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Bengals beat Fredonia to lock up fourth seed, setting up rematch in first round
By Chris Dierken
On February 20, 2013
The Buffalo State men's hockey team closed out its regular season Friday with a 4-2 win
over rival Fredonia State.
The win clinched the fourth seed in the SUNYAC standings for the Bengals and ensured
that Buffalo State will host a playoff game for the third consecutive year and fourth time
in school history.
"Obviously it's big for us," goalie Kevin Carr said. "(The) home crowd obviously helps a
lot. You can feed off the crowd and feed off your own energy."
The Bengals got off to a fast start Friday when Mac Balson scored his sixth goal of the
season just 3:22 into the first period. Nick Melligan's 11th goal pushed the lead to 2-0
with just under five minutes to go in the period, but the two-goal lead didn't last long.
Fredonia's Matt Owczarczak scored with 1:27 to go in the first to cut the Bengals' lead.
The Blue Devils carried the momentum into the second period, capitalizing on a power
play opportunity to tie the game just over two minutes into the frame.
Bengals' captain Mike Zannella was concerned with the team's recent trend of giving up
goals late in periods, and articulated the need to fix the problem in the playoffs.
"We really take a lot of pride in the last and first three minutes of each period, and
that's something we're really going to have to buckle down on Wednesday night," he
said. "You can't go into the rest of the period or leave a period giving the momentum
away."
Buffalo State gained back some of the momentum when Fredonia took two minor
penalties at the 9:53 mark of the second. Shane Avery scored his eighth goal of the
season during the five-on-three man advantage, giving the Bengals a 3-2 lead. The
power-play goal was the Bengals' fourth in the past two games.
Matt Bessing added insurance for the Bengals in the third, scoring his 11th goal halfway
through the period to seal Buffalo State's 4-2 win. Brett Hope contributed with two
assists in the victory.
The Bengals have had 10 different goal scorers in their last two games, and Zannella
noted that the team's balanced attack will be vital in the playoffs.
"We've got everybody rolling right now, and it couldn't be a better time for it, coming
into the playoffs," he said.
Defensively, Buffalo State seems to be hitting their stride. They only gave up 21 shots on
Friday, and head coach Nick Carriere attributed the low number to hard work from his
forwards.
"I think our back pressure is a big part of it," he said. "I think we had the puck a lot in the
offensive zone on five-on-five. I think those things contribute to it, and then, really, our
defensemen played pretty strong."
Buffalo State will host Fredonia again Wednesday night, this time for the right to move
on in the SUNYAC playoffs.
It will be the third meeting between the teams this season, and Nick Melligan knows
that for the Bengals to be successful, they need to rely on what has worked for them in
their previous meetings - both wins.
"It's pretty much just staying with the things that have worked for us the last two
games," he said. "Getting pucks in deep on their defense, cycling, and just looking to
shoot as much as we can."
Puck drop for the SUNYAC quarterfinal game is at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Ice
Arena. The winner will play either Oswego or Plattsburgh on Saturday in the SUNYAC
semifinals.
Chris Dierken can be reached by email at dierken.record@live.com or on Twitter
@cdierken.
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