By Collin Bolebruch
The Plattsburgh Cardinals play 25 regular season games. After splitting two, there’s now 23 left for them to get into playoff shape. It’s a long season.
No. 9 Plattsburgh State men’s hockey lost 3-5 to Plymouth State on the road Nov. 8. The loss is the first for the Cardinals (1-1), while the Panthers (2-2) earned their first win. The Cards followed up with a 6-5 exhibition win over Simon Fraser University, a club team from Burnaby, British Columbia, at home Saturday.
“It’s really hard to win at this level and you need a level of consistency which we have not shown yet this year,” head coach Steve Moffat said. “The good thing is we’ve shown that we can play the right way, we just have not done it consistently yet.”
Plattsburgh dropped to No. 12 in the United State College Hockey Online rankings as the conference season begins tonight.
PLYMOUTH STATE
Plattsburgh scheduled Plymouth State as an early non-conference challenge. The Panthers reached the tournament in 2023-24 and defeated SUNYAC Champion Cortland in the first round. They were ranked No. 11 to start the season.
The Cardinals played six forwards new to the team, and the offense is still finding its stride. A week after scoring six goals on VTSU Castleton, Plattsburgh trailed Plymouth State in shots 31 to 40 and relinquished three separate one-goal leads.
“We need to improve in every aspect of the game,” said Jake Lanyi, senior forward. “I don’t think we showed up to our expectation.”
Goal scorers against the Panthers were senior defenseman Spencer Bellina, first-year forward Tyler Ramm with the first of his career and Division I transfer junior forward Jake Sacratini.
Lanyi had two assists and four Cardinals, including Ramm and Sacratini, had one.
Junior Eli Shiller started his first game of the season in net, saving 35 shots. Plymouth State’s fifth goal was on an empty net.
Neither team scored on power play opportunities, with Plattsburgh shooting twice on two chances and killing Plymouth State’s only attempt.
Bellina scored the lone goal of the first period. In the period, Plattsburgh was outshot nine to 13. The Cardinals fought to keep the puck out of their zone for the final 3:24, as Shiller saved six shots in a two-minute span.
The Panthers equalized the game 1:37 into the second. The Cardinals responded at 13:58, but quickly saw the game tied again less than a minute later.
Plattsburgh took a 3-2 lead quickly in the third, only to have it again answered less than five minutes later. The Panthers delivered the final blow with less than five minutes remaining.
“I thought we spent too much time in our own end, so we’re pretty gassed on the way back,” Sacratini said. “It’s hard to set up a good in-zone when you’re tired and have to chase pucks around.”
SIMON FRASER
Plattsburgh returned to Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena the next day before its official home opener next weekend. The Cardinals played in front of 1,730 fans for Military Appreciation Night.
The Red Leafs, who have been vying for NCAA DI sponsorship, are touring the United States. They played DI St. Lawrence University the night before, losing 0-4. Though just an exhibition, the competition was a serious test for the Cardinals in a big win.
“I liked how we responded, and to be able to get that win against a pretty good team,” Moffat said. “It was a pretty important game.”
Moffat pointed to keeping the puck out of the defensive end, blocking shots and finishing ahead as small things the Cardinals did right that will translate to winning.
Plattsburgh looked much stronger offensively, winning shots 36 to 22 and scoring twice on eight power play chances.
Six Cardinals scored: First-year forward William Jasmin with an unofficial career first, first-year forward Brody Spencer-Ha, Lanyi, Sacratini, graduate defenseman Kevin Weaver-Vitale and sophomore forward Aaron Catron.
Senior defenseman Jack Ring tallied two assists and seven Cards had one. Senior Jacob Hearne was the starting goalie, saving 17 shots.
The game was extremely chippy with 17 penalties, including three majors and subsequent ejections.
The Leafs and Cards traded goals, leading to a 2-2 stalemate halfway through the second period. Sacratini took the lead at 16:49, his fourth goal in four games including exhibitions.
Weaver-Vitale scored from the blue line 3:06 into the third, taking the golden two-goal lead. However, just like in Plymouth, New Hampshire, the Cardinals were equalized in minutes, with two Leaf goals in the next 6:33.
“We need to keep the gas down,” Moffat said. He emphasized that the team was too content with small leads.
Crisis was averted as Catron sniped an unassisted gino on the breakaway with 1:30 remaining. The victory puts Plattsburgh back on the upswing going into SUNYAC play.
THIS WEEKEND
The Cardinals return to Deborah F. Stanley Arena to take on their signature rival, the Oswego Lakers (0-2-1), tonight. In 2023-24, Plattsburgh finished 0-2 against Oswego in the regular season, before eliminating the Lakers in overtime of the SUNYAC Semifinals.
Oswego entered the season ranked second in the preseason conference poll, and has consistently received votes in the USCHO poll.
Tomorrow, Plattsburgh will play its first-ever SUNYAC game featuring Canton (2-2), which played as an independent last season. The Kangaroos ranked sixth in the SUNYAC poll, above playoff participant Potsdam.
The Cardinals have already departed for what is their first overnight trip of the weekend.
“I know our guys are really looking forward to it,” Moffat said. “It’s a great opportunity to see where we really stand.”
