Jim LoudHorns Looks at Da Bears

Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My! I feel like I should be watching the “Wizard of Oz” right now or looking for the Tin man and Scarecrow. We’ve already found the Bears, as they are caged up in Potsdam. This weekend we will make the trip up to route 11 and into the “Den”, also known as the Maxcy Hall Ice Arena.

Da Bears are a tough team to figure out this year. They tied and lost to western “powerhouse” (at least in their minds and those of their fans) Adrian. They beat up on Morrisville (on the scoreboard at least) then get pounded by Geneseo. Da Bears have issues in net and are spending a good amount of time in the penalty box. Coming into the weekend Potsdam has an overall record of 2-3-2 and a SUNYAC record of 2-2-1.

Potsdam is lead up front by Connor Treacy. The junior forward (7-5-12) leads the team in points and penalty minutes (5/21); he also has 1 power play goal. Sophomore forward Fraser Smith (3-4-7) is next on the point list and has no penalties. Leading the Bears freshman is Anthony Proteau (3-2-5); the forward has 2 power play goals and 1 game winning goal.

Goaltending has seemed to be a problem for the Bears. Sophomore Rick Miller and freshman Trevor O’Neill have pretty much split the time for the Bears. Miller is 2-1-1 so far on the season with a .871 save percentage and goals against average of 3.93. O’Neill is 0-2-1 on the season with a .857 save percentage and goals against average of 4.77.

Another problem for Potsdam is their special teams. The power play is 10/50 (20% success rate) while the penalty kill is 36/48 (75% kill rate). Da Bears are averaging 3.71 goals per game while giving up 4.29; 7.9 penalties per game for an average of 18.9 minutes while the opponents are averaging 8.3 penalties for 22.4 minutes.

Plattsburgh State continues to lead the SUNYAC as they are now 5-0-0 in conference play and 6-0-0 overall. Last weekend Bryan Hince became the first Cardinal goalie to win back to back shutouts, on the same weekend, on the road. Cardinal goalies have won back to back shutouts and done it at home, but it’s never been done on the road, congrats to Bryan on that one!

Senior Nick Rolls continues to lead the Cards in points (2-9-11) and added a game winning goal to his point total this weekend. Catching Rolls and looking to take the lead is sophomore forward Dylan Clarke (5-5-10) who added a goal and two assists this past weekend.

Bryan Hince added to his list of SUNYAC credentials with a Goaltender of the Week award, his second of this young season. Hince was perfect on the weekend, shutting out both Brockport and Geneseo; stopping all 40 shots against on the weekend. Bryan improved to 6-0-0 on the season and 28-5-0 in his short career here in Plattsburgh. With the shutouts; Hince now has a save percentage of 92.9 and a SUNYAC leading 1.67 goals against average with 4 career shutouts. Just to put this in perspective, Nick Sunberg had I believe 10 career shutouts while in a Cardinal jersey.

Plattsburgh’s power play seems to be getting better each week. The power play is now 13/51 (25.5% success rate) while the penalty kill is now 29/36 (80.6% kill rate). Plattsburgh is averaging 5.5 goals a game while giving up just 1.67. Penalty numbers have been reduced a little over the past few games. The Cardinals are averaging 6.5 penalties per game for an average of 14.3 minutes in the box. Comparatively the opponents are taking 9.5 penalties per game for an astounding 24.8 minutes per game! In total, opponents have taken 21 penalties for hooking, tripping or holding. Yes you read that right, a holding penalty; I guess Casey Smith forgot he was playing hockey and not football!

This weekend I’m expecting the Cardinals to continue their success and beat Da Bears up in the den. Last year when Plattsburgh made the trip up to Potsdam they can home without a win to close out the regular season, but avenged that loss the following week to take the Bears out of the SUNYAC playoffs. I’m expecting the Cardinals to come out flying Saturday night and put the Bears to bed early.

My Prediction: Plattsburgh 6 Potsdam 1

Till this weekend,
Jim