(BOX SCORE)

BUFFALO, NY—Buffalo State (11-11-2/6-8-1) had eight different goal scorers and secured a berth in the SUNYAC playoffs with a lopsided 8-1 victory over visiting Cortland (7-13-3/3-9-2) tonight at the Ice Arena.

Trevor McKinney (Oakwood, ON/Sinclair), Matt Bessing (Elma, NY/Cheektowaga), Taylor McGraw (N. Lawrence, NY/St. Lawrence), and Shane Avery (Ft. Covington, NY/Salmon River) registered a goal and an assist each to lead the Bengals.  Kyle Whipple (Tonawanda, NY/Kenmore West), Ryan Salkeld (Suffolk, VA/Churchland), Todd Graham (Park Orchards, Australia), and Elijah Cohen (Peabody, MA/Peabody Veterans) also scored.  Mike Zannella (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca) added three assists. 

McKinney's first-period goal was the 50th of his career, and Graham's marker in the second was the first of his collegiate career.

The Bengals scored a pair of goals in the first period, before Cortland netted a power-play goal in the final minute of the opening period.  Buffalo State blew the game open with three goals in the second period, and then netted three more in the final frame. 

Buffalo State outshot the Red Dragons, 43-22.  Kevin Carr (Uniondale, ON/Uniondale) made 18 saves on 19 shots before Peter Dudek (Cheektowaga, NY/Nichols) stopped all three shots he faced in 8:02, his first collegiate playing time.

Buffalo State was 3 for 7 on the power play, and Cortland finished 1 for 5.

Buffalo State will conclude its regular season at home next Friday against Fredonia at 7 p.m.  A victory will secure a first-round home playoff game.