The Fredonia men's hockey team hung on for a 6-5 win in a key State University of New York (SUNYAC) matchup vs. Brockport.
Six different players scored for the Devils to even their overall record to 4-4-1 and improve to 4-3-1 in the conference. Brockport fell to 3-5-1 and 2-5-0 in SUNYAC play.
Samuel Wilbur (Saginaw, Mich.) scored the sixth and final goal to earn the No. 1 star. He, Jacob Haynes (Whitby, Ont.), and Marcus Ortiz (Richardson, Texas) each had a goal and an assist.
Ryan Dunn (Rockland, Mass.), Todd Schauss (Terryville, Conn.), and Luke Rivera (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) each had one goal for the Blue Devils while goaltender Eric Bogart (London, Ont.) made 33 saves.
Jake Taylor had two goals and an assist for Brockport.
Haynes opened the scoring with his second goal off a turnover from Brockport goaltender Cole Burrrack. Ryan Dunn made it 2-0 when he scored off a 2-on-1 rush with Thomas Dunn (Smithtown). It was Ryan's first collegiate goal.
Brockport broke through when Taylor scored off a rebound. The Blue Devils regained their two-goal lead when Ortiz rushed up the left wing and broke in hard on goal for his fourth goal of the season.
The Golden Eagles took momentum into the dressing room when Taylor scored his second goal of the night off his own rebound in front of the net. They pulled even when Connor Hutchins connected for his sixth goal of the year at 3:04 of the third period.
Schauss and Brockport's Brandon McMartin traded goals before Rivera and Wilbur scored consecutive power-play goals to put Fredonia on top, 6-4.
A goal by Brockport's Zac Sikich made it 6-5 with 4:45 left. A five-minute major against Fredonia with 2:48 remaining ensured Brockport having a man-advantage the rest of the way. It became a two-man advantage when Brockport pulled its goaltender with 46 seconds left, yet the Blue Devils staved off the onslaught.
The two points put Fredonia into a second-place tie with Buffalo State. The Western New York rivals have 9 points each (and Fredonia holds the head-to-head tiebreaker) behind Oswego with 14 points. The Lakers are ranked No. 1 in the country and swing through the region next weekend -- Friday at Fredonia and Saturday at Buffalo State.
Cortland also visits the area with a stop in Fredonia next Saturday. The Blue Devils' 2007 SUNYAC championship team will be honored during weekend proceedings.
