Mens Hockey: Utica Defeats Potsdam

A second period goal was the difference as tenth-ranked Utica
(7-3) edged the SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (5-5) 1-0 in a
nonconference contest on Friday night. The Pioneers got the game-winner
from Evan Chlanda and a 30-save shutout from Nick Therrien. In one of his
finest performances in a Bears’ jersey, senior goaltender Kevin McFarland
(St. Louis, Mo./Woodstock Slammers) stopped 42 of 43 shots he faced.

Potsdam was very physical right out of the gate in the first period, but
Utica controlled the much of the action. McFarland made 13 saves in the
opening stanza to keep the Pioneers off the board. The Bears best
offensive opportunity came from the stick of sophomore forward Adam Place
(Scarborough, Ontario/Bowmanville Eagles) with six minutes left in the
period, but Utica’s Nick Therrien foiled him with the blocker.

The Bears misfortunes in the offensive zone continued in the second period
as they were outshot 21-5. Just 2:05 into the period Chlanda struck on
assists from Tim Coffman and Ridge Garbutt.  The Bears got caught in
transition and Utica made the most of the opportunity

Potsdam finally got their offense moving in the third period. They
sustained offensive pressure and challenged Therrien with 17 shots, but
couldn’t solve the Pioneer goalie. With just under eight minutes to go,
Therrien stymied freshman forward Trevor Cope (Swartz Creek, Mich./Atlanta
Jr. Knights) on consecutive attempts. Despite the pressure, Potsdam was
unable to net the equalizer.

The Bears were 0-4 on the power play, but held Utica to 0-5.

Potsdam is done for the academic semester, but returns to action at the
Middlebury Holiday Classic on December 31, at 1p.m. against Southern
Maine.