CARDINAL HOCKEY FAN BLOG

Placid Bound

2010-03-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

Most folks who follow Division III Men’s Hockey will probably tell you that Plattsburgh State is the least likely to win the national title this weekend.

Well don’t tell that to the 27 young men who left for Lake Placid this afternoon. Not very many people gave the Cards much of a chance in 2001 either. Make no mistake; these guys will leave it all on the ice come Friday night. No matter what happens on the ice, we are proud of OUR TEAM. We’ve had a rollercoaster season, yet we are right where we want to be: LAKE PLACID. Is this a team of destiny? Only time will tell.

So as you make preparations for the weekend and the craziness that is championship weekend, ask yourself one thing:

Do you BELIEVE in MIRACLES?

I BELIEVE.

See you all in Lake Placid!
Bill

I would like to thank Warren Middlemiss for helping me organize the Lake Placid Send-Off Rally on such short notice. Thanks to the fans that came out to support the team. Thanks to the guys for humoring us crazy fans.

Here are a few photos from the rally: CLICK HERE

HEY, THE LADIES ARE PLAYING TOO!!!

2010-03-04T20:02:00.000-08:00

Not going to Oswego?

Why not check out the ECAC West Championship Weekend at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.

Three of the Top 5 teams in Division III Women’s Hockey will be in action this weekend.

The schedule is as follows:

Saturday:
4PM – #1 Plattsburgh State vs. Utica College
7PM - #3 Elmira College vs. #4 RIT

Sunday:
3PM – Championship Game

Utica College is only one of three teams that have left a blemish on the Lady Cards record during the regular season (Amherst and Middlebury are the other two). Heading into the weekend Plattsburgh boasts a 22-1-2 overall record. One of the two ties came on January 9th at Utica College. After defeating the Pioneers 6-1 in the first game, the Cards had to settle for a 3-3 tie in game two. Utica had a 3-2 lead with under a minute to go in the contest and the Cards were in danger of dropping a game they had no right losing. Freshmen Teal Gove came up big for PSU and tied up the game at the 19:13 mark. We should note that Plattsburgh outshot Utica 52-22 in that contest. Jill Doherty played well in the nets for Utica and will need to have another big game if her team is to knock off the Cards.

Elmira vs. RIT. Should be a great game between these two teams. As a Plattsburgh fan, I hope the two teams kick the crap out of each other and the game goes into multiple overtimes.

The ECAC announced their annual awards. Make sure to check the press release on www.cardinalhockey.net/women.html. Congrats to Stephanie Moberg, Mandy Mackrell, Kara Buehler, Erika Shaubel, Megan DiJulio, Laurie Bowler, and Coach Houle on being honored by the ECAC.

Moberg for HURD.

Plattsburgh State has been blessed with some top notch talent over the years. Liz Gibson, Jenn Clarke, Danielle Blanchard are just some of the forwards that come to mind. You can now add Stephanie Moberg to that list. In the coming weeks, she will finish her career as a Cardinal. She has already won a national title and been named All-American. Today, she was named ECAC West Player of the Year and first team all-star. The only award left for Mo to win is the Laura Hurd. We will have to wait a couple of weeks to find out if she can become the 2nd Cardinal to claim this award.

See you at the rink...
B
PS. Found this photo today:

Regular Season 3 Star Selections

2010-02-26T14:38:00.000-08:00

The ECAC West will soon release their regular season awards. The SUNYAC has already released theirs. So this week, I have named the Cardinal Hockey Regular Season Three Stars for both the men’s and women’s teams.

Men’s Team Regular Season 3 Stars:

1. Kyle Kudroch
2. Eric Satim
3. Cody Adams

Kyle Kudroch led the team in goal scoring and game winning goals during the regular season.

Eric Satim led the team in overall scoring for most of the season until being injured. In the 17 games he played in the regular season he had 23 points.

Cody Adams is my pick for the Cards top rookie this season. He has been rock on the Cardinal blue-line and is one of the top defensive defensemen in the SUNYAC if not the nation. He also has one of the best +/- ratings on the team.

1. Stephanie Moberg
2. Megan DiJulio
3. Mandy Mackrell

Stephanie Moberg has had yet another great season for Plattsburgh. The team’s leading scorer and one of the top offensive threats in division III women’s hockey. Could Moberg be the second Cardinal to win the Laura Hurd Award? I think so. I would be very surprised if she was not named the ECAC West POTY. Look for Moberg to have a big post-season for Plattsburgh.

