CANTON, Mass. – The Curry College men's ice hockey team defeated SUNY Potsdam in a 5-3 final in its non-conference finale on Sunday afternoon at the Canton Ice House.
The squads traded goals in the first period. The Bears got on the initial score of the game on a goal by sophomore Ethan Clark (Seven Valleys, Pa.) 5:42 into the contest. Senior Nate Zweig (Binghamton, N.Y.) picked up the assist on the marker. The Colonels netted the equalizer with 6:14 left in the frame on the first goal of the game from senior assistant captain Billy Vizzo (Shelton, Conn.). Sophomore Mic Curran (Arlington, Mass.) and freshman Nicholas Favaro (Vaughn, Ontario) were credited with the helpers as the first stanza ended in a 1-1 score.
SUNY Potsdam pulled out in front in the second, outscoring Curry 2-1 to build a 3-2 advantage. Vizzo found the back of the net just 1:05 into the period on the power play. Junior Tristan Morin (Unionville, Conn.) and freshman Austin Whelan (Richmond Hill, Ontario) got the assists on the goal. The Bears tallied the final two goals of the frame, one from sophomore Robert Clerc (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) at 12:29 and the other from senior Vincent Guimond (Sorel-Tracy, Quebec) with eight seconds left.
The Colonels found the back of the net three times in the final period to claim the two-goal victory. Senior Jordan Williamson (Okotoks, Alberta) tied the game at three with his second goal of the season 4:49 into the frame. Morin netted the eventual game-winner on the power play off of assists from Vizzo and sophomore Nick Magill-Diaz (Troy, Mich.) with 10:48 remaining in regulation. Curry tacked on an insurance tally with 47 seconds left with an empty-net goal from Curran. Junior Joseph Thielen (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and sophomore Alex Ochterbeck (Dallas, Texas) were credited with the assists as the contest ended with the two-goal margin.
The Colonels went 2-for-3 on power plays while SUNY Potsdam was 0-for-2. Curry had 41 shots while the Bears had 32.
Sophomore goaltender Vladimir Cibulka (Bratislava, Slovakia) made 29 stops for the Colonels in the win. Freshman Connor Green (New Port Richey, Fla.) had 36 stops in net for the Bears in the loss.
Curry (10-3-2 overall) will now embark on a trip to Europe from January 11th through the 15th where they will face three professional teams, beginning on Saturday in Budapest, Hungary.
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