dragons, with Kwestel firing a shot from the left faceoff circle past Ronan Mobley (Playa Del Ray, CA/New Hampshire Avalanche). 
 
Buffalo State took the lead with just over five minutes left in the period, with Marquez sneaking a shot past Mobley after a deflection by a Cortland defenseman put the puck in a dangerous position. 
 
The Red Dragons tied the score with a power-play goal by Seitz after a penalty for hooking on the Bengals with under three minutes left in the period. Christiano fed a cross-ice pass from the left side to Seitz, who one-timed a shot into the top right corner of the goal. Alex Zakrzewski (Orchard Park/Rochester Jr. Americans) was credited with the other assist for Cortland. 
 
The Bengals took a 3-2 lead midway through the second period on Marquez's second goal of the game from in front of the Cortland goal after a feed from below the goal line. Cortland responded to tie the score at 3-3 under four minutes later, as Krieger tapped home the rebound after Hildreth's initial shot from the right side was saved. Nate Boak (Canton/El Paso Rhinos) also assisted on the goal. 
 
The Red Dragons took advantage of a 5-on-3 power play after an interference penalty and a holding penalty on Buffalo in the final minutes of the second period. Kyrkostas fired a wrist shot from between the circles into the top corner of the goal for his first goal of the year, assisted by Humphrey and Dino Mannetta (Wading River/P.A.L. Jr. Islanders) with 41 second left to give Cortland the 4-3 into the final period.
 
Cortland doubled its lead on its first shot on goal of the third period, as Legault fed a pass out front to Christiano from below the goal line, and the sophomore made one move around a defender, before rifling a shot into the top left corner for his fourth goal of the season. 
 
Legault scored his third goal of the season on an on-man rush for the Red Dragon with under nine minutes left, finishing at the right post after a perfect cross-ice feed from Christiano, with Seitz also tallying the secondary assist. 
 
O'Kane capped the scoring with just over five minutes left, as Humphrey and Charlie Merkley (Fairport/Corpus Christi IceRays) traded passes below the goal line, before the puck make its way to the front of the net, where O'Kane quickly wristed a shot past goaltender Ben Dardis, who came on in relief of Cumberworth early in the third period.