PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - The Plattsburgh State men's hockey team will wrap up 2011 with the annual Cardinal Classic Tournament. This year's field includes three nationally ranked teams in the No. 5 Cardinals, No. 9 Utica College and No. 3 Castleton. The Babson College Beavers round out the group of teams who will be gunning for this year's tournament championship.
Ticket Prices
Day passes will be available for each day of the Cardinal Classic Tournament. Tickets are $10 per day and will allow fans entry to both games. Single game tickets are not available.
Live Stats & Live Audio
Live stats will be available for all four games of the tournament at the following link:
http://www.sidearmstats.com/plattsburgh/mhockey/index.htm
Live audio will be available for both Plattsburgh games at
http:www.wiry.com.
Friday, December 30
4 p.m. - Utica vs. Castleton
Two of the top teams in the country will open the tournament on Friday. Utica comes to town with an 8-3-0 record. The Pioneers are a perfect 7-0-0 in non-conference games and have defeated all four State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opponents they have faced this season, including a 3-2 win over Oswego early in the season. Utica is led by senior forward Tim Coffman with six goals and 12 assists for 18 points. Three other players have reached double-digits in points through 11 games.
Castleton will be in search of its first win at the Stafford Ice Arena after cruising through most of the first semester with a 10-1-0 record. The Spartans began the season with nine straight wins before suffering a 3-2 loss at Norwich on Dec. 2. The loss to the No. 1 Cadets was the only blemish in an otherwise perfect first half for Castleton. The Spartans have six players with 11 or more points, led by sophomore Nick Lazorko with 12 goals and eight assists. He is backed up by junior forward Dan Bell with 19 points. Sophomore goaltender Erick Cinotti's .942 save percentage is tops in the nation while the Spartans' offense is second in the country with an average of 5.36 goals per game.
7 p.m. - Babson vs. Plattsburgh
Despite a .500 record against ECAC East opponents, Babson is winless against non-conference teams. The Beavers come into the weekend with a 3-7-0 record and look to snap a two-game losing streak from before the break. Junior Jay Haseley is the team's leading goal scorer with five goals. Andrew Bonazza and Matt Furey lead the way with seven points apiece. Zeke Testa has played the majority of minutes in the Beavers' net, posting a .870 save percentage.
While the Cardinals only have one loss in their last seven games, they have had to settle for three ties against ranked opponents Middlebury, Oswego and Norwich. Plattsburgh has been successful at staying out of the box this year, serving just 8.5 penalty minutes per game. The only team with fewer is Norwich with 7.6. The Cardinals have killed 37 of 39 penalties and own the nation's top penalty kill percentage at 94.9 percent. A balanced offense has kept Plattsburgh going through the first semester with Kyle Kudroch leading the way with nine points. Junior defenseman Mike Grace leads the team with eight assists, while Vick Schlueter has three power-play goals and two game-winners. Sophomore goaltender Mathieu Cadieux has a 3-2-2 record with a .920 save percentage.
Saturday, December 31
The tournament wraps up on New Years Eve with the consolation game at 1 p.m. followed by the championship game at 4 p.m.