Megan DiJulio had a breakout season Plattsburgh for Plattsburgh. She is like a MOOSE on skates. It is very hard to knock her off the puck and she s very DANGEROUS down low. DiJulio and Moberg offer Plattsburgh a great 1-2 punch up front that most teams at this level don’t have.

Mandy Mackrell has been nothing short of outstanding between the pipes for Plattsburgh. Her career statistics to this point leaves her ranked #1 in both goals against (1.03) and save percentage (.946) among PSU goaltenders who have played 25 or more games. During the regular season Mandy had a .940 save percentage and 1.25 goals against average. She also recorded five of the team’s seven shutouts during the regular season.

Playoff Time in Cardinal Country

2010-02-26T14:20:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that the Cardinal Hockey regular season has come and gone. The post-season is set to begin this Saturday night with the Cardinals hosting the Brockport State Golden Eagles.

Brockport enters the weekend with a 14-11-1 record overall and finished the SUNYAC regular season with a 7-8-1 record. In their two meetings with the Cardinals this season, Brockport fell by 4-1 and 7-1 scores. Plattsburgh holds a 68-1-2 all-time record vs. Brockport State.

Brockport Players to Watch: James Cody & Todd Sheridan

James Cody is the team’s leading scorer with a 13-14-27 line. Todd Sheridan enters the weekend with 11-10-1 record and an overall save percentage of .913 and 3.02 goals against average. In SUNYAC play he had a 6-8-1 record, .903 save percentage and 3.50 goals against. Last season, Sheridan was named All-SUNYAC 2nd Team Goaltender behind former Cardinal Bryan Hince. This year he was named to the 1st team. Sheridan has faced the Cardinals in 7 games in his career with Brockport. He has never recorded a win over Plattsburgh (0-5-1).

Keys to the game:

1. Play with Emotion. The Cardinals need to come out and dominate early. Let’s be honest here, this is a game they SHOULD win. If the Cards can at least match Brockport’s emotion level in this game, they will win.

2. Puck Possession. Coach Emery has said it before and it is worth repeating. The best defense is a good offense. It is hard for a team to score if they don’t have the puck and spend most of the game in their own zone. Plattsburgh needs to win the battles along the boards and keep the cycle going down low. They do this, and they will wear down the Brockport defense and create more scoring chances.

3. Crash the net. Plattsburgh needs to make life a living hell of Sheridan in the crease. Any hope Brockport has of winning this game lies on the shoulders of their 1st Team All-SUNYAC goaltender. If he sees the puck, he will stop it. Cards will need to crash the net and look for those garbage goals. Get a few quick ones past Sheridan and it is GAME OVER for Brockport.

Show your support this weekend by wearing RED and making some NOISE. As fans, we shouldn’t have to wait for the guys or coaches to single us to make some noise. Don’t make me leave the camera home and whip out the body paint.

See you at the rink!

B.

PS. The Road to Lake Placid STARTS NOW. Are you ready?

STUFF STAFFORD MORE!!!

2010-02-12T08:36:00.000-08:00

The Lady Cards will be hosting Manhattanville College this weekend on Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m.

Sunday's game is being called: "Stuff Stafford More." There will be Chuck-A-Puck and a 50/50 raffle. All proceeds will go to Camp Takumta, a special place in Vermont for area children affected by cancer can go have fun, heal, share and reclaim a childhood robbed by this disease.

There will also be prize giveaways, appearances by Burghy and the Ground Round Hound, a ceremonial puck drop...and more. The Lady Cardinals are also seeking to set a single-game record for attendance, bettering the mark of 1,736 set during the 2005-06 season.

So get out and support this great cause and the #1 team in all of division III women's hockey: your Plattsburgh State Cardinals!!!

Go Cards!

Corry Spearheads Hockey Helps Hati

2010-02-12T08:17:00.003-08:00

Ryan Corry has set up a fundraiser for this coming weekend's games vs. Buffalo State and Fredonia State called 'Hockey Helps Hati'

All proceeds of this fundraiser will go to the Plattsburgh RedCross and their efforts in the earthquake devastated nation of Hati.

