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Team beats Fredonia, falls short against No. 10 Utica
By Aaron Garland
On December 6, 2012
The Buffalo State men's hockey team got a pivotal SUNYAC win over rival Fredonia on Friday, but
its comeback attempt in a non-conference matchup against No. 10 Utica fell just short in overtime
Saturday.
The games marked the sixth and seventh of a current nine-game road stretch that the Bengals are now
2-5 during.
The 7-3 win at Fredonia helped the Bengals (4-6-1/3-4-1) leapfrog the Blue Devils in the SUNYAC
standings. Buffalo State sits fourth in the conference.
"It's a great feeling to get two points that we definitely needed in the conference," head coach Nick
Carriere said. "I think we gave up a couple points earlier on in the season that we should have had."
Buffalo State struck early and often Friday, taking a 4-0 lead into the first intermission en route to
scoring the game's first five goals. Nick Melligan and captain Mike Zannella paced the Bengals' attack
with two goals apiece in the opening period.
Melligan scored the first two goals of the night, his first coming just 10 seconds into the contest on a
two-on-one, establishing the Bengals' offensive mindset for the rest of the night.
"It set a huge tone. To score that early put out a statement that we were there to play," said Brett Hope,
who plays on a line with Melligan and Zannella. "It kind of put Fredonia on their heels right away."
Buffalo State took a 2-0 lead on Melligan's second, coming on the power play on one of Trevor
McKinney's two helpers. Midway through the first, Zannella netted his tallies just 1:20 apart to round-
out the period's scoring. McKinney got his second assist of the night on Zannella's first goal, another
power-play marker.
The Bengals earned the big early lead by capitalizing on plays and bounces they don't always cash-in on.
"It was just execution," assistant coach Jeremiah Crowe said of the team's outburst in the first. "There
are a lot of times where things we try to do don't work and we can't get a goal, but things just went in
our favor for that period as a whole."
Under two minutes after Zach Hale made it 5-0 at 9:05 of the second, the Blue Devils got on the board
with Ben Kramer in the box for tripping. The teams traded two power-play goals each in the final frame,
with Hope and Matt Bessing scoring for the Bengals. Along with McKinney, Drew Klin and Kramer had
two assists each.
The Bengals held a 28-26 advantage in shots, as Kevin Carr finished with 23 saves for Buffalo State.
Saturday marked the second time this season the Bengals nearly knocked off a nationally-ranked
opponent. Two weeks ago, Buffalo State dropped a 5-4 decision to then top-ranked Oswego after
blowing a two-goal lead.
This time, it was the Bengals that rallied from two down, scoring two third-period markers to force
overtime, only to fall short, 4-3, against the Pioneers.
Adam Graff followed up on his own rebound to beat Carr for the game-winner with 1:14 remaining in
overtime to end the Bengals' upset bid.
Utica led 1-0 through the first period, despite Buffalo State holding a 15-10 advantage in shots and
having a five- and two-minute power play opportunity. Carriere felt the failure to take advantage of the
extended power-play time was ultimately the difference in the game.
"They had one power-play goal, and we had none and we lost by a goal. So, you do the math - it
definitely had a big impact," he said.
Zannella tied the game just 35 seconds after the start of the middle frame.
The Pioneers regained the lead less than a minute later when Graff recorded his first of the night. Trever
Hertz gave Utica its two-goal lead heading into the third after a power-play goal late in the second.
Utica held the advantage in third-period shots, 16-10, but Buffalo State was able to remain in the game
behind several highlight-reel saves by Carr, who finished with 37 saves.
With the Bengals trailing 3-1 entering the third, Zannella snuck a wrist shot between the five-hole of
Pioneers' goaltender Nick Therrien to net his second of the game with 13:19 left.
"I didn't even get all of it - I kind of muffed it a little, the puck was on its edge. I was just trying to
surprise the goalie and go five-hole and I was lucky enough to get it in," said Zannella, who was named
Buffalo State Athlete and SUNYAC Men's Hockey Player of the Week for his efforts over the weekend.
Bessing found the back of the net with 1:40 left to force overtime. Hope and Melligan were credited
with the assists. Melligan also assisted on both of Zannella's goals to give him a three-point night.
Though the comeback was not completed, Crowe saw it as a positive that the team never got
discouraged while trailing.
"We got that tying goal real late in the third and we continued to press," Crowe said. "It's always good
when you see a team come back and kind of feel it coming from within on the bench - it shows a lot of
good character."
Buffalo State will conclude its road stretch with games against No. 2 Hobart on Wednesday and
Nazareth on Saturday. Both are set for a 7 p.m. faceoff.
Aaron Garland can be reached by email at garland.record@live.com.
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