Ben Waldman – 3, Shane Avery – 2
Who needs your leading scorer when you got Ben Waldman? Fredonia rode Waldman’s second period hat trick to defeat Buffalo State, 3-2, with all the scoring in the middle stanza. Shane Avery got both of Buffalo State’s goals.
After a scoreless first period which saw neither team get into double-digit shots, Avery broke the ice at 1:12 of the second. The goal was a result of a Fredonia turnover in their own zone. Avery picked up the puck in front and shot it in.
That lead barely lasted three minutes when Waldman tied it up on the power play after numerous attempts in the crease.
It took another 12 minutes before someone would score again, and once again Avery gave the Bengals the lead from a perfect pass by Mac Balson. Avery’s shot appeared to handcuff Mark Friesen.
Yet again, Fredonia tied it up quickly, this time 1:08 later. Waldman’s powerful blast from outside the left circle appeared to be stopped by Kevin Carr, but it still found it’s way in.
Waldman completed the hat trick and the scoring for the game with nine seconds left in the period. He deflected the puck in while on the power play to give Fredonia their first and only lead of the game.
The third period was scoreless, and once again neither team got into double-digit shots. Buffalo State had a golden opportunity when they went on the power play with 1:34 left. The Bengals pulled their goalie for the two-man advantage, but to no avail.
Friesen outdueled Carr in the battle of freshmen goaltenders. Each goalie made 26 saves.
Fredonia only had two power plays, but they scored on both of them. Buffalo State went scoreless on their five power-play attempts.
Buffalo State’s best conference finish in school history goes for naught, finishing at 12-11-3 overall, matching the school mark for most wins in a season. Meanwhile, Fredonia (13-12-1) has a date at Oswego on Saturday in the semifinal round.
Jared Docking Wins It For Plattsburgh
Plattsburgh knew it wouldn’t be easy, but they were able to defeat Morrisville, 4-3, at 11:58 of overtime. Jared Docking scored the game-winner, assisted by Vick Schlueter and Paul Puglisi. Docking is used to big overtime goals, having scored the overtime winner last year against Middlebury in the NCAA quarterfinals.
The first period went scoreless as Plattsburgh outshot the Mustangs, 10-3.
The Cardinals finally got on the board first at 6:16 of the second on a goal by Ryan Craig, only his fourth of the season. Eric Satim made it 2-0 at 12:54. Just when you thought Plattsburgh was taking control of the game, Morrisville came stampeding back.
The Mustangs scored three unanswered goals to take a 3-2 lead. Their first was 1:03 after Plattsburgh made it 2-0 thanks to Tyler Swan.
Morrisville scored the first two goals of the third period at 5:54 and 12:04. First it was Curtis Renaud and then Derek Matheson fired one in from the left side.
The lead didn’t last long, as Craig scored again 1:04 later.
Onto overtime it went, where Morrisville came out strong, but then Plattsburgh took control. The Cardinals outshot Morrisville in the extra period, 15-3, before Docking finally put it away on a wraparound.
In regulation, Plattsburgh only outshot Morrisville, 29-26, but in total, it was a 44-29 margin. Caylin Relkoff, in his last game of a stellar career, made 40 saves. Josh Leis stopped 26 shots for the win.
Neither team scored on the power play as Morrisville had four chances to Plattsburgh’s six. Swan got a point on each of Morrisville’s goals while Nick Jensen assisted on all three regulation time goals for Plattsburgh.
Morrisville ends its season at 11-13-1 overall. Plattsburgh (18-7-1) moves onto Geneseo for the semifinal round on Saturday.
