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March 22, 2008

Cardinals like bigger ice rink

Wider sheet at Brooks Arena doesn't faze Plattsburgh State

By JOHN CORYER

LAKE PLACID -- Big ice sheet.

What big ice sheet?

Both the Plattsburgh State and Elmira College men's hockey teams appear ready for the task at hand when they tangle tonight at 6 p.m. in the NCAA Division III Tournament Final Four semifinals at spacious Herb Brooks Arena at the Olympic Center.

St. Norbert and Norwich University get the festivities started at 2:30 p.m., with the semifinal winners facing off for the national championship on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m.

The Final Four teams held press conferences Friday in the Olympic Center Hall of Fame Room.

The dimensions of Brooks Arena were a hot topic.

The Lake Placid ice sheet measures 200 feet by 100 feet. Plattsburgh's rink is 185 by 85 while the other three teams play on sheets 200 feet long, but 85 to 90 feet wide.

"We played on a big ice surface in Middlebury earlier this season and lost a great game, 3-2," said Plattsburgh State head coach Bob Emery.

"We're really confident playing on a big ice sheet. I feel it will benefit us. But, we will still need to move our feet and get the puck forward."

"The bigger ice sheet will help us -- we're a skating team," said Elmira head coach Tim Ceglarski. "We just need to stay focused on the game."

The Cardinals (24-4) and Soaring Eagles (20-3-5) met once during the regular season. Both teams were unbeaten at the time and Elmira emerged with a 3-2 win.

Both Emery and Ceglarski made sure they didn't give their opponent any bulletin board material.

"We're fortunate to play Elmira again," said Emery. "They're a great team and we will need to make some adjustments.

"We will still have to focus on what we do best, playing in the offensive zone and corners. We're a blue-collar team."

"When we played them earlier this season, we struggled for the first 20 minutes," Ceglarski said. "They ran into some penalty problems in the second period and the third period was pretty even.

"Plattsburgh is the fastest team we've played this year. But, whatever happened in that first game, you can throw it out the window."

Plattsburgh State senior forward C.J. Tozzo said the loss to the Soaring Eagles helped put things in perspective.

"We were ahead, 2-1, going to the third," he said. "But, we didn't play our best game and they brought it to us. It was our first loss of the season and put the fear of losing into us."

"I'm sure Elmira has gotten better as well and maybe we were destine to meet in the Final Four," said Plattsburgh State junior defenseman Nick Rolls.

The Soaring Eagles respect the Cardinals, but come into the game with plenty of confidence of their own.

"They (Plattsburgh) have very fast forwards," said Elmira goaltender Casey Tuttle. "They move the puck well and get shots on goal."

"We're a good-skating team as well, especially on the bigger ice surface," said Soaring Eagles forward Rusty Masters.

Both Emery and Ceglarski look back to turning points during the season for their teams.

"When we won the PrimeLink Tournament, it opened some eyes," Emery said. "We have a young team, with only three seniors. But, getting that early taste of winning gave us confidence."

"All year long, we've taken one game at a time," added Rolls. "We don't put pressure on one player and we win as a team."

Ceglarski said an early road trip make him believe something good was happening.

"We went on a weekend road trip to Utica and Manhattanville and won both games (5-2 and 4-3)," he said. "That's when I felt we had something special going.

"We're excited to be here and represent the ECAC West. We've played a difficult non-league schedule and have some good rivalries in our conference, as good as anyone."

There's only going to be one happy team following the weekend.

"There's only one winner at the end," Emery said. "We can't be happy just to be here. We have to make the necessary sacrifices and leave it all on the table. We've found a way to win this year and made the big play during a particular time in a game.

"It's a game of momentum. We don't take a lot of penalties and it starts with the attitude. We've had great leadership all season."

The first game should also be a good one as St. Norbert (25-1-4) is unbeaten in its last 27 games, while Norwich (23-6) is finding the back of the net with regularity, especially in the post-season.

The Cadets, after having some injuries during the regular season, are healthy now and playing their best hockey of the season. Norwich is averaging seven goals a game during the playoffs.

The Green Knights, meanwhile, have allowed a goal or less in 16 of their games. St. Norbert is also doing the job offensively with 113 goals in their 30 games to date.

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