After losing two seniors from last season, the Plattsburgh State Cardinals seem destined to build off a 2017-18 campaign, where they had a losing record in the SUNYAC for the first time in head coach Bob Emery’s 30 years at the Cardinals’ helm. Heading into this weekend, Plattsburgh State has a conference record of 4-2-1, which is third in the SUNYAC and three points ahead of Oswego State.
The Cardinals sport the second-best goals against average in SUNYAC games, as they allow just 1.55 per game. Their effective goaltending has kept them in virtually every conference game due to sophomore standout Jimmy Poreda. This year, he has improved on his freshman year with a save percentage of .942 and a goals against average of 1.81.
Despite being average in size at 6 foot 2 inches, Poreda uses his frame to cover most of the net. He is able to get in his stance quickly, which is crucial for goalies to stop pucks and, more importantly, control rebounds. Emery has been very impressed with his young goalie early on.
“He’s much more committed. He came in in much better shape,” Emery said. “He did a lot of work over the summer with his goalie coach, with our goalie coach…He is tracking pucks better.”
In last year’s Whiteout Weekend game, Poreda stopped an impressive 35 shots to secure a 1-0 victory for the Cardinals. When it comes to scoring on Poreda, it will be extremely difficult, so the Lakers should look to capitalize on line rushes, forcing Poreda to move laterally across the crease.
“Now with teams, everybody’s got a good goalie,” Oswego State head coach Ed Gosek said. “You have to score off the line rush and on the power play.”
Speaking of special teams, the Cardinals have the 10th best penalty kill in Div. III, as they kill 90 percent of penalties. They do a great job maintaining their positioning in the zone and force their opposition to take low danger shots far from the slot.
“They are well coached,” Gosek said. “It’s very difficult to get them out of position, to create two-on-ones in certain areas of the ice.”
The Lakers cannot afford to get fancy with their power play like they have in the past. Instead, working the puck to the point and getting second and third chances on rebounds may be their best chance to score a power play goal. While the Lakers try to get their defense involved on the power play, Plattsburgh State seems to have their defense active every shift.
Of the Cardinals’ 24 conference goals, four, or just under 17 percent, have been scored by their defense. The ability to have an active blue line that can jump in on the rush and make well-timed pinches to keep the puck in the offensive zone is the difference between a good and great defensive unit, something the Lakers will need to take into consideration on Dec. 8.
“We have to be better defensively at taking away time and space from their [defense],” Gosek said. “We need to start anticipating, reading plays and getting out on them–jamming up their [defense], taking away shooting lanes quicker.”
This is a Plattsburgh State team that gets contributions from its entire lineup; however, its senior class is prominent in the box score. Four of their top five skaters leading in points are seniors and are difference-makers in terms of winning games, Emery said.
“Great teams find a way to win [one-goal games],” Emery said. “What I’m looking for out of my senior class going forward is we’ve been finding ways to lose a few games here. We have to find ways to win a few.”
A strong senior class is one that Emery wants to depend on throughout the season but their best player is only a sophomore. Rich McCartney is the Cardinals’ leading scorer with seven goals and nine points. He was just as electric last season as the SUNYAC Rookie of the Year. Despite being undersized at only 5 foot 10 inches, he has a knack for the net and prides himself on hard work.
“He’s just a really smart hockey player with really great hands,” Emery said. “He trains hard. I take my hat off to him.”
With a combination of dynamic goaltending and primary scoring, the Cardinals need to find the consistency they have had in the past in order to get back on track and propel themselves ahead of SUNY Fredonia, who sits one place ahead of them in the standings.
Photo by: Gabe Dickens | Plattsburgh Athletics
