After a rough weekend at the Massena Arena, with losses to Canisius, 5-2 and Rye, 4-0, the Golden Bears pulled together an upbeat team performance to topple their Route 11 Rivals at the Pavilion on Wednesday.
The Bears defeated the Sandstoners 6-3 on home ice, a statement win against a Potsdam team that has proven itself as one of the top contenders in Section X.
Senior Caleb Premo made the switch from defense to forward for the second straight game, and the move proved fruitful for the Bears as he led the team in goals in the rivalry campaign. Premo has moved to forward to fill a hole left by junior forward Owen Palmer, who is out of the lineup with an injury.
It was Premo who got the scoring started for the Bears late in the first period, thanks in part to an assist from Owen Logan. Premo carried the puck across the blue line and used the defender in front of him to screen the goaltender and sneak one over his glove.
Potsdam knotted the score at one just 28 seconds into the second period, but Canton responded moments later with a pair of their own. Premo scored again to start the rush, with an assist from senior forward David Seymour. Then, it was Logan’s turn to score as he sliced through the Sandstoner defenders on his way to the net, burying a close range shot, with an assist going to senior defender Jack Brandy.
Canton added another goal to their onslaught about five minutes later, when Logan again found the back of the net. Potsdam bookended the period with a goal from nearly center ice that took an unfortunate hop on senior goaltender Gavin Schryver. The period ended with a 5-2 lead for Canton.
In the third, each team would score again, with Potsdam drawing first blood. Canton responded near the end of the period when junior forward Aaron Rosales crashed a rebound at the net front for the final tally of the game, with assists going to Seymour and junior forward Robert Palmer.
Schryver finished with 24 saves for the Golden Bears.
The win moves Canton into second place in Division I, three points behind Massena, who has two games in-hand over the Bears. The next contest for Canton will be Saturday afternoon, as they travel to St. Lawrence Central to face the Larries. Puck drop 1 p.m.
