Canton, NY – The SUNY Canton men's ice hockey team burst out to a 4-0 lead in the second period, but a strong finish from visiting Fredonia resulted in a 4-4 overtime tie in front of a packed crowd on Friday at the Roos House.
 
SUNY Canton got the scoring started 4:01 into the first when Josh Sova (Oswego, NY) lit the lamp for the second time in two games with the skater advantage. Eric Witzel (Ottawa, ON) and Brandon McMartin (Toronto, ON) were credited with assists on the play. The Roos added another power play marker with 16.9 seconds left in the first. Sova fed McMartin who played the puck across the top of the crease left to right as J.R. Lafferty (Williamstown, NJ) one-timed home his first of the season.
 

The Roos extended their lead to 3-0 1:43 into the second frame when Kenneth Orlando (Chalfont, PA) beat the goalie top shelf off passes from Witzel and Sova. Exactly four minutes later the freshman scored his second goal of the game and third of the season as he received a pass from Witzel in a 2-on-1 situation. Orlando made a beautiful deke laying the Fredonia net minder on his back as he beat him glove side.
 
The Blue Devils got on the board with 1:35 left in the second as Frankie Hart netted his first marker of the season. Matt Cessna and Hunter Long were credited with assists on the play. Spencer Landry (New Hartford, NY) made 22 huge saves in the second period as the Roos took a 4-1 lead into second intermission.
 
Fredonia battled back in the third, adding a second score with the skater advantage 2:51 into the frame. Taylor Bourne fed Marcus Andersson who circled behind net left to right and centered a pass to Stephen Castriota in the slot who beat Landry to the blocker side.
 
The Blue Devils were on the attack moments later and made it 4-3 38 seconds later when Long intercepted a pass and sniped a shot top shelf to get the visitors within one. Fredonia continued to put the pressure on the hosts with a plethora of shots but SUNY Canton stood strong. With just 87 seconds remaining in the third period the Roos were whistled for delay of game on an alleged hand pass of a faceoff.
 
Thirty-four seconds later Fredonia made the power play opportunity pay off as Ryan Wilkinson fed Bourne who knotted the game at 4-4 with just 53 seconds to play. The teams would skate into an extra five minute period.
SUNY Canton held a 2-1 shots on goal advantage in the overtime period but attempts by both Orlando and Sova were turned aside by Christopher Eiserman who replaced Jeff Flagler in net after SUNY Canton's fourth score.
 
Landry was remarkable all game in net for SUNY Canton stopping 46 shots on the evening. Flagler (10) and Eiserman (17) combined to make 27 saves for

Fredonia. SUNY Canton went 2-for-5 on the power play, while the Blue Devils were 2-for-7 with the skater advantage.

These teams will have a rematch on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in the Roos House. Stay up to date with the latest news directly from the SUNY Canton Athletics department by "liking" us on Facebook and "following" our Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts.

About SUNY Canton
SUNY Canton is Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and certificate programs. The college delivers quality hands-on programs in engineering technology, health, management and public service. Faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as eight exclusively online bachelor's degrees. The college's 14 athletic teams compete as provisional members of the NCAA Division III and the USCAA.