PLATTSBURGH -- Following five consecutive games on the road, the Plattsburgh State men's hockey team returns home for one of its biggest tests of the season this weekend.

The Cardinals host the 10th-Annual PrimeLink Great Northern Shootout today and Saturday at the Stafford Ice Arena.

Today's action has Middlebury College going up against rival Norwich University at 4 p.m., followed by the Cardinals versus tournament newcomer St. John's (Minn.) in the 7 p.m. contest.

Saturday, the third-place game is set for 4 p.m., with the championship at 7 p.m.

"The tournament rotates sites, and it's good to be home," said Plattsburgh State head coach Bob Emery. "But any one of the four teams can win the tournament. And any team that wins it is a good hockey team.

"We don't know a lot about St. John's, and they don't know a lot about us. St. John's will challenge for a spot in the NCAA (Division III) Tournament out of the West.

"Norwich and Middlebury have played only two games each so far, but they will be there at the end. They always are."

St. John's currently has a 3-3 overall record. Middlebury is 1-0-1 and Norwich 1-1-0 after both playing two road games to open their 2007-08 season last weekend.

The Cardinals, after recording seven State University of New York Athletic Conference wins in a row, stepped out of conference last weekend and dropped a 3-2 setback at Elmira College.

"Elmira is a tough place to play," Emery said. "But that game is in the past and it's how you get up after you fall. We've had some early success this year, and that game allows us to learn from it.

"We have to get more flow to the game and stay out of the penalty box. We're going to give it our best shot this weekend. We've had a good week of practice leading up to the tournament."

Despite the loss in Elmira, the Cardinals are off to a very encouraging beginning to the season.

In addition, two of the top five scorers on the team thus far are defensemen -- Ward Smith and Nick Rolls -- which is something Emery likes to see.

"We want our defensemen to get more involved with the offense," he said. "When people pack it in against us, our defensemen need to get involved.

"Some of our guys are playing pretty well -- some better than expected at this time of the season.