Canton, NY – Brandon McMartin (Toronto, ON) scored his first collegiate goal with just 30 ticks left on the clock to lift the SUNY Canton men's hockey team past Stonehill College 6-5 on Saturday evening at the Roos House.
 
SUNY Canton got on the board first 14:11 into the opening period. Josh Sova (Oswego, NY) dumped the puck into the offensive zone. Matt Palella looked to clear the puck to the left of his own net but the puck went off a defenseman and into the net. Trenton Yule (Oswego, NY) and Louie Puig (Chicago, IL) earned assists on the play. 
 
Three seconds after their power play ended Stonehill got on the board. Brendan White played the puck from the high slot to Travis Army at the middle of the left circle. He wristed a shot high over the glove of Puig just under the crossbar to tie the game at one. Kevin Aufiero also earned an assist on the play.
 
SUNY Canton (5-10-1) regained the lead at 12:19 of the second. Joe Casale (Niagara Falls, NY) found Sam McLaughlin (Ottawa, ON) right in front of goal. His initial shot was saved but Taylor Pickering (Marine City, MI) was waiting on the doorstep as he put home his third of the season. Just seconds later the Skyhawks (7-4-2) tied he game once again off a defensive zone giveaway. Robbie Dorgan scored on a backdoor goal off the pass from Dan Graham. SUNY Canton showed its resiliency as Dave Schneider (Indianapolis, IN) lit the lamp for the fifth time just 57 seconds later. Kasey Kulczycki (Laval, QUE) and Eric Witzel (Ottawa, ON) earned helpers on the play.
 
In a true back-and-forth battle Stonehill continued the seesaw battle as Anthony D'Elia put the puck past the blocker of Puig at 17:05. Kevin Airoldi and Brian Furey were credited with assists. Not to be outdone the Roos added their third score of the period with 40 seconds remaining. Sova deflected a clearance attempt from behind the Stonehill net and the puck went right to Nick Vasilopoulos (Montreal, QC) out in front as he slipped it through the five-hole of Palella. Dave Ferris (Saratoga Springs, NY) also earned a helper on the play. The Roos took a 4-3 lead into second intermission.
 
Kyle Matsumoto (Walnut, CA) made it 5-3 Roos at 10:11 of the third on his third of the season. Tyler Ralph (Middletown, NJ) and Thomas Crabtree (Knoxville, TN) assisted the marker. Stonehill responded with back-to-back goals in a 71 second span from Stephen Balsamo and Aufiero to knot the game at 5-5 with eight minutes remaining.
 
With 30 seconds remaining McMartin took a shot from the top of the left circle and beat Palella top shelf for his first collegiate goal in thrilling game-winning fashion. Ben Beasley (Burlington, ON) and Witzel set-up the game-winner.
 
Puig made 33 stops between the pipes for the Roos, while Palella finished with 35 saves for the Skyhawks. SUNY Canton went 1-for-2 on the power play, while killing both of Stonehill's power play opportunities.
 
The men's hockey team will have a rematch with Stonehill on Sunday 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.