By JOHN CORYER
Staff Writer
November 23, 2007 04:00 am
—
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.
"But we have to focus on each game. We have to break the season down into 25 individual seasons and take one game at a time."
The Cardinals are in good shape physically.
Standout sophomore defenseman Tom Breslin, who has been out with an injury, is just beginning to skate again and is not likely to play this weekend.
Plattsburgh State
Head coach: Bob Emery
Conference: State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC)
Overall 2007-08 record: 7-1-0
Game results
Morrisville State W, 5-1
Morrisville State W, 6-2
Potsdam State W, 11-1
at Oswego State W, 4-2
at Cortland State W, 5-2
at Buffalo State W, 6-1
at Fredonia State W, 3-0
at Elmira College L, 2-3
Leading scorers
Player g-a-pts
Riley Hill 6-5-11
Ward Smith 4-6-10
Dylan Clarke 6-3-9
Mike Baccaro 4-5-9
Nick Rolls 3-6-9
Goaltenders
Bryan Hince5-1-0, 1.33 gaa
Simon LeBlanc 2-0-0, 2.00 gaa
St. John's (Minn.)
Head coach: John Harrington
Conference: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC)
Overall 2007-08 record: 3-3-0
Game results
at Wisc.-Stevens Point W, 5-3
at Wisc.-Eau Claire L, 0-1
Lake Forest W, 4-1
St. Norbert L, 2-3
at Saint Mary's W, 4-2
at Saint Mary's L, 2-3
Leading scorers
Player g-a-pts
Joel Stacklie 3-5-8
Pat Connelly 1-5-6
Nate Meinz 3-1-4
Clayton Rehm 2-2-4
Tom Freeman 1-3-4
Goaltender
Vince Wheeler 3-3-0, 2.18 gaa
Middlebury College
Head coach: Bill Beaney
Conference: New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC)
2007-08 overall record: 1-0-1
Game results
at Connecticut College T, 2-2
at Tufts W, 5-1
Leading scorers
Player g-a-pts
Mickey Gilchrist 0-3-3
Michael Kretschmer2-0-2
Jamie McKenna 1-1-2
Charlie Townsend 1-1-2
Chaz Svoboda 1-1-2
Goaltenders
Doug Raeder 1-1-0, 1.00
Ross Cherry 0-0-1, 1.85
Norwich University
Head coach: Mike McShane
Conference: Eastern College Athletic Association East (ECAC East)
2007-08 overall record: 1-1-0
Game results
at Southern Maine L, 8-3
at Salem State W, 6-2
Leading scorers
Player g-a-pts
Rick Cleaver 2-3-5
Eric Lauriault 2-3-5
Raphael Robitaille 1-2-3
Sylvain Messier 2-0-2
D.J. Fimiani 1-1-2
Goaltenders
David Thompson 1-0-0
Chance Gieni 0-1-0
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