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February 15, 2008

Cards look to strengthen hand

By JOHN CORYER

PLATTSBURGH -- The Plattsburgh State hockey Cardinals have already clinched home-ice advantage for the State University of New York Athletic Conference Tournament.

But, home ice is no guarantee of tournament victories for the Cardinals.

That's why tonight's SUNYAC regular-season finale at Potsdam State (7 p.m.) still has plenty of meaning for Plattsburgh State.

"This is a very important game as far as the NCAA (Division III) Tournament selection process is concerned," said Plattsburgh State head coach Bob Emery.

The Cardinals (21-3, 14-1) wrapped up the SUNYAC regular season championship with road wins at Brockport (4-2) and Geneseo (6-3) last weekend.

A win tonight means Plattsburgh State can do no worse than a 22-4 overall regular season record.

A 22-4 mark, which includes some key wins over strong non-conference opponents, would serve the Cardinals well if they are forced to go the at-large route to reach the NCAA Division III Tournament.

The Cardinals and Bears (8-12-4, 5-7-3) opened the conference campaign back on Oct, 26 and Plattsburgh State skated to a surprising 11-1 home win. Emery expects a much tougher game tonight at Maxcy Hall.

"You can't look at that score; it came early in the season," he said. "They have much better players than that and they will have a chip on their shoulder.

"Their head coach has done a great job bringing in a system with discipline. We've lost games in that rink before and we need to come ready to play with emotion in order to be successful."

The Bears, sixth in SUNYAC, have already locked up a playoff spot.

Potsdam is also a young team, with three sophomores -- Connor Treacy (7-13-20), Luke Beck (8-10-18) and Jeff Zatonski (6-9-15) -- the leading scorers on the team.

Potsdam qualified for the SUNYAC Tournament with a 4-1 victory at Geneseo last Friday. Saturday, the Bears dropped a 5-4 decision to Brockport.

Emery was pleased with the Cardinals' two results on the road last weekend.

"It was great to get two wins on the road," he said. "I expected us to win those games, but that doesn't take away from how big the wins were for us.

"Our best period both nights was the second. We controlled the puck and got a lot of shots on goal.

"But, right now, our focus is on defense because defense is what wins games, especially in the playoffs."

The Cardinals are in good shape physically for their regular season finale.

"We're pretty much healthy -- we do have a few players with some bumps and bruises," Emery said. "But, with a game of this magnitude, nobody is going to be missing the game.

"We also want to enter the playoffs on a winning note."

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