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February 9, 2010

Cards brace for angry Panthers

By COURTNEY LEWIS

DID YOU KNOW?

This week in the Press-Republican : These are photos from the Press-Republican. Each week they are moved to the monthly gallery.

You can view photos from past issues of the Press-Republican grouped in monthly galleries.

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PLATTSBURGH — Middlebury is coming off a surprising loss at Hamilton, which could make the Panthers even more fired up for the annual late-season showdown against Plattsburgh State.

"Certainly that's what I'm expecting — that they're going to be a little bit upset," Plattsburgh State coach Kevin Houle said. "And certainly this would be a big win for them. They're probably a little bit desperate at this point in time for a big win. Obviously they're a very good team, and we prepare for them as we would for any good team.

"But obviously they're going to be hungry."

The Cardinals (17-1-1) host No. 7 Middlebury tonight in the first of three nonconference games against top-10 teams this week. No. 9 Manhattanville will visit Stafford Ice Arena Saturday and Sunday.

Plattsburgh State, which was the unanimous No. 1 in this week's USCHO.com Division III Women's Poll, is on Division III's longest current unbeaten streak (11 games).

"It's going to be a pretty big week for us," senior Kayla McDougall said. "It's always a big game when it comes to playing against Middlebury. They're a big rival for us. And it's one of the best teams in the nation, so we have to be ready to play."

The Panthers (13-5-1) were unbeaten in seven games before falling to fellow NESCAC member Hamilton 3-2 Saturday. They have just one win over a ranked team — a 2-1 victory against Trinity last month.

With two weeks left in the regular season, Middlebury might need to boost its résumé for the NCAA tournament — and a road win over the top-ranked team would help.

The Panthers haven't beaten the Cardinals since the 2006 national championship game, although the teams tied twice last season.

Plattsburgh State won 4-1 in their most recent meeting — Jan. 4 in the Panther/Cardinal Classic at Kenyon Arena. The Cardinals had a 35-19 shot advantage in the that game and took an early lead, but it was tight until they notched two empty-netters.

Houle said he'd like the Cardinals to come out with energy and confidence again and this time sustain it.

"For almost two periods we really controlled the play," Houle said. "Then once they gained some confidence late in the second period, then the third period was kind of theirs.

"So we need to be able to maintain that confidence. And when a team does start to play better or take the game to us, we have to be able to respond to that."

He added that the Cardinals also need to take better advantage of scoring chances.

Anna McNally, a junior forward, leads the Panthers in goals (13) and assists (17) and is sixth nationally in scoring. Lani Wright and Alexi Bloom split time in net.

E-mail Courtney Lewis at: clewis@pressrepublican.com

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