Rob Brennan is a blogger and Plattsburgh hockey fan. In his blog he offered this assessment of last night's game...
For those of you who thought the start to last night's game was rather lackluster, holy smokes...Tonight's game was absolutely abysmal for Plattsburgh State; although they did manage to eke by Brockport in the end.
The night started off with a tribute to Plattsburgh's 2001 national championship team - which dethroned some incredibly talented teams along the way. It was great to see a lot of familiar faces from back when I attended Plattsburgh State (2001 was my graduating class). I was also pleased to see a special tribute honoring Mike Daoust - who not only played a key role in that particular team but who tragically lost his battle with cancer late July of 2010.
Quite honestly, that was the highlight of the evening. Plattsburgh was all over the ice tonight -unable to control the game against the weakest team in the SUNYAC conference. Brockport - now 3-14-1 for the 2010/11 season - should have been an easy opponent for the Cardinals to control. The only real skill required was to simply play a smart game.
While Plattsburgh was the first to score (Kyle Taylor fired in a shot from Jared Docking at 7:15), the team looked absolutely atrocious. No matter where one would look - offensively, defensively, in goal - it was evident the team was not firing on all cylinders. Brockport was skating circles around Plattsburgh - and with ease. From silly turnovers to off-target passes and shots on goal, Plattsburgh was hurting. It came as no surprise when the Golden Eagles tied it up at 1-1 (Bobby Conner from Chris Cangro and Gregg Amato at 9:08). Plattsburgh needed all the help it could muster on the ice. Brockport would take a 2-1 lead after James Cody would capitalize on a power-play opportunity (assisted by Ian Finnerty and Matt DeLuca) at 12:32 of the first.
The entire first period was a complete and utter disaster for Plattsburgh State. They could barely get out of their own way; but finally managed to collectively limp toward the locker room without giving up another goal. Brockport not only had the offensive advantage (sending 11 shots on goal compared to Plattsburgh's 7), but they managed to control the game. In the stands, the hometown crowd was silent. Not only was Plattsburgh noticeably off their "A" game - they were fighting to stay alive against arguably one of the worst teams in division III hockey. Disgraceful.
When the teams returned to the ice, the second period featured more of the same missed opportunities and completely careless play by the Cardinals. By some miracle, they managed to tie the game 2-2 courtesy a power-play goal by Dylan Clarke (credit Ryan Craig and Kyle Taylor with the assist) at 12:57. Again, Plattsburgh was barely hanging on. On the positive side, they did manage to pull even with the Golden Eagles despite wasting forty minutes on the ice.
Plattsburgh began to pick up the pieces in the third period. Collectively, the Cardinals were still fighting an uphill battle. To their credit, they began to fill in some of the offensive and defensive holes from earlier in the evening. Eric Satim (assisted by Nick Jensen and Ryan Craig) would finally put Plattsburgh out in front 3-2 at 12:07. Jensen and Satim would team up for one more goal at 18:23.
Quick thoughts? Plattsburgh has been on a streak lately, but these last couple games have shown those days may be numbered. If the Cardinals want to have a fighting chance against Oswego next weekend, they are going to have to ratchet up their gameplay and focus on the fundamentals. Brockport easily keyed in on the same tried and trued offensive patterns Plattsburgh runs - which means that they will be sitting ducks when faced with some real competition like Oswego. Brockport should not have been a challenge for this team by any means - and yet, the worst team in hockey nearly upset them on home ice. Tonight's performance was an utter embarrassment to Cardinal hockey. Hopefully, the Cardinals will shake out of this funk and get down to business this coming weekend when Cortland and Oswego come to town.
Source:
http://www.therobbrennan.com/journal/2011/1/22/cards-overcome-rough-start-to-defeat-brockport.html
For those of you who thought the start to last night's game was rather lackluster, holy smokes...Tonight's game was absolutely abysmal for Plattsburgh State; although they did manage to eke by Brockport in the end.
The night started off with a tribute to Plattsburgh's 2001 national championship team - which dethroned some incredibly talented teams along the way. It was great to see a lot of familiar faces from back when I attended Plattsburgh State (2001 was my graduating class). I was also pleased to see a special tribute honoring Mike Daoust - who not only played a key role in that particular team but who tragically lost his battle with cancer late July of 2010.
Quite honestly, that was the highlight of the evening. Plattsburgh was all over the ice tonight -unable to control the game against the weakest team in the SUNYAC conference. Brockport - now 3-14-1 for the 2010/11 season - should have been an easy opponent for the Cardinals to control. The only real skill required was to simply play a smart game.
While Plattsburgh was the first to score (Kyle Taylor fired in a shot from Jared Docking at 7:15), the team looked absolutely atrocious. No matter where one would look - offensively, defensively, in goal - it was evident the team was not firing on all cylinders. Brockport was skating circles around Plattsburgh - and with ease. From silly turnovers to off-target passes and shots on goal, Plattsburgh was hurting. It came as no surprise when the Golden Eagles tied it up at 1-1 (Bobby Conner from Chris Cangro and Gregg Amato at 9:08). Plattsburgh needed all the help it could muster on the ice. Brockport would take a 2-1 lead after James Cody would capitalize on a power-play opportunity (assisted by Ian Finnerty and Matt DeLuca) at 12:32 of the first.
The entire first period was a complete and utter disaster for Plattsburgh State. They could barely get out of their own way; but finally managed to collectively limp toward the locker room without giving up another goal. Brockport not only had the offensive advantage (sending 11 shots on goal compared to Plattsburgh's 7), but they managed to control the game. In the stands, the hometown crowd was silent. Not only was Plattsburgh noticeably off their "A" game - they were fighting to stay alive against arguably one of the worst teams in division III hockey. Disgraceful.
When the teams returned to the ice, the second period featured more of the same missed opportunities and completely careless play by the Cardinals. By some miracle, they managed to tie the game 2-2 courtesy a power-play goal by Dylan Clarke (credit Ryan Craig and Kyle Taylor with the assist) at 12:57. Again, Plattsburgh was barely hanging on. On the positive side, they did manage to pull even with the Golden Eagles despite wasting forty minutes on the ice.
Plattsburgh began to pick up the pieces in the third period. Collectively, the Cardinals were still fighting an uphill battle. To their credit, they began to fill in some of the offensive and defensive holes from earlier in the evening. Eric Satim (assisted by Nick Jensen and Ryan Craig) would finally put Plattsburgh out in front 3-2 at 12:07. Jensen and Satim would team up for one more goal at 18:23.
Quick thoughts? Plattsburgh has been on a streak lately, but these last couple games have shown those days may be numbered. If the Cardinals want to have a fighting chance against Oswego next weekend, they are going to have to ratchet up their gameplay and focus on the fundamentals. Brockport easily keyed in on the same tried and trued offensive patterns Plattsburgh runs - which means that they will be sitting ducks when faced with some real competition like Oswego. Brockport should not have been a challenge for this team by any means - and yet, the worst team in hockey nearly upset them on home ice. Tonight's performance was an utter embarrassment to Cardinal hockey. Hopefully, the Cardinals will shake out of this funk and get down to business this coming weekend when Cortland and Oswego come to town.
Source:
http://www.therobbrennan.com/journal/2011/1/22/cards-overcome-rough-start-to-defeat-brockport.html
