Another week of Cardinal Hockey has gone by, and another W has been placed firmly in the win column. The Cardinals are now 3-0 to start the season after last weekends 11-1 slaughter of the Potsdam Bears.

Many fans are excited about the 3-0 start. Many fans are excited about the power-play clicking at a 48.3% success rate. Many fans are excited with what they are seeing out of the freshmen group. In general, fans are excited about the season as a whole.

However, as a fan you must remind yourself that the three wins come against the cellar dwellers of the SUNYAC. This team has yet to be tested in the young season. Their true test will begin this Friday night. More on that later. First lets look back at the week that was.

Nine different players got on the scoreboard this past weekend, and it probably could have been more. Mike Baccaro and TJ Cooper led the team with each scoring twice in the contest.

Speaking of Baccaro, we are just three games into the season and he had already surpassed his point total from last season. The kid is on a mission folks.

Also scoring in the contest was Joey Wilson, Riley Hill, Nick Rolls, Dylan Clarke, Mike Thomson, Andrew Willock, & Phil Farrow.

How about Nick Rolls? It looks to me like he is going to have an All-American type season for the Cards.

Goaltender Bryan Hince picked up his second win of the season. He is currently ranked 3rd in SUNY in save percentage (.920) and 1st in goals against average (1.00).

Potsdam’s coach Aaron Saul has his work cut out for him this season. The Bears took 12 penalties in the contest. It was clear from the start that they could not handle Plattsburgh’s speed. A couple of the Potsdam upperclassmen took some very BAD penalties that not only hurt their team, but set a bad example for the young players on the squad. According to coach Emery on this past Monday’s behind the bench, coach Saul has dealt with the ‘situation’.

Saul is trying to instill a new culture in Potsdam, and those antics many fans saw on Friday will NOT be tolerated any longer. Give Saul a couple of seasons, and he will have that program back at the top of the SUNYAC conference.

With the win against the Bears, Coach Emery picked up his 400th career win. Congratulations to coach on the milestone. Hopefully, he get win 401 on Friday night and 402 on Saturday!

The USCHO SUNYAC Season Preview was released this past week. Mr. Jaslow’s SUNYAC rankings left me scratching my head a little bit. Perhaps he was ranking teams based on their concession food? Just kidding Russell!

For those of you who have not seen the rankings, this is how the teams were predicted to finish by Mr. Jaslow.

1. Oswego - no problem with this pick, they are defending national champions. Even if they had to take the back door in to win it.

2. Geneseo - The losses of Mitch Stephens and Mike MacDonald are HUGE. Huge enough to drop them to third in my opinion.

3. Buffalo State - This is the ranking I disagree with the most. While Buffalo has improved leaps and bounds from the past, they are not quite there yet. Could this be the year? I’m not seeing it so far.

4. Plattsburgh State - Rank them where you wanna, but the Cards have not missed out on a SUNYAC championship game since Emery became coach. In my opinion, the Cards are a better team than Buffalo.

5. Fredonia State - How the mighty fall! Defending SUNYAC champs fall to 5th? I had them in my top three.

6. Potsdam State - Ranked WAY to high based on what I have seen in the two games they played against Plattsburgh. I thought Morrisville played better than the Bears. Having said that, I think the Bears will finish above the Mustangs. Just barely. Coach Saul has his work cut out for him.

7. Brockport State - My pick for the final play-off spot, with Cortland on their tail.

8. Cortland State - Baldy is a good coach, and could have the Dragons fighting for the final play-off spot. A lot depends on the goaltending here. Will Binga last a full season under Baldy? Place your bets now!

9. Morrisville State - Probably the safe pick for this spot.

Here is my prediction for how the SUNYAC will shake down by the end of the season..

1. Lakers
2. Cardinals
3. Devils
4. Knights
5. Bengals
6. Golden Eagles
7. Dragons
8. Bears
9. Mustangs

Does it really matter where anyone is ranked? No. Coach says it all the time, polls are meaningless. Still, we experts need to have something to bitch about!

Plattsburgh fans should have a better idea where this team stands after this coming weekend. The Cards will face off against arch rivals Oswego Lakers on Friday and then travel to face Cortland on Saturday.

Oswego enters the weekend with a 0-1-1 record. Last Friday the Lakers lost to Elmira 2-1 at home. On Saturday they traveled to Elmira, where they had to settle for a 4-4 tie. Oswego does have a 5-2 exhibition win over Kent State, but it does not count towards their NCAA record.

Last season the Cards went 1-0-1 against the Lakers. The guys were the first to ever beat Oswego in their new arena with a 4-1 win. The two teams tied each other 5-5 in Plattsburgh.

The Lakers team remains mostly intact from their national championship run. They add 5 freshmen to the line-up, including Joe Hall who could really bury the puck in juniors. The Lakers do lose Ryan Woodward, who was a real leader on last years team. The Lakers also lost defenseman Ryan Koresky and forward Trevor Gilligan.

The game should be a treat for the fans. Lots and lots of speed will be on display. Also, it will be interesting to see how this young Plattsburgh squad handles the hostile atmosphere at Oswego. It will also be interesting to see who gets the start in nets for the Cards. Will it be Hince? Molinaro? LeBlanc? If I was a betting man, I would put my money on Hince getting the start. Maybe the bigger question is: who starts on Saturday night?

Speaking of Saturday. The Cards will travel down to Cortland State their first meeting of the season against the Dragons. Cortland enters the weekend with a 1-2-0 record. The Dragons lost games against Fredonia (5-2) and Buffalo (4-1) during the SUNYAC Challenge tournament. Last weekend, the Dragons picked up a 6-3 win over Lebanon Valley.

In case your wondering, Cortland goaltender Binga has already had a meltdown this season. Card fans will remember his antics from last season, when Binga went off on his players and coach. He also sent his stick flying across the rink when he was benched. It will be interesting to see if the new Cortland coach Joe Baldarotta puts up with Binga’s temper for long. Last weekend Binga did not play. Mike Mistretta played in the win against Lebanon Valley and was named SUNYAC Goalie of the Week for his efforts.

FYI, Baldarotta takes over the Red Dragons after spending 16 seasons with Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Last season Plattsburgh went 1-0-1 against the Dragons. The Cards blanked them 6-0 at home and tied them 3-3 in Cortland.

Hopefully the boys will come out of this weekend with 4 points. It would be HUGE for this young team.

For those making the trip, drive safe and cheer hard. For those not making the trip, I expect to see you at the Stafford Ice Arena at 7PM Friday night. The women’s team will be raising their national championship banner as they host Neumann College. Bring your head phones and listen to the men’s game while you watch the women. Admission is FREE. First 100 fans get a championship magnet.

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