By JOHN CORYER
PLATTSBURGH — A brutal stretch of difficult road games ends tonight for the Plattsburgh State men's hockey team.
The Cardinals jump out of conference play for a 7 p.m. game at Middlebury College.
"I was looking for this night to come after the schedule we had in January," said Plattsburgh State head coach Bob Emery. "After this game, the bulk of our road schedule is over."
The Cardinals have a 1-3-3 record against ranked opponents this season.
That's a little deceiving, however.
Five of those seven games have been on the road, including four in the last month, and another played at a neutral site.
Plattsburgh State has allowed a combined 16 goals in those seven games, which isn't bad considering the quality of competition and where the games have been played.
"The three losses have come to the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams (Oswego and Norwich)," said Emery.
The Cardinals (13-3-4 overall, 9-2-1 SUNYAC) have an opportunity to turn it around tonight against the Panthers.
Plattsburgh State and Middlebury, which is currently ranked 12th in the country, have already met once this season, with the Cardinals emerging with a 3-1 win in the opening round of the PrimeLink Great Northern Shootout held at Norwich University.
"Middlebury plays on a big rink," said Emery. "It's great for our program to play Middlebury every year because they have such a great tradition."
Despite not being a SUNYAC contest, Emery says it's a big game for his team.
"This is a game that could mean a lot on tournament selection day, no doubt" he said. "I've been around and on the selection committee and know the outcome of this game could be important down the road."
The Cardinals were unbeaten in their last six games (4-0-2) prior to a 3-2 setback at Oswego on Saturday night.
"In a way, it's good to be playing again this soon so you don't have a week to think about the loss," Emery said. "On the flip side, this is another tough game on the road."
Emery took the good and the not so good out of the Oswego game.
"We didn't get the leadership we needed," he said. "But, there was still a lot of good to take out of the game.
"We held a team meeting on Sunday and I told the guys I was proud of them for their effort."
The Panthers are 9-3-4 overall and 6-2-4 in NESCAC play. Middlebury, however, is unbeaten at home, posting a 6-0-2 mark at Kenyon Arena.
The Panthers recorded a couple of home wins this past weekend, with a 7-4 victory over nationally-ranked Colby on Friday and a 5-2 decision over Bowdoin on Saturday.
Sophomore forward Martin Drolet (11-18-29) is by far and away the leading scorer on the team. Six other players have 10 points or more.
The goaltending duties for the Panthers have been shared by senior Max Kennedy (5-2-2, 2.36 gaa) and sophomore John Yanchek (4-1-2, 2.81 gaa).
"We have to find a way to win these type of games," Emery said.
"We've had to overcome some adversity this season. We'll likely have to move a forward back to defense because of injuries to give us six defensemen for the Middlebury game."
