Plattsburgh Defeats Norwich 3-1
Game Recap by Rob Brennan

Going into tonight’s game, both Plattsburgh and Norwich were ready to do battle at the Stafford Arena.  For Plattsburgh, the main objective was clear.  The Cardinals would need to play some of their best hockey - having had to rally from a two goal deficit in this season’s earlier meeting (at the annual Primelink Shootout) where Norwich maintained a solid 3-1 lead until Plattsburgh rallied with less than seven minutes remaining in the game to tie it up at three (3) apiece.  The Cadets were on a mission to derail the Cardinals’ momentum, and Plattsburgh was on a mission to continue steamrolling its competition.

 Once the puck dropped, it was clear that tonight was going to be all about fast action and quick puck handling.  Norwich was making its presence felt throughout the entire rink - with both teams taking their turns at rattling the boards with the opposition.  Although the Cadets had managed to force a fast-paced game, Plattsburgh had maintained its composure and was firing plenty of shots toward the Norwich goal.  Despite sitting on the edge of our seats in the stands, the Cardinals had managed to keep the Cadets at bay.

At least, that was the case until the Cadets DJ Fimiani (with a little help from Jim Koehler and CJ Viso) sent the first shot on goal for Norwich past a dumbfounded Cardinal defense and into the net at 6:22 - putting the Cadets up 1-0.  For the remainder of the first period, we watched as Plattsburgh’s best efforts were consistently shut down by the Cadets goalie - Ryan Klingensmith.  As time wound down, one could almost feel the urgency in the air.  Plattsburgh needed to find a way to get the puck in the back of the net and put an end to the momentum Norwich was gaining.  At 19:28, Dylan Clarke had answered the call (with assistance from Eric Satim and Ward Smith).  Although Plattsburgh had controlled the first period with eleven (11) shots on goal compared to the four (4) attempts by the Cadets, both teams headed into the intermission tied 1-1.

As the teams took the ice for the second period, it was time to separate the men from the boys.  Despite Norwich jumping out to the initial lead in the first period, Plattsburgh had quelled any surge in momentum.  Even though they were heavily tested by Norwich throughout the night, the Plattsburgh State Cardinals would not settle for second best.  In the second period, Plattsburgh jumped out to a solid 3-1 lead thanks to goals by Phil Farrow at 8:08 (with Joey Wilson and Ward Smith contributing to the cause) and Tom Breslin at 19:28 (assisted by Kyle VanDermale and Andrew Willock).

The night had begun to swing in Plattsburgh’s favor - with intensity growing as the puck was launched in every direction imaginable across the rink.  The Cardinals remained out in front 3-1 at the end of the second period. However, with the intensity of the Cadets this would not be an easy lead to protect.  Although Plattsburgh had maintained a high degree of control throughout the third period (with Bryan Hince setting the standard for the night’s goaltending) they began to draw penalties that made us all a bit  nervous.  As we approached the conclusion of tonight’s match up, Plattsburgh wound up having to defend a brutal five on three stretch against the bloodthirsty Cadets.  We waited to see if the Norwich goalie would make his way to the bench in the final moments of the third period, but the Cardinals led the charge - fighting off the penalties and keeping the puck deep in the Norwich zone.  The Cadets simply could not get it together as the clock ran down, and after sixty (60) minutes of play we could all breathe a little easier as the Cardinals emerged with a well-earned 3-1 victory over the Cadets.

Thanks again to Rob for letting us post his game recaps on CardinalHockey.Net! To read more of Rob's work make sure to check out www.darkstarcollective.com