The Middlebury men's hockey team dropped a 5-0 decision to 14th-ranked Plattsburgh State in the opening game of the FirstLight Shootout hosted by Norwich. The Panthers will play on Saturday in the tournament's consolation game against #12 Aurora at 4:00 p.m. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The Cardinals jumped ahead in the first period with a pair of powerplay goals during a five-minute major penalty. 
• Jacob Modry got Plattsburgh State on the board 1:38 into the contest when he tapped in a rebound on the right side. 
• Luk Jirousek doubled the Cardinal advantage with the extra skater, pouncing on a loose puck between the circles just 2:01 later.
• Near the midway point of the stanza, Panther goalie Adam Wisco made a nice sprawling save on a Bennett Stockdale shot on the right post to keep it a 2-0 game.
• The Cardinals increased their advantage to 3-0 at the 11:51 mark when Cory Doney wristed a shot into the upper-left corner of the net.
• The Panthers had a pair of quality scoring chances with just under six minutes left in the opening period. EMack Bentley wristed a shot from a tough angle that Cardinal goalie EIi Shiller saved with his body, while Shiller denied Andrew Malatesta's bid from the left dot 30 seconds later.
• Stockdale made it a 4-0 Plattsburgh State lead at the 11:49 mark of the second period on a wrist shot from the right dot that tucked into the upper-left corner of the goal.
• Middlebury had a great chance to score with 1:18 remaining when a wrist shot by Chris Garbe from just inside the blueline was saved by Shiller.
• The best scoring chance of the contest for Middlebury came with 4:52 elapsed in the third period, but a slapshot by Billy Dobensky from the right point hit the mask of Shiller and caromed away.
• Doney tallied his second goal of the game on a wrister from the right circle at 13:48 for the final 5-0 score.

NOTES

• Wisco recorded 29 saves in goal during his first start of the season.
• Tyler Little won 12-17 faceoffs for the Panthers.
• Friday's meeting was the 56th between the two programs, with the Cardinals owning a narrow 28-23-5 advantage.