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January 31, 2008

Cards close out home schedule

Cardinals find ways to win close contests this season

By JOHN CORYER

PLATTSBURGH -- Plattsburgh State head men's hockey coach Bob Emery stresses the importance of being able to win one-goal games.

And, while the Cardinals have compiled an 11-0 record in the State University of New York Athletic Conference and an 18-2 overall mark to date, they have had their share of close calls.

The Cardinals have played eight one-goal games thus far, winning three of them in overtime, on the way to a 6-2 record.

Plattsburgh State added two more one-goal victories in the SUNYAC last weekend -- a 3-2 overtime win over rival Oswego and a 3-2 decision over Cortland. And, during their current seven-game winning streak, the Cardinals have won four of those game by one goal.

"The major difference from last year is that we had a lot of ties last year in games we could have won," Emery said. "And, we played games where we dominated play for the most part, but lost by one goal.

"A lot of it this year is that we have the confidence in close games. We have confidence in our goaltending, and we can play more relaxed in the offensive end.

"Great teams find a way to win. We're not a great team yet, but we're learning. We still, however, haven't mastered it all."

Although Emery takes pride in having the Cardinals win the close ones, it doesn't help his stress level.

"It's gratifying to see us win close games," he said. "But, there's more stress involved for the coaching staff. It's taking a year out of my life."

The Cardinals close out their home regular season schedule this weekend by hosting two difficult conference opponents -- Buffalo State (9-8-3, 4-4-2) tonight and Fredonia (10-7-3, 6-3-2) on Saturday, both with 7 p.m. starting times.

"I keep reminding the players that we haven't won anything yet." Emery said. "We have five remaining conference games in 14 days.

"The games this weekend are really important for us because we then go out on the road for our last three games. No doubt, Buffalo State and Fredonia are good teams. We have to come out and play with emotion and work hard."

The Cardinals need to win three of their final five conference games to clinch the SUNYAC regular season title outright.

Fredonia is currently third in the SUNYAC standings, while Buffalo State is tied for fourth.

The Bengals went 1-0-1 in SUNYAC play last weekend at home -- a 5-3 win over Geneseo and a 2-all overtime tie with Brockport.

A couple of freshmen forwards -- Nick Petriello (11-15-26) and Kerry Barchan (9-9-18) are leading Buffalo State in scoring. The Bengals have eight players with eight points or more.

Two sophomores -- Kyle Gunn-Taylor (6-3-3, 2.45 gaa) and Travis Moore (3-5-0, 3.37 gaa) -- have carried the goaltending load.

The Cardinals skated to a 6-1 win at Buffalo State on Nov. 9.

Fredonia, which plays at Potsdam tonight, split two conference home games a weekend ago -- a 4-3 victory over Brockport and a 4-3 loss to Geneseo.

Senior forward Neal Sheehan (8-12-20) and junior defenseman Colin Sarfeh (6-12-18) lead the Blue Devils in scoring. Fredonia has 10 players with 10 points or better on the season.

Sophomores Pat Street (8-2-1, 2.55 gaa) and Kevin Amborski (2-5-2, 3.24 gaa) have combined to do the work between the pipes for Fredonia, which dropped a 3-0 contest to Plattsburgh State back on Nov. 10.

The Cardinals are in pretty good shape for the weekend. Forward Andrew Willock has one game left to serve on his three-game suspension, while defenseman Eric Greene has an injury and is a question mark.

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