No. 12 Men’s Hockey Visiting No. 9 Trinity in NCAA Championship Opening Round
Full NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championship Bracket
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The No. 12 Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team will hit the road to face No. 9 Trinity (Conn.) College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championship this Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Koeppel Community Sports Center in Hartford, Conn. The Cardinals, winners of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title, are 17-9-1 on the season, while the Bantams, champions of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), stand at 18-6-3. Saturday's winner advances to the quarterfinals, which begins March 18.
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Plattsburgh State