Rob Brennan

It's the first day of the new year, and for hockey fans in Plattsburgh that means it's time for the annual Cardinal Classic tournament. This yearly tradition is a great way to kick off the second half of the NCAA Men's Division III ice hockey season. Plattsburgh started the night with an overall record of 7-1-2, while Castleton arrived in town with an atrocious 1-5-2 overall record.

I found it amusing that the press suggested tonight's matchup was going to be a good one. It only took fifty-four (54) seconds into the first period to get a good read on things. Plattsburgh's Chris Wieland fired in the first goal of the night to put the Cardinals up to an early 1-0 lead. Kyle Kudroch sent the second goal of the night past Castleton netminder Arthur Hollinger at the seven (7) minute marker.

From that point forward, the Cardinals were pretty much on autopilot. In fact, aside from another Plattsburgh timekeeping malfunction (which has become an increasingly common occurrence) the remainder of the first period was a pleasant skate around the Stafford Arena for the Cardinals. Even when Mike Kavanagh was assessed a five (5) minute major for hitting from behind (at 18:26 in the first period), the Cardinals remained in control. Castleton was on the ice - but not in the game.

The second period kicked off Plattsburgh's impressive special teams - which closed out the night by successfully capitalizing on four (4) out of nine (9) power play opportunities. Vick Schlueter fired in a power play goal at 4:06 to put Plattsburgh up 3-0. Eric Satim sent another goal into the net at 5:33. With a 4-0 lead, the Cardinals could continue their pleasant skate around the rink until Castleton's Ben Schoeneberger sent a beautiful unassisted shot past Cardinal goalie Ryan Williams at 17:31. 

While Plattsburgh was in control with a 4-1 lead after two periods, the question remained...Would Castleton mentally show up for the game? The third period brought more heartache to their squad. After the Plattsburgh power play sent another two goals past Hollinger (courtesy of Dan Sliasis at 4:19 and Ian DeLong at 7:58), Castleton opted to take their chances with goalie Justin Roethingshoefer.

How bad could it get? They were down 6-1 and just could not get it together. As it would turn out, Roethingshoefer would let in two goals on two shots - allowing Eric Satim's shot in at 9:26 and finally succumbing to the Plattsburgh power play with an encore goal from Ian DeLong at 11:38.

Mercifully, the game finally ended in an 8-1 romp. It's great to see Plattsburgh is picking up where they left off, but...is it too much to ask that we actually see competitive teams in this tournament in the future? How about we invite the defending national champion/runner-up instead of a whipping boy? Maybe I'm a little too cynical, but for a holiday tournament I would have expected better competition than what Castleton brought to the table. Tomorrow, Plattsburgh State will square off against Trinity in the Cardinal Classic Championship at 7pm.