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February 19, 2009

Rough water for Cardinals

Surging Lakers hope to deny Cardinals clincher tonight

By JOHN CORYER

PLATTSBURGH -- The Plattsburgh State men's hockey team has two opportunities on the road this weekend to wrap up the State University of New York Athletic Conference regular season title.

Cardinals' head coach Bob Emery, however, doesn't want to rely on the second opportunity.

The top-ranked Cardinals (20-1-2) are at rival Oswego (17-5-1, 11-2-1) tonight and then close out their regular season on Saturday at Cortland (8-13-2, 5-7-2).

Plattsburgh State leads the SUNYAC standings with 27 points, while the Lakers are second with 23. Oswego needs wins over the Cardinals and Potsdam this weekend and also needs to have Plattsburgh State drop both its games to pull even where a tie-breaker would then be used to determine who gets home ice throughout the conference tournament.

Plattsburgh State skated to a 4-3 overtime win over Oswego back on Dec. 5 at the Stafford Ice Arena.

"Going to Oswego to play is a game you look forward to in the summertime and can't wait to play," said Emery. "We haven't won the league yet and need to take care of business at the next possible chance."

The Cardinals have had success against the Lakers the last couple of years, but the games have been very close ones where a bounce of the puck either way has made a difference.

"They (Oswego) probably have the most-skilled forwards in the country (in Division III)," said Emery. "You can't give them turnovers in the neutral zone because that's when they become more dangerous. We also have to stay out of the box.

"We have to isolate their weaknesses and play our game, and that's getting the puck in deep."

The Lakers have won their last nine games, including a 5-4 win at Brockport last Saturday and a 5-0 victory at Geneseo the next night.

"They're on a high right now and still feel they can win the league," Emery said.

Oswego has 13 players with 10 points or more, led by three senior forwards -- Ryan Ellis (11-15-26), Brendan McLaughlin (8-18-26) and Mark Lozzi (15-9-24) -- along with freshman forward Eric Selleck (10-12-22). Seven of the Lakers' top nine scorers are seniors.

Junior Tim Potter (9-0-0, 1.84 gaa) is unbeaten between the pipes for Oswego. Freshman Paul Beckwith (4-1-0, 2.57 gaa) and senior Chris Hyk (4-4-1, 3.38 gaa) round out the trio of goaltenders on the team.

The Cardinals are coming off last Saturday's 8-1 win over Potsdam to close out their home regular season. Plattsburgh State has won eight games in a row.

"With all the success we have had this season, it still comes down to the final weekend of the regular season," Emery said. "That's good for the league."

Defenseman Ward Smith, who has been out with an injury, could be ready to go tonight.

"He has been given the green light to play," Emery said. "But, he hasn't played lately and we're not sure how much he will be able to play."

Cortland, meanwhile, needs a good showing this weekend. The Red Dragons, who trail fourth-place Geneseo by one point, are currently tied for fifth in the standings with Buffalo State and Potsdam.

Cortland dropped games on the road to Geneseo (3-2) and Brockport (5-3) a weekend ago.

Two Red Dragons -- sophomore forward Jarrett Gold (9-21-30) and senior forward Mike Maier (7-23-30) -- have scored 30 points so far this season. Junior Patrick Palmisano, however, leads the team with 15 goals.

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