WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes men's ice hockey team suffered their first loss of 2024 on Wednesday night, dropping their non-conference contest to SUNY Canton 3-2 at the Toyota SportsPlex.
 
The loss moved the Colonels to 11-5-0 overall. They currently stand at 9-3-0 in UCHC play. The Kangaroos improved to 6-13-1 on the season.
 
Michael Paterson-Jones (Baldwinsville, NY/) was tested early between the pipes for Wilkes but stood tall, turning aside five shots in the first six and a half minutes of play.
 
Billy Berry (Redding, CT) got Wilkes on the board first at 10:26 into the first period. Joe Johnson (Midland, MI/) and Christopher Paige (Massena, NY/) picked up assists on Berry's ninth goal of the season.
 
The Colonels were awarded the first man advantage of the game with exactly 9:00 left in the first. The power play unit did a good job getting pucks towards the net, forcing the 'Roo goaltender to make four stops during the two minute kill.
 
Wilkes received their first penalty at 18:27 and looked to protect their one-goal lead heading into the intermission. Despite a pair of key blocks by Nate Terski (North Grafton, MA), the Colonels' penalty kill was unable to fend off SUNY Canton's offensive pressure. Brendan Morrow evened the game up with 24 seconds remaining in the period. Colton Sipperley and Scott Cremen recorded assists on the 1-1 goal.
 
The 'Roos took their first lead of the evening at 10:58 when Morrow potted his second of the game. Lucas Roy and Nic Herringer were awarded helpers on the 2-1 marker.
 
The Colonels headed back to the power play at 13:11 of the second period. Although they didn't score on the man advantage, Wilkes took five shots and developed strong momentum that carried on after the penalty expired.
 
The team was rewarded for their efforts shortly after the penalty thanks to an even strength goal by Carter Jordan (Fort Collins, CO/). Jordan knotted the game back up at 2-2 at 15:59 into the middle frame with assists going to Lorenzo Marcolin (Saratoga Springs, NY/) and Cole Jungwirth (Bloomington, MN/).
 
After 40 minutes of play, both teams returned to their locker rooms in search of a goal to break the 2-2 tie.
 
After a long stretch of scoreless third period action, Evan Pringle gave SUNY Canton a 3-2 lead with his sixth goal of the season at 12:15. Adrian Franco picked up the lone assist on the play.
 
The Colonels pulled Paterson-Jones with 1:51 to go in regulation and called a timeout to draw up a play for the six-on-five opportunity. Wilkes managed one more shot, but was unable to find the back of the net before time expired.
 
Berry scored on his only shot of the game, while Jordan netted the Colonel's second goal and went 7-15 at the dot. Terski made a game-high five blocks and Matt Carlson (Delmar, NY/) was an impressive 12-17 on faceoffs. Paterson-Jones made 17 stops on the night.
 
Morrow made big contributions for the 'Roos, scoring two goals on two shots and going 12-23 on faceoffs. Pringle recorded a goal and two blocks, while Cremen made four blocks and picked up an assist. Trey Miller turned aside 41 shots in the victory.
 
The Colonels face SUNY Canton once again on Friday, January 19 when they complete the home-and-home series. Puck drop against the Kangaroos is slated for 7:00 p.m.