It was another full schedule this week for the Bears' swimming, hockey, and soccer teams.

Men's Hockey

The SUNY Potsdam men's hockey team erased a three-goal deficit before falling 4-3 to third-ranked Plattsburgh on Friday night. Senior assistant captain Matt Viola had three assists and senior goaltender Kevin McFarland made 40 saves for the Bears. The Cardinals started fast and owned the first period. Just 1:48 into the contest. Ryan Craig got Plattsburgh on the board. Kyle Taylor doubled the lead at the 9:42 mark and Michael Cassidy made it 3-0 at 10:15. Despite the score McFarland made several key saves to keep the game from getting away. Viola set up sophomore forward Mike Arnold on the power play to start the Bears' comeback at 11:42. Only 42 seconds later, freshman defenseman Erick Ware made it a one-goal game with assists from freshman defenseman Dan McCamey and Viola. Potsdam outshot the Cardinals 22-14 in the middle stanza. Senior captain Sy Nutkevitch scored on the man advantage just 29 seconds into the third period to tie the game at 3-3. Both teams played a clean physical final 20 minutes, but it was a power play that made the difference in the game. After a Bears' elbowing penalty at 16:19, it took the Cardinals just 11 seconds to net the game-winner. Barry Roytman scored at the 16:30 mark to put Plattsburgh out front for good. Bernard pulled McFarland with 1:31 to go, but Potsdam was unable to draw even.

 Men's Basketball


Curtis Pierce scored 16 points and pulled down 17 rebounds but the Bears came out on the short end of a 58-50 loss to Cortland. Junior Brian Manning led the Red Dragons with a game-high 28 points and knocked down 11-of-15 field goal attempts. The first half was evenly played with the Red Dragons going into the locker room hanging onto a narrow 29-28 lead. Each team held a six point lead at one point in the half, but couldn't hold it. Pierce led the first half charge with a solid 10 rebounds, five points, and three assist performance while Zac Adams finished with eight points including a buzzer beater that cut the lead to one. Manning led the Cortland attack, accounting for 15 first half points on 6-of-9 shooting. Potsdam went cold to start the half and the Red Dragons took advantage, using a 12-4 run thanks to nine early points by Manning. The spurt gave Cortland a 41-32 lead before sophomore Tony Efese buried a three. Pierce answered a Cortland basket with a three-pointer of his own to cut the deficit to 43-38 at the 13:19 mark. The defensive intensity picked up on both ends of the floor with only 12 points being scored over the next eight minutes of the game. With the Bears trailing 53-46, Pierce hit a driving layup to cut into the lead with just under three minutes left. On the ensuing defensive possession, Potsdam forced a 35-second shot clock violation but was unable to convert on the offensive end. Cortland knocked down late free throws to come away with the hard fought victory. The following afternoon, Potsdam was defeated by Oswego 76-56, moving the Lakers to 11-0 in conference play.

Women's Basketball

Following a 65-53 defeat at home against Cortland, Kari Kipper  and Kayla Ryan  combined for 42 points as Oswego St. defeated Potsdam by a final score of 58-50. The Bears had balanced scoring with seven players scoring at least six points. Kipper got the Lakers off to a quick start scoring eight of her team's first 10 points as Oswego jumped out to an early 17-6 lead. Freshman Bailey Weigel ended the run with a driving layup to start a 12-4 Potsdam run. Freshman Carli Reynolds knocked down a three to cut the deficit to 21-13 at the six minute mark and the Sophia Parks connected on a jumper on the next possession to close the gap further. Kipper would respond with a three but Potsdam continued to chip away at the lead and cut it to three points with just over three minutes remaining. Lakers leading scorer, Ryan, would assert herself in the final three minutes of the half. She scored seven points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out an assist to propel Oswego to a 36-25 halftime lead. The two teams traded baskets much of the early part of the second half. Potsdam's defense didn't allow Oswego many open looks and held the Lakers without a field goal for five and a half minutes and the lead dwindled to 43-39 with 6:10 left. The Lakers would respond with back-to-back three's from Kipper and Ryan to extend the lead. Jessica Kouzan's second three of the game brought the Bears within six with 1:46 left. Potsdam stole the ensuing inbounds pass and Parks went to the line. She was able to convert on both to make it a four point game but the Bears could pull no closer.   
 
Swimming and Diving
 
The SUNY Potsdam swimming and diving team closed out the regular season with a home split against St. Michael's College. The men defeated the Purple Knights 167-121 and the women fell 143-118. The Bears won 19 of the 30 events. Sophomore Richie Zimmerman led the men with four victories. Zimmerman captured the 200 freestyle (1:55.93), 200 backstroke (2:01.94), 400 individual medley (4:35.09) and was part of the winning 400 medley relay team (3:51.74). Junior Alexander Taylor had wins in the 50 backstroke (0:28.40), the 200 breaststroke (2:16.77) and helped the 400 freestyle relay team to a victory (3:30.45). Senior Ryan Wentz won the 100 freestyle (0:51.36), the 50 butterfly (0:25.10) and was also a member of the 400 medley relay team. Sophomore Dylan Woythol won the 50 freestyle (0:24.13) and was on the winning 400 freestyle and 400 medley relay teams. Sophomore Laurissa Coombs and junior Liz Ringer each had two solo victories for the women and were members of the winning 400 medley relay team (4:20.29). Coombs won the 200 backstroke (2:19.69) and 400 individual medley (4:59.98), while Ringer picked up victories in the 200 butterfly (2:18.53) and 50 butterfly (0:28.69). Sophomore Ghena Binzer joined the duo on the 400 medley relay team and won the 200 breaststroke (2:38.55).
 
Performers of the Week

Junior forward Curtis Pierce is the Bears Male Performer of the Week. Pierce posted consecutive double doubles against Cortland and Oswego this past weekend. In his first game, Pierce scored 16 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds. He followed that with a 15-point and 12 rebound performance.  

Swimmer Laurissa Coombs is the Bears Female Performer of the Week.  Coombs had two solo victories for the women and was a member of the winning 400 medley relay team (4:20.29). Coombs won the 200 backstroke (2:19.69) and 400 individual medley (4:59.98).

Weekly Preview

The men's hockey team (6-11-2, 4-6 SUNYAC) hosts Buffalo St. Friday night at 7 p.m. They will then host Fredonia on Saturday at 7 p.m.

The women's hockey team (7-7-3, 4-7-3 SUNYAC) hits the road for back-to-back conference games at Nuemann. They will play at 7 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday.  

The men's basketball team (4-14, 2-9 SUNYAC) hosts New Paltz on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. On Friday night, Fredonia comes to town for a 8 p.m. tip-off. The following afternoon, the Bears host Buffalo St. at 4 p.m.

The women's basketball (4-14, 2-9 SUNYAC) travels to New Paltz on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. The Bears will then return home for games on Friday against Fredonia (8 p.m.) and Buffalo St. on Saturday (2 p.m.)