Two sophomore forwards -- Connor Treacy (8-16-24) and Luke Beck (9-12-21) lead the Bears in scoring.

Plattsburgh State, meanwhile, is 21-4 overall and won the SUNYAC regular season championship with a 14-2 mark to gain home ice throughout the conference tournament.

The loss to Potsdam, however, didn't provide the Cardinals with a great deal of momentum heading into tonight's game.

"We're going to have our hands full, no doubt," Emery said. "We're going to have to rally around what should be a large crowd and get emotion from them as well.

"We need to play smart defensively, pay attention to details and play good, sound Cardinal hockey in order to be successful."

Plattsburgh State won eight games in a row until winning just twice in its last four games.

Leading the Cardinals in scoring are freshman forward Dylan Clarke (16-14-30), junior forward Riley Hill (14-14-28) and freshman forward Eric Satim (9-18-27).

"We're in pretty good shape physically," Emery said. "It's been a long week of practice and the guys are anxious to get the game under way.

"It seems that our last game was a long time ago."

Should the Cardinals prevail tonight, they will host the SUNYAC Tournament championship game against either Fredonia or Oswego next Saturday.