Please join Ryan in support of the great cause!

CardinalHockey.Net Three Stars of the Week

2010-02-09T19:48:00.001-08:00

CardinalHockey.Net Three Stars of the Week – 2/2 to 2/8

First Star: Phil Farrow

Phil scored twice including and added an assist in a 4-1 win over Morrisville State. Farrow’s goal in the third period gave the Cards a 2-1 lead and eventually proved to be the game winner.

Second Star: Josh Leis

Josh had a .944 save percentage and 1.87 goals-against average in two appearances this past week. He stopped 34 of 35 shots he faced in a 4-1 win over Morrisville. Josh was also named SUNYAC Goaltender of the Week for this week’s performance.

Third Star: Cody Adams

Cody was back in the line-up for the Cardinals against Morrisville and had an assist in the contest. Even injured Adams makes the Cards defense better. Defensemen don’t often get the accolades they deserve unless they are an offensive type player. Adams is a HUGE part of the Cards success on the blue line this season.

CardinalHockey.Net 3 Stars of the Week: - Women's Edition

2010-02-08T10:49:00.000-08:00

Plattsburgh’s big guns continued to shine in this past weekend’s games vs. Cortland State.

This week’s CardinalHockey.Net Three Stars of the Week are:

#1 Stephanie Moberg – Steph finished the weekend with six points, including a hat-trick performance in Saturday’s contest. The senior forward leads the team in scoring with 31 points and is ranked 3rd in the nation in points per game.

#2 Megan DiJulio – Megan finished the weekend with four points, including three goals on the weekend. DiJulio currently leads the team in goal scoring with 18 and is ranked 4th in the nation in goals per game.

#3 Steph Moon – How about Steph this season? Last year she finished the season with 14 points and this year with six games remaining has 23 points. Six of those 23 points came this past weekend. Steph had six points vs. the Red Dragons, including a goal and five assists in two games.

DiJulio line continues to shine in win over Cortland

2010-02-05T21:38:00.000-08:00

Not many teams can handle the Cardinals top line of Megan DiJulio, Steph Moon and Laurie Bowler. Cortland is no exception. The trio accounted for five of their team’s goals in an 8-1 win over Cortland State in ECAC West play. DiJulio, who leads the team in goal scoring with 17 on the season, finished the night with two goals and an assist. Moon scored once in the contest and added four assists. Meanwhile, Bowler scored twice (including the game winner) and added a pair of assists.

Also scoring for the Cards was Jordan Caldwell and Brittany Meade. Caldwell had an outstanding game and scored twice in the second period, including once on the power-play. Meade’s goal was also a power-play tally.

Plattsburgh outshot Cortland 46 to 11 in the contest and went 2 for 5 on the power-play. The Cardinals penalty kill continues to struggle as Cortland’s lone goal came on a Dragon power-play. The Dragons were 1 for 4 with the extra attacker.

Mandy Mackrell finished the game with 10 saves in her 12th win of the season.
Speaking of Ms. Mackrell, there was a little debate tonight on WIRY on how to pronounce Mandy’s last name. I was under the impression it was pronounced MACKrell like the fish. WIRY had it right though. Mandy’s mom called during the broadcast and set the record straight. It is MacKRELL as heard on WIRY.

Three Stars of the Game:
1. Laurie Bowler
2. Steph Moon
3. Jordan Caldwell

Make sure to check out photos from tonight’s game here: Plattsburgh vs. Cortland Photos I have posted about 20 so far.

Box Score

Same two teams will go at it tomorrow afternoon at 3PM. Again the game will be LIVE on www.wiry.com . Make sure to check out the top broadcasting duo in Division III hockey: Rob Knowles and Ducky Drake.

CardinalHockey.Net Three Stars of the Week - Women's Edition

2010-02-01T10:10:00.000-08:00

Three Stars of the Week: 1/25 -2/1

The Cardinal Hockey women’s team defeated Buffalo State by 10-0 and 2-0 scores this past weekend.

The CardinalHockey.Net Three Stars of the Week are:

3^rd Star: Megan DiJulio - Megan scored two goals and added an assist for a three points on the weekend.

2^nd Star: Steph Moon – Scored two goals in the first game vs. Buffalo, including the game winner. Moon finished the weekend with four points.

