MINNEAPOLIS — Coupled with a hard-fought tie on the road and Saint Norbert's first loss in 38 games, the Plattsburgh State men's hockey team is the new No. 1 pick in the NCAA Division III poll released Monday by USCHO.com.

A panel of 20 voters gave the unbeaten Cardinals (6-0-1 overall, 5-0-1 in the State University of New York Athletic Conference) 10 first-place votes and 286 points to outgain No. 2 Wisconsin-Superior by nine points.

This marks Plattsburgh first No. 1 ranking since the 2001-02 preseason poll of Oct. 18. The Cardinals were coming off their second national championship the year before.

Last week, Plattsburgh spotted host Potsdam a 4-1 lead before storming back with three goals in the final 6 minutes and 44 seconds to forge a 4-4 tie in SUNYAC play. Meanwhile, the defending NCAA III champion and then-top ranked Green Knights suffered a 4-3 loss at UWS that ended their school-record 37-game unbeaten streak (33-0-4) dating to last season.

Plattsburgh gets to put its No. 1 ranking on the line this weekend when it seeks to defend its tournament title at the PrimeLink Great Northern Shootout held in Middlebury, Vt., featuring the host and seventh-ranked Panthers, No. 5 Norwich and Saint Thomas.

USCHO.com

Division III Men's Poll

Minneapolis, Minn.

Nov. 24, 2008

Team (1st place)recordptslast

1 Plattsburgh (10)6-0-12862

2 Wis-Superior (7)9-1-02775

3 St. Norbert (3)8-1-02741

4 Elmira6-2-02244

5 Norwich2-0-02086

6 Oswego6-2-11813

7 Middlebury2-0-01748

8 Adrian8-1-113310

9 Wis-Stevens Pt7-2-01217

10 Wis-Eau Claire7-2-01109

11 Hobart7-3-010311

12 Wis-Stout7-4-088NR

13 Hamline6-2-07114

14 Colby2-0-042NR

15 Bowdoin1-0-13715

Others Receiving Votes: New England College 18, St. Thomas 13, Wis.-River Falls 9, Curry 8, Neumann 5, Gustavus Adolphus 3, St. Scholastica 3, Bethel 2, Manhattanville 2, Mass.-Dartmouth 2, Utica 2, Williams 2, Geneseo 1, St. Olaf 1

The USCHO.com Poll is compiled weekly and consists of 20 voters, including 15 coaches of Division III programs and five men's hockey writers. USCHO.com provides in-depth coverage of college sports, including hockey, lacrosse, soccer and others.

Cardinal women
rank second

MINNEAPOLIS — The Plattsburgh State women, moved up one spot to No. 2 in the nation Monday, just four points behind top-ranked Middlebury College.

The two teams played to a 2-2 tie Saturday in the championship game of the Cardinal-Panther Classic with Plattsburgh taking the title in a special shootout, 1-0.

Plattsburgh, the two-time defending NCAA champion, is off until Dec. 5-6 when the Cardinals visit Neumann College. The Cardinals are not home again until Jan. 28, with Saint Anselm.

USCHO.com

Division III Women's Poll

Minneapolis, Minn

Nov. 24, 2008

Team (1st place)recordptslast

1 Middlebury (6)2-0-11393

2 Plattsburgh (5)5-1-11352

3 Elmira (2)6-1-11251

4 Amherst (2)2-0-01094

5 RIT5-1-1835

6 Gustvs Adolphus5-1-0617

6 Wis-River Falls5-1-0616

8 Wis-Stevens Pt3-1-1459

9 St. Thomas6-0-03210

10 Trinity2-0-017NR

Others Receiving Votes: Neumann 10, Utica 3, Concordia MN 2, Wis.-Superior 2, Manhattanville 1