PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Junior Connor Tait(Boyds, Md.) scored a pair of third period goals and senior Kalle Andersson (Taby, Sweden) made 32 saves as #9 Plymouth State University held off #13 SUNY Cortland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Hanaway Rink on Saturday night.
 
Tait snapped a 2-2 tie with the game's only power play goal with 8:55 left in the third period. Sophomore Rider McCallum(Langley, British Columbia) made a fantastic play at the blue line to keep the puck in the zone, then hit Tait with a pass to the slot for a backhanded tally to give PSU the lead for good.
 
Plymouth State did well to keep the puck deep, limiting the Cortland opportunity to pull its goalie. The Red Dragons finally cleared the zone and went to the extra skater with just over a minute to play, but the Panthers quickly gained control of the puck. Sophomore Will Redick (Collingwood, Ontario) fired a shot toward the net from the blue line that deflected off the end boards and Tait was there to dump the rebound into the open net to make it 4-2 with 52.8 seconds left on the clock.
 
Freshman David Matousek (West Chester, Pa.) added a tap-in goal 23 seconds later to secure the Panthers' first-ever NCAA Tournament victory.
 
Plymouth State improves to 24-2-2, setting a new program record for wins, and will travel to #2 Utica University for a quarterfinal game next Saturday (Mar. 16). Cortland finishes the year at 18-9-2.
 
The Basics:

• #9 Plymouth State 5, #13 Cortland 2
  • #9 Plymouth State (24-2-2)
  • Cortland (18-9-2)

How it Happened:

• Plymouth State came out aggressive and physical, controlling the pace over the opening five minutes.
• Cortland withstood the early pressure to swing the momentum in its favor through the middle section of the first.
• PSU killed off late power play with Andersson making a spectacular post-to-post save just before the horn to keep the game scoreless after one.
• Andersson came up with a pair of huge stops during 4-on-4 action six minutes into the middle stanza. PSU rode the momentum into the game's first goal a minute later. Junior Cam Patton (Truro, Nova Scotia) applied a strong forecheck that led to a Cortland turnover. Patton hit a streaking Matousek in the high slot, and Matousek slid to the right circle before snapping a wrist shot to the top right corner for a 1-0 lead.
• Plymouth State kept the pressure on, going back on the power play midway through the frame, but Red Dragons' senior goaltender Jack Riedell (Greensboro, N.C.) made a pair of big saves to keep it a one-goal game.
• Cortland rode the momentum to tie the game at 1-1 at the 10:46 mark. The Red Dragons flew in on a 3-2 break and senior Nate Berke (Williamsville, N.Y.) banged home a rebound to even the score.
• The Panthers went back in front in the final minute of the period when Redick took the puck away from a Cortland skater in the zone and blasted a shot past the glove of Riedell for a 2-1 lead heading to the second intermission.
• The Red Dragons stole the momentum early in the third. Riedell cleared the puck along the half wall into the neutral zone, leading to a 2-on-1 break for the visitors. Sophomore Stephen Kyrkostas (Selden, N.Y.) slipped a pass to classmate Colby Seitz (Eden, N.Y.), who snuck the puck past Andersson as the two collided, sending the goal off its moorings. The officials briefly huddled before confirming the goal as the score was knotted at 2-2.
• Cortland went right on the power play, but the PSU defense limited the Red Dragons to just one shot and Andersson was up to the task.
• Plymouth State went on a power play of its own two minutes later. The Panthers maintained the pressure and McCallum made a great play at the blue line to knock down a clear attempt and keep the puck in the zone. He worked a give-and-go with Redick, then skated to the top of the left circle before feeding Tait in the slot. Tait converted the backhand attempt to put the Panthers back in the lead with 8:55 left to play.
• Cortland pulled Riedell for the extra skater with 1:08 to go, but PSU quickly gained the puck in the neutral zone. Redick took a shot from just beyond the blue line that skipped wide of the goal and off the end boards, where Tait dumped it into the open net to make it 4-2.
• The Panthers kept the pressure up with Patton winning a battle on the end boards before pushing a pass into the corner to freshman Patrick O'Connell(West Chester, Pa.). O'Connell fired a pass to Matousek in the slot, who tapped it in to account for the final score.

By the Numbers:

• Tait and Matousek recorded a pair of goals apiece.
• Redick finished with three points on a goal and two assists, while Patton registered a pair of helpers.
• Redick's 27 goals this season are two shy of the program record, while he moves into second with 58 points on the year.
• PSU held a 45-34 advantage in shots.
• The Panthers went 1-for-4 on the power play, while holding Cortland scoreless in three chances.
• Riedell finished with 40 saves for the Red Dragons, while Andersson made 32 stops for PSU to improve to 21-2-1. His 21 wins are one shy of the program mark.
• Plymouth State improves to 3-5 in the head-to-head matchup, winning each of the last three games. The most recent meetings came during the 2008-09 season when PSU swept a weekend matchup.

 
Up Next:

• The Panthers visit #2 Utica next Saturday (Mar. 16) for a chance to advance to the Frozen Four. PSU is 0-3 against the Pioneers, most recently falling by a 5-3 margin at the Delta by Marriott Thanksgiving Showcase last November.

Release courtesy of Plymouth State Sports Information