Men fall apart in Utica, go 0-1-1

Buffalo State came away winless from their recent set of games, tying Fredonia on Friday 3-3 and losing to No. 8 Utica on Saturday by a score of 9-3.

Bengals' (5-5-1) players said a number of miscues made by the team led to its downfall over the weekend.

"We could have beaten them and outworked them, but in the end, we just sat back," sophomore defenseman John Corrigan said. "I think a lot of guys like myself are making simple mistakes that we go over in practice, and it's not carrying over into games. When we mess up on the simple things, it costs us games."

Senior forward and team captain James Durham agreed.

"We let those games slip away," Durham said. "Those were points that we definitely could have used to climb up in the standings. They were right there, but we just need to play a full 60 minutes."

Prior to the team's two-game slate over the weekend, the Bengals traveled to Adrian, Mich., during Thanksgiving weekend to take part in the Adrian College Thanksgiving Hockey Showcase. The Bengals split a pair of games, defeating St. Thomas 3-2 and losing to Wisconsin-Eau Claire 3-1.

The players felt the experience of participating in the tournament would serve them well in the future.

"Getting a win against a nationally-ranked team in St. Thomas was big," head coach Nick Carriere said. "It was a good effort on our part, especially on special teams.

"Against Wisconsin-Eau Claire, we had some troubles getting out of our zone," Carriere continued. "We were right there with them and I don't think we played a complete game. Hopefully we're starting to learn that coming to play for 60 minutes is what we need to be more consistent."

Friday's game was a back-and-forth affair between Buffalo State and Fredonia. Sophomore defenseman Clay Lewis scored his first career goal 2:29 into the second period to give the team a one-goal lead. Durham scored less than a minutes later to put the Bengals up 2-0. Durham was assisted by junior forward Drew Klin and sophomore defenseman Anthony Orange.

After Fredonia got themselves on the board with a goal three minutes later, senior forward Justin Knee scored a shorthanded goal to make the score 3-1, with an assist going to junior forward Trevor McKinney.

Fredonia then scored a pair of goals to tie the game at three apiece. Neither team was able to light the lamp in the overtime period.

Sophomore goaltender Kevin Carr finished the game with 29 saves.

The Bengals came out of the gate strong against Utica. After finding themselves down by a goal early, freshman forward Nick Melligan evened up the score 12 seconds later. Melligan was assisted by sophomore forwards Dave Lansdowne and Taylor McGraw.

In the second period, Utica scored to take the lead nearly five minutes in, but McKinney scored twice to put the Bengals ahead. Knee and junior defenseman Zach Hale provided assists.

It would be the only time in the game where the Bengals held the lead. Utica scored the next seven goals to nail down the win.

After the Bengals take on Hobart on Wednesday night, the team will then go on vacation until early January. According to Carriere, the break is much needed.

"Even though we didn't start our season until Oct. 15, our guys have worked pretty hard from the first day of school, so I think it's a good little break," Carriere said. "They'll have two weeks off to go home and spend some time with their families, and then they'll be back and get right back after it the first week of January."

Durham agreed.

"I think we're going to come back really hungry," he said. "As much as everyone on our team likes each other, getting away from each other and seeing our families and seeing our friends back home always helps. When we come back, I think we're going to have a stronger mentality and attitude."

Tony Fiorello can be reached at fiorello.record@live.com.