1^st Star: Stephanie Moberg – The Captain scored a goal and an assist in each game this past weekend. Steph’s goal in Saturday’s game proved to be the game winner. Moberg currently leads the team in scoring with 26 points.

The Lady Cards will be back at the Stafford this weekend for two games vs. Cortland State at 7pm on Friday and 3pm on Saturday. Admission is FREE.

Drama in the SUNYAC

2010-01-28T19:42:00.000-08:00

The SUNYAC season is not even over yet and three teams are already out of the play-off picture. We all knew that Morrisville was ineligible for one more season. What we didn’t know is that Geneseo and Buffalo State would be out of the picture.

Thursday afternoon the NCAA Division III Committee on Infractions imposed one-year postseason bans on Geneseo and Buffalo State. The postseason ban for both schools applies to teams (primarily ice hockey) with student-athletes that had been awarded special grants for students from Canada. Both Buffalo State and SUNY Geneseo had awarded grants almost exclusively to student-athletes, particularly those in men’s and women’s ice hockey.

Here are the penalties the teams will face according to the NCAA release:

• Public reprimand and censure.
• Two years of probation from January 28, 2010, through January 27, 2012 (self-imposed by the institutions).
• Termination of the Canadian grant program for incoming students, beginning with the 2009-10 academic year (self-imposed by the institutions).
• Effective immediately, any of the institution’s athletics teams whose rosters include one or more student-athletes receiving Canadian grants shall end their seasons with the playing of their last regular-season contest and will not be eligible to participate in any postseason competition, including conference tournaments and NCAA championships. Further, any affected teams will not be eligible for regular-season conference championship consideration as long as their rosters include student-athletes receiving Canadian grants.

The Buffalo State men’s team probably would have missed the play-offs anyways. Not the case for Geneseo, who is currently tied for 4th in the conference. On the women’s side of things, Buffalo State is currently in a play-off position and had a good chance at making the ECAC West tournament.

Not anymore.

So what does this mean for the SUNYAC play-offs this year? It means that your six team field is Oswego, Plattsburgh, Fredonia, Brockport, Cortland, and Potsdam regardless of what happens down the stretch. The only thing the teams are playing for now is positioning and home ice.

You have to feel for the kids on these teams. Some of them will see their college hockey careers end in a rather negative way. I am willing to bet the two school’s rosters will look a little bit different next season.

While all of this is going on, we have a couple of big games this weekend for the men’s squad! The Cortland and Oswego weekend is back for round 2! As for the women’s team, they are playing at Buffalo State for a pair.

Go Cards!

NCAA Release: CLICK HERE

Fan Favorite Award Candidates

2010-01-20T16:40:00.000-08:00

Cardinal Hockey Fan Favorite Award

Are they even doing this award this year? There are only three home games left, which means only two games for voting.

Any hoot, let’s take a look at my TOP FIVE CHOICES FOR FAN FAVORITE (in no particular order).
Chris Wieland – Small fast forward who does everything. Exemplifies what Cardinal Hockey is all about. Chris currently leads the freshmen class in scoring with 6 goals and 8 assists for 14 points. Chris is a hard working player who leaves it all on the ice.

Jared Docking – Remember John Wells? He is the same type of player, a leader and plays big for a small guy. Docking probably has a little more offensive potential than Wells did. He is a fun guy to watch out there. That whole line of Docking/Taylor/Kudroch has been the Cards best of late.

Kyle Kudroch - Has a wicked shot and like Docking is not afraid to throw the body around. The kid is built like a TANK.

Eric Satim – The team’s leading scorer and is very creative with the puck. He is a joy to watch on the ice. Unfortunately, Eric got banged up at Williams and sounds like he may miss some substantial time. If this is the case, it could hurt his chances in the voting. Cardinal Country wishes Eric a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing his magic on the ice in the future.

Josh Leis / Ryan Williams - They have played as a tandem so far this season, why not vote for both on the same ballot. We have had some good goalies in recent years. (Erbsland, Sundberg, Neilson, & Hince) This year we have two guys who have played well. Both are statistically the same on paper. They do play different styles however. Leis tends to make the more flashy saves and can play the puck well. Williams plays a great positional game and has excellent rebound control. Well other than that juicy one against Skidmore that ended up in the back of the net. But we’ll forgive him for that one.

