Photo: Northeastern Clinton's Gonyo carries the puck through the neutral zone, trailed by Plattsburgh's Hunter Broadway. The Northeastern Clinton boys hockey team kicked off its season in winning fashion, taking down Plattsburgh High School 8-0 Wednesday at the Rouses Point Civic Center. The way the game started from the Cougars certainly didn't foreshadow the victory to come, as sophomore forward Ryanacine has assessed a cross-checking penalty just 47 seconds into the game. Northeastern Clinton killed the penalty, but it set the tone for a period in which they struggled to generate consistent offense. Plattsburgh nearly opened the scoring just before the midpoint of the second period on a 2-on-1 rush, junior Hayden Colburn looked to make the pass to senior Brandt Clarke across the crease. Cougars goaltender Ethan Garrand was able to cover the puck to end the opportunity. The scoreboard did change shortly after the ensuing faceoff, as the Cougars pushed up the ice and forward Sam Bulson found the back of the net with 8:01 remaining in the first period. That lead was doubled in the final minute of the period, as Lucas Bedard stole the puck in the neutral zone and skated in alone on goal. With only a two-minute break between periods, Northeastern Clinton was able to ride the momentum of that late goal into the second period. Reid LaValley scored 49 seconds into the period to bring the score to 3-0. It was far from the last, as the Cougars scored five times in the second. Thomas Richard stopped the clock at the 6:42 mark of the period with a shot from the left hash marks off a feed from below the goal line by Noah Gonyo. The Cougar's next two goals came within a single minute on the game clock, though the gap in real-time was much larger, as Lucas and Marcus Bedard scored on either side of a mid-period intermission for the only ice cut of the game. Lucas Bedard carried the puck into the zone through the right faceoff circle and appeared to be looking to pass it across before surprising Hornets goaltender Ty Calkins with a no-look shot up high. After the break, Marcus Bedard scored on a low shot through traffic from the blue line to reach an emphatic 6-0 margin. Owen Roberts scored in the final minute of the period before Marcus Bedard notched the only tally of the third. The shutout was put to the test late, as a pair of roughing penalties put the home team down 5-on-3 in the dying minutes of the game, but Garrand held his ground. Garrand stopped all 29 shots he faced in the game, with Calkins stopped 30 in the loss for the Hornets. The two Bedard's led with two goals each in the game, while LaValley recorded a goal and two assists, and Winnie Simpson was credited with three assists. Gallery.