Box Score
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men’s hockey team continued its struggle to find the back of the net as the top-ranked Norwich Cadets walked away with a 1-0 victory in a non-conference game Friday night at the Stafford Ice Arena.
With the loss, the Cardinals wrap up the first semester with a 7-3-1 record overall and a 6-1-1 mark in conference play. The Cadets remain unbeaten at 10-0-0 overall and 7-0-0 in the ECAC East.
Despite a number of close calls in the first period, the two teams remained scoreless after the first 20 minutes. The Cardinals appeared to have the perfect set-up late in the period when Kevin Emmerling found Luke Baleshta all alone in the slot. Baleshta waited for Matic Marinsek to make a move but his back-handed shot was stopped by the Norwich goaltender.
The Cardinals opened the door for Norwich just past the midway point of the second period when Ryan Farnan was sent to the box for a slashing penalty. The Cadets capitalized on the power-play opportunity as Kyle Thomas fired his shot past Plattsburgh goaltender Mathieu Cadieux. Shane Gorman was credited with an assist on the game-winner.
With six minutes gone in the third and down a goal, Plattsburgh had a chance to tie it when Mark Constantine’s pass found Nick Jensen in front, but Jensen’s shot from in close went high and over the net.
The Cardinals pulled their goaltender with 1:17 remaining in regulation, but were unable to score the equalizer. The shutout marks the first for Plattsburgh at home since Jan. 28, 2011 against Cortland.
Shots on goal were indicative of two evenly-matched teams as the Cardinals finished the evening with a slight 27-26 advantage. The Plattsburgh power-play unit struggled Friday night, going 0-for-5. The Cadets were 1-for-3.
Marinsek stopped all 27 shots he faced to improve to 5-0-0 on the year. Cadieux recorded 25 saves in the loss, wrapping up the semester with a 4-3-1 record.
The Cardinals will return to the ice on Friday, Dec. 28 after a three-week hiatus for the 2012 Buck Supply and Hynes Electric Cardinal Classic. The tournament will open with a 4 p.m. game between Amherst and Elmira before Plattsburgh closes out the first day against Wesleyan at 7 p.m. The consolation and championship games will follow on Dec. 29 at 4 and 7 p.m., respectively.
