Cardinals Send Brockport Home With 4-1 Loss

Image courtesy of Cardinalhockey.netOk, I admit it.  Whenever Brockport comes to town to face the Cardinals on home ice, I cannot help but yawn.  Similar to how Bill Murray must have felt in the movie "Groundhog Day" it seems as if the same outcome is a given.  For me, the Plattsburgh/Brockport matchup seems to always wind up with a good - but not great - Brockport squad that ultimately falls to Plattsburgh by a handful of goals.  Tonight was no exception.

Ryan Williams was the goalie of choice for Plattsburgh tonight; with the Cardinals eager to see how he would fare in net.  As it turned out, Williams' performance was quite impressive.  In fact, although Josh Leis put up a great showing in last night's game against Geneseo, I would have to believe the confidence and poise Williams demonstrated would give him the nod as the starting goalie for Plattsburgh State.

Both squads played a solid first period - with Plattsburgh asserting their presence and controlling the pace by firing sixteen (16) shots on goal compared to Brockport's paltry seven (7) shots on goal.  Despite having some solid shots on goal, though, both teams were unable to light up the scoreboard before the first intermission.  I did, however, enjoy watching Brockport's Brett Jendra (#16) get thrown around the ice like a rag doll - a guilty pleasure that continued all night long.

The second period was more of the same; starting off with a ridiculous delay of game penalty assessed to the Cardinals prior to the opening face-off.  Regardless, the action resumed right where it left off - with Phil Farrow putting Plattsburgh up 1-0 on a power play goal at 2:38 (thanks to some help from Mike Kavanagh and Kyle Kudroch).  Despite only having five (5) shots on goal throughout the entire second period, Brockport managed to tie the game with a goal by former Cardinal Jason Gorrie at 15:19 (assisted by Ryan Silveira and Chris Berardini).

Unfortunately for Brockport, this would be as exciting as it would get.  The Golden Eagles never did seem to be a threat tonight, and true to tradition Plattsburgh began to pull away in the third.  Matt Bessing fired in a blistering shot at 5:47 (assisted by Patrick Jobb) to put Plattsburgh up 2-1.  From that point forward, it was clear the Golden Eagles were simply out of their league.  Patrick Jobb would take his turn throwing a biscuit toward the back of the net at 12:34 (assisted by Tom Breslin); and Kyle VanDermale followed suit four minutes later at 16:34 (thanks to some help from Vick Schlueter and Tom Breslin).  

Normally, I would say Brockport goaltender Todd Sheridan should be given some credit for allowing only four (4) out of the forty-three (43) shots fired his way - however, it was almost comical how he would carry on and pout like a third grader.  Why he is regarded as a great goaltender in NCAA Men's Division III hockey totally blows my mind; and the fact he was awarded the third star tonight baffles me.  Granted, Sheridan is adequate in net - but surely nothing to write home about.  In fact, if Brockport manages to be a threat in the SUNYAC conference this year I will be surprised.

Plattsburgh, on the other hand, appears to have worked out some of the confusion from the season opener.  To be fair, this was against Brockport so I will reserve judgment for a team worthy of testing the Cards' abilities.  Either way, these two victories are a great way to start the 2009-2010 season.  Go Cards!