PLATTSBURGH — The Plattsburgh State men's hockey team, after opening up the second half of its season by winning the Cardinal Classic this past weekend, takes a step up in class tonight.

The Cardinals host Norwich University in a 7 p.m. non-league contest at the Stafford Ice Arena.

"This is a big game in a lot of different ways," said Plattsburgh State head coach Bob Emery. "We will need to play good hockey to win. We haven't played consistent hockey in our games and will need to do so for 60 minutes to beat Norwich.

"These are the types of games you circle on the schedule that you look forward to playing. They will bring their fans and hopefully our fans will come out and support us. It makes for a great college atmosphere."

The two teams have already met once this season on Nov. 28 in the opening round of the PrimeLink Shootout at Middlebury College.

The Cadets held a 3-1 lead until the Cardinals scored two goals in the last seven minutes of the third period to force overtime. It stayed tied through the extra session before Norwich prevailed in a shootout to advance to the championship game where it fell to Middlebury.

"Norwich is only going to get better," said Emery. "They have some top quality players returning this year and some freshmen who will get better with experience. They will be an even stronger team than we saw a month ago.

"Norwich is always very emotional when they play us and they figure to be even more so because of our ranking and record. A lot of teams will play us better because of that."

The Cadets are currently ranked No. 12 in the country in Division III with an overall 5-2-2 record. They have outscored their opponents, 30-20.

Norwich has won three games in a row, including two this past weekend while hosting the Annual Times-Argus Invitational in Northfield, Vt. The Cadets skated to a 2-1 win over Neumann in the opening round and then a 4-3 victory over Gustavus Adolphus in the championship game.

Nikita Kashirsky (4-10-14) and Rico Piatelli (3-8-11) are the leading scorers for Norwich. Ryan Klingensmith has done the majority of the goaltending with a 5-1-2 record and a sparkling 1.97 goals-against-average.

"Their goaltender has been playing real well and they've been playing good hockey as a team," Emery said.

Top-ranked Plattsburgh State improved its overall record to 11-0-2 with Friday's 5-1 win over Wesleyan and Saturday's 3-0 decision over Castleton State in the championship game of the Cardinal Classic.

The Cardinals won both games despite being held scoreless in the first period of both.

"We have been playing well in the first period and don't have a lot to show for it," Emery said. "It would be nice to finish and take a lead into the lockerroom.

"But, it's important for us to keep playing well, especially against a team like Norwich. They'll be coming out with a lot of jump to start the game."

The Cardinals came out of the weekend without any health issues and could welcome the return of senior defenseman Nick Rolls for tonight's game.

"We will have a morning skate and that's when we will determine if Nick can play," Emery said. "As a team, we got a little banged up against Castleton State because of how hard they played. But, everybody's ready to go."