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December 31, 2008

Cards return in great shape

By JOHN CORYER

PLATTSBURGH — A three-week break doesn't look like it has slowed down the Plattsburgh State men's hockey team.

"I've never seen a team come back from the break in this kind of shape," said Cardinals' head coach Bob Emery. "They haven't lost a step, and they don't look like they've had three weeks off.

"They look focused, hungry and are anxious to play."

Top-ranked Plattsburgh State, which closed out the first half with a 9-0-2 overall record and a 7-0-1 mark in State University of New York Athletic Conference play, hosts the annual Cardinal Classic on Friday and Saturday at the Stafford Ice Arena.

Friday's opening-round schedule has Castleton State playing Williams College at 4 p.m. and the Cardinals hosting Wesleyan College in the 7 p.m. contest.

On Saturday, the third-place game is set for 4 p.m. and the finals at 7 p.m.

Plattsburgh State last played on Dec. 6 when it skated to a 5-3 home victory over Cortland. The night before, the Cardinals rallied for an exciting 4-3 overtime win over SUNYAC rival Oswego.

While Emery is pleased with the team's performance and record in the first half, he knows there's a long way to go and improvements to be made.

"The key is to forget our record," he said. "The players have to worry about here and now. We have to try and get better and focus on the task at hand.

"When you have success, it makes it that much easier for teams to play you. We have to worry about working hard, making the necessary sacrifices and not beating ourselves. We need to put our press clippings away and play the game in the trenches, which is our style of play."

It didn't always come easy in the first half for the Cardinals, who had six of their 11 games decided by two goals or less, including the final five of the semester. Three of those games went into overtime and the Cardinals had to pull off some late magic on occasion.

"We were lucky at times in the first half," Emery said. "Our luck is going to run out if we don't play consistantly for 60 minutes in a game."

It's going to be a busy five days for the Cardinals, who host a strong Norwich University team on Tuesday. Plattsburgh State and Norwich skated to a 3-3 overtime tie in the opening round of the PrimeLink Tournament in Middlebury on Nov. 28 before the Cadets advanced by winning in a shootout.

There are tickets remaining for this weekend's tournament, and they can be purchased at the door.

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