Post Classifieds
Men flatten Fredonia, falter against SUNYAC superpower Oswego
By Chris Dierken
On February 27, 2013
For the second year in a row, the Buffalo State men's hockey team fell one game short of the
SUNYAC championship game.
The Bengals handled Fredonia 6-0 on Wednesday in the quarterfinals, but fell to Oswego 5-2 in
the semifinals, ending their season.
Head coach Nick Carriere said that a lack of discipline came back to bite the Bengals against the
No. 3 team in the country Saturday.
"We took some penalties in the offensive zone and took some stick penalties that we didn't
need to take," he said. "If you're doing that sort of stuff against a really good team, especially
the No. 3 team in the country, it's going to be an uphill battle."
On Wednesday, Buffalo State scored early and often en route to the six-goal victory over
Fredonia. Brett Hope scored 3:17 into the first to give the Bengals the lead, and the team never
looked back.
Nick Melligan and Matt Bessing each had three points in the victory and Kevin Carr made 17
saves for his third shutout of the season. Captain Mike Zannella, who had an assist, said that he
thought the team played good team defense against the Blue Devils.
"Obviously Kevin played well, he always does, but our defense played really well, especially
moving pucks up quick," he said.
Saturday's game started off in similar fashion. The Bengals took the lead on a Zannella goal
halfway through the first period.
Oswego answered later in the frame, scoring a pair of goals just 53 seconds apart to take a 2-1
lead into the second period. The Lakers added a goal with about four minutes left in the second
to make it 3-1.
A minute later, Buffalo State thought they had cut into the lead when Melligan deposited the
puck behind Oswego goaltender Andrew Hare. Instead, the goal was disallowed because of
goaltender interference and the Bengals received a two-minute minor penalty. The Lakers
scored on the ensuing power play, pushing the lead to 4-1.
"The whole goal getting disallowed and them scoring right after that was pretty crappy timing,"
Zannella said.
Todd Graham scored his second goal of the year early in the final period, but the Bengals
were unable to complete the comeback. An empty net goal sealed the victory and a trip to the
championship game for Oswego.
"I think we've taken some strides to get a little closer, more consistently over the past few
years," Carriere said. "But I think making that next step is the real tough one."
Bessing had two assists, registering the only multi-point game for Buffalo State. Kevin Carr
made 36 saves. He talked about the need for the team to take the next step next year.
"Obviously it's positive to make it there, but it's frustrating not to get to the finals," Carr said.
"... It's frustrating, but it's something we have to swallow, take into next year and use it as
motivation."
The Bengals hope to build on this year's success when they return to the ice next season. The
team will return 19 players, including their captain (Zannella), leading scorer (Melligan) and
starting goaltender (Carr) in 2013-14.
"We have a really good senior class next year," Zannella said. "We're definitely going to miss
the one we had this year, that's for sure, but you have to look forward, have to move forward."
Carr shared the sentiment, saying that Buffalo State needs to take down the top teams in the
SUNYAC if they hope to win a championship.
"If we want to go to the finals and we want to win, then we're going to have to beat the teams
that unfortunately we haven't beat in a long time, like Oswego and like Plattsburgh, so its
definitely something we're looking forward to," he said.
Chris Dierken can be reached by email at dierken.record@live.com and on Twitter @cdierken.
Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly
Recent The Record News Articles
Runge's on-court progress parallels off-court success
Buffalo State men's basketball coach Fajri Ansari remembers his decision to recruit Seth Runge out of Springville-Griffith Institute ...
Bashore Baltimore bound after finding success in fashion field
Kelsey Bashore opened her email over spring break and glanced over one particular message several times to confirm what she was ...
Ladies win OT thriller to close season
After being eliminated from the playoffs last week, the Buffalo State lacrosse team knew Saturday's game at Potsdam would be its last ...
Discuss This Article
GET TOP STORIES DELIVERED WEEKLY
FOLLOW OUR NEWSPAPER
LATEST THE RECORD NEWS
- We've Moved to www.buffstaterecord.com!
- Obama divulges new higher education initiative during visit to UB
- Ailing Podolefsky steps down as president
- SUNY appoints Cohen interim president
- President Podolefsky announces leave to fight cancer
- Rappers put Pepsi in a bind
- Congrats to grads: take next step with gratitude
RECENT THE RECORD CLASSIFIEDS
OUTSIDE THE LINES
- A Story To Sing About
- The Gap in Gum Care: Why Caring For Your Teeth’s F...
- Top Tips for Signature Scents and Better-Smelling Laundry
- A Dog Trainer’s Top Tips to Support Pets Through Life S...
- Clear the Air of Indoor Pollutants This Spring
- Stroke & Dementia in Black Men: Tips for Staying Healthy...
- Hispanics and African Americans at Higher Risk for Eye...
- African Americans at Higher Risk for Eye Disease
- Infinity Kings: Final Book In A Favorite Fantasy Series
- What You Need To Know About Keratoconus and the iLink...
FROM AROUND THE WEB
- No Child is Forgotten By Marine Toys for Tots
- Sweeten Your Springtime Salads With Healthy Chilean Grapes
- Young Author Translates 4,000-Year-Old Text to Reveal...
- Keeping Cool and Energy-efficient Amid America’s “...
- Addressing Sarcopenia with a Healthy Diet
- Subway’s New Wraps Elevate Eating on the Go
- Family Teacher Conference Topics Beyond Academics
- Youth Take Down Tobacco
- BookTrib’s Bites: Four Reads to Kickoff Spring
- Curbing Colorectal Cancer in Minority Populations
COLLEGE PRESS RELEASES
- Shoff Promotions Comic Book & Sports Card Show
- Semiconductor Research Corp unveils 2024 Research Call, $13.8M Funding
- Charles River Associates Opens Second Scholarship Cycle, Expands to the UK
- BLUMHOUSE AND AMC THEATRES LAUNCH FIRST-EVER HALFWAY TO HALLOWEEN FILM FESTIVAL
- THE GEN Z IMPERATIVE: LISTEN TO FEELINGS AND GIVE GEN Z A VOICE
