POTSDAM, N.Y.-The SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (10-7-4, 6-4-2 SUNYAC) built a 2-0 first period lead over SUNY Cortland (7-9-4, 1-7-3 SUNYAC) on Bear Pride Night, but the Red Dragons rallied for a 3-3 draw. Senior forward Jake Rivera (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Hartford Wolfpack) scored twice for the Bears and sophomore forward Dylan Vander Esch (San Jose, Calif./Hartford Wolfpack) netted the other goal.
Rivera scored an unassisted tally at 7:04 of the first period to open the scoring. After killing off a penalty, Potsdam was rewarded with a power play of its own at 14:48. Rivera made the most of it with his second of the night at 16:22. Junior defensemen Jake Butler (Atlanta, Ga./Smith Falls Bears) and Nick Casacci (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Connecticut Oilers) each assisted on the goal. Sophomore goaltender Brendan McMenimen (Merrimack, Mass./Islanders Hockey Club) stopped all eight shots that came his way to preserve the 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.
The second period was more evenly played. Dan Broderick got Cortland on the board at 6:44. The teams traded power plays over the second half of the period, with neither team gaining any ground. The Red Dragons trailed 2-1 after two periods.
Vander Esch scored just 1:30 into the third period, extending the lead back to two goals. However, the momentum was killed just 18 seconds later as Darren McCormick answered to close the gap back to 3-2. After two more unsuccessful power plays apiece, Ryan Wagner found the back of the net with the game-tying goal at 14:25.
Potsdam edged Cortland 3-2 in shots in the extra five minutes, but the score remained 3-3.
McMenimen finished with 26 saves and Red Dragon goalie Drew Weigman turned aside 33 shots in 65 minutes.
The top of the SUNYAC standings is tightly contested. The Bears are currently in fourth place, just four points behind Geneseo for second place and and three points ahead of Brockport in sixth place.
Oswego invades Maxcy Ice Arena tomorrow night at 7 p.m., fresh off a crushing overtime loss at Plattsburgh.