What? No love for the defensemen? Who do you pick out of this group? The defense core has played well as a whole. Kavanagh and MacLeod have really stepped up this year. The freshmen defensemen have really stepped in and played a huge role. Adams, Puglisi and Grace have Plattsburgh sitting pretty for years to come. MacLeod may get some consideration. He is fast and has an offensive flare. For some reason a defensemen has never won this award. Which is too bad really, there has been some great d-men over the years at Plattsburgh.

I usually tend to vote for the goalie in these Fan Favorite things. This year however, my pick happens to be one of the first two candidates I’ve listed above.

Could one of the freshmen win this award this year? I think so. What say you?

Who are the past winners? Click the link below to check out the past players to win the Fan Favorite Award.

Past Fan Favorite Winners

Behind the Bench Quick Recap

2010-01-19T16:43:00.000-08:00

Skidmore Game - Coach thought the game was a better than the score would indicate. The Skidmore goalie let in a bad goal that changed the whole momentum game. Thinks went downhill for them fast after Sliasis’ goal. Coach thought that a couple of our players left Rossy out to dry on the two goals scored against him.

Williams Game – Coach thought that his team dominated the game and probably possessed the puck for 45 minutes of that game. Coming out of the gate he thought we had great leadership and had some great grade ‘A’ scoring chances. The team did a good job breaking out and managing the puck. He noted that his team is having a hard time finding that guy who can rise up and score that big goal when needed. The goal scored against PSU was a shot that hit a Williams’s player in the shoulder and went in. As the game went on frustration did set in and players were getting on each other’s nerves a bit on the bench. When that happens players start squeezing sticks to tight and don’t playing loose. Willock’s goal was huge. If the team had not responded right away, they could have gotten more frustrated and could have lost this one.

Ducky asked Bob if he was happy with the power-play. His general answer was: No. Coach went on to say that this team is a work in progress. All tough games this year are on the road.

Ducky and Bob talked about some comparisons between the 2008-09 and 2009-10 teams 16 games into the season.

In 08-09 the team had a 13-1-2 record - scored 72 goals – gave up 35 goals – averaged 4.82 goals for and 1.93 goals against.

In 09-10 the team has a 10-2-4 record – scored 73 goals – has given up 27 – averaging 4.56 goals for and 1.69 against.

Ducky also compared some individual stats. The two take about most were Dylan Clarke (who is pressing) and Phil Farrow (sat the last game to observe). Coach said if we can get some output from these two guys we are in good shape.

Next up: Geneseo (great atmosphere) and Brockport (great goalie and two former PSU players)

Great Women's Hockey Website

2010-01-19T10:41:00.000-08:00

Make sure to check out the Beyond the Dashers website. It is a great women's hockey website and features the 2010 – 2011 NCAA Division III Commitments

If you know of any other cool college hockey websites out there, drop me an email at billr@cardinalhockey.net

Cardinals Host Hungry Tigers This Weekend

2010-01-19T10:07:00.000-08:00

#3 Plattsburgh State will host the #4 RIT Tigers this coming weekend at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. Games are on Friday (7pm) and Saturday (3pm) and admission is free.

A couple of wins this weekend over the Tigers and Plattsburgh will pretty much lock up the ECAC West regular season title.

RIT’s Sarah Dagg leads the ECAC West in scoring with 25 points. Teammate Katie Stack leads the league in goals scored with 16.

Stephanie Moberg leads the Cards in both points (18) and goals (9).

RIT has the number one scoring offense in the ECAC West, averaging 4.80 goals per game. Plattsburgh is second, averaging 4.67.

RIT is the second most penalized team in the league, while Plattsburgh is the least penalized team.

RIT has the top power-play that is clicking at a 28.6%. Plattsburgh is a close second with a 28.0% success rate on their power-play chances.

RIT has the top penalty kill in the league (88%), while Plattsburgh is ranked 6th with an 83.7% PK.

Plattsburgh went 2-1-0 last season against RIT. The Cards split at RIT last season with a 2-1 OT loss and a 4-2 win the following night. Plattsburgh ended RIT’s season last year with a 7-3 win in the ECAC West semi-finals.

I am looking forward to a great couple of games. See you at the rink! Make sure to check www.cardinalhockey.net/women.html next week for photos from this weekend’s games.