Plattsburgh Shuts Down Fredonia in Solid 4-1 Victory

2010.02.13 - Plattsburgh battles Fredonia in final regular season gameTonight's game demonstrated why the Plattsburgh State Cardinals are one of the top teams in NCAA Division III men's ice hockey. 

First, I have to give Cardinal goaltender Josh Leis some serious props for tonight's performance.  In addition to providing rock solid goaltending all night long, he kept the Blue Devils at bay with several huge saves. Leis delivered when he was called upon; confidently stopping and controlling shots throughout the night.

This confidence seemed to permeate throughout the entire team. Plattsburgh would close out the final regular season home game with some of the best play and control I have seen all year. Not only did the Cards make key plays on both ends of the rink; they completely controlled the pace of the game.

If that wasn't enough to make Fredonia nervous, tonight also saw the return of solid power play performance by the Cardinals. After Fredonia drew the first penalty at 1:25, the Plattsburgh power play unit wasted little time in getting down to business. With an assist from Dylan Clarke, Mike Grace fired in the first goal of the night to put the Cards up 1-0 at 2:54. The power play unit would send another puck past Fredonia goaltender Kody Van Rentergem thanks to Phil Farrow (with some help from Ryan Corry and Ian DeLong) at 16:57.

From that point forward, attention shifted from special teams to some even strength action. Although the Blue Devils were keeping pace with Plattsburgh State, things were beginning to look bleak. As competition intensified on the ice, both teams began to find some solid opportunities. Plattsburgh's Andrew Willock (with some help from Matty MacLeod and Dylan Clarke) fired a blistering shot into the back of the net at 10:09; putting the Cardinals up to a formidable 3-0 lead. There was no doubt about it; tonight the story was going to be all about Plattsburgh.

In the third period, Plattsburgh continued their dominance as Matt Bessing notched the final even-strength goal (assisted by Matty MacLeod and Vick Schlueter) at 14:50. With Leis serving as a one-man wall and the Cardinal lines dictating the game on their terms, it was going to be a rough night for the Blue Devils. Finally, at 19:39, Fredonia's Jordan Oye (assisted by Steve Rizer and Mitch Kulikoski) would benefit from a power play opportunity and a pulled goalie to finally send the puck past Leis. 

This was the level of play I have been waiting for. When Plattsburgh has confidence in their abilities and their goaltending, they are virtually unstoppable. If they can carry this momentum and energy into the postseason, the future could be very promising. Go Cards!