Brockport erases early 2-0 deficit, but falls to Geneseo 3-2

By Brandon Wood
@Brandonwood27

After trailing 2-0 near the end of the first period Friday night, the College at Brockport's ice hockey team stormed back with a goal from sophomore Chase Nieuwendyk and tied it six minutes into the second period on freshman Nate Pelligra's first collegiate goal.

Unfortunately for Pelligra, he was called on a questionable tripping call 20 seconds later and SUNY Geneseo scored what would be the game-winning goal on the ensuing power play. Brockport (6-11-3 overall, 3-7-1 SUNYAC) lost at home on its annual Saves-for-a-Cure night 3-2. The loss marks the third straight time Geneseo has defeated Brockport.

Geneseo opened the scoring six minutes into the game and doubled its advantage with four minutes remaining after the puck hit Geneseo junior Justin Scharfe's skates and found its way past Brockport goalie Jared Lockhurst. Lockhurst finished the game with 25 saves.

Golden Eagles Head Coach Brian Dickinson said allowing Geneseo to get out to a quick 2-0 lead is a bad formula for success against the Knights.

"Their team, when they get the lead, they're tough to play against because they do pack it in and they block a bunch of shots and they're tough to come back against," Dickinson said.

Nieuwendyk answered for the Golden Eagles with 26 seconds remaining in the first period when he intercepted a Geneseo pass, broke away and backhanded a shot between Geneseo goalie Nick Horrigan's five-hole. It was Nieuwendyk's seventh goal and team-leading seventh straight game registering a point.

Pelligra tied the game for Brockport in the second period when his shot was deflected in off a Geneseo player.

"It felt great to finally get [my first goal] out of the way," Pelligra said. "I've been getting my opportunities so I just fired the puck at the net and thankfully it went in."

It was just 20 seconds later that Pelligra was sent to the box for tripping despite Pelligra appearing to have possession of the puck when the call was made. That was Pelligra's fourth minor penalty in his past three games. Geneseo capitalized with 17 seconds remaining in the penalty to score what would eventually be the game-winning goal.

"Tough break there with the tripping call," Pelligra said. "I wasn't too happy about it because I have been in the box the past few games a lot, so it's a tough one."

While Geneseo scored its game-winning goal on the power play, Brockport's power play failed to produce a goal for the first time in six games. It finished 0-for-3 with the man advantage on the night.

Sophomore defenseman Chris Luker, who operates the point for Brockport's first power play unit, said it was because Geneseo did an extraordinary job of blocking shots.

"They were just blocking everything they saw," Luker said. "They were jumping four guys in front of the puck sometimes and smothering us up high. We tried going down low a couple of times but the puck was jumping over our sticks. We'll have to make some adjustments for tomorrow and that starts with quicker puck movement."

Brockport plays the second half of its home-and-home at Geneseo tomorrow night at 7 p.m. Dickinson said the key to getting much-needed SUNYAC points tomorrow is by starting the game fast.

"We need a much better start than we had tonight and we need to find a way to get a lead," Dickinson said. "Once we do that, they'll get on their heels a little bit. Their last home game they showed they can be beat at home (Potsdam upset Geneseo last week 5-2 in Geneseo) and we need to find a way to compete in the first period."

Geneseo has only lost one conference game at home this season.

Dickinson also said the crowd in Geneseo should make for a tough road environment.

"It's one of those fun rinks to go into because it's always loud," Dickinson said. "It's always fun to go in there because it's our rivalry game. It doesn't matter if it's here or there, we know it's going to be intense."

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Luker also saw his six-game point streak come to an end as he failed to register a point tonight, leaving Nieuwendyk as the lone leader in consecutive games with points.

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The out of town scoreboard couldn't have been much more helpful to Brockport tonight, as SUNY Fredonia and SUNY Morrisville both lost to No. 6 SUNY Plattsburgh and No. 10 SUNY Oswego, respectively. SUNY Potsdam and Buffalo State College tied in Potsdam. SUNY Cortland doesn't play any games this weekend.

Here's a look at the current SUNYAC Standings:

1. No. 6 SUNY Plattsburgh (10-1-2 SUNYAC) – 22 points

2. SUNY Geneseo (9-2) – 18 points

3. No. 10 SUNY Oswego (7-3-1) – 15 points

4. Buffalo State College (6-3-3) – 15 points

5. SUNY Fredonia (4-5-3) – 11 points

6. SUNY Cortland (3-7-2) – 8 points

7. The College at Brockport (3-7-1) – 7 points

8. SUNY Potsdam (2-8-1) - 5 points

9. SUNY Morrisville (2-10-1) – 5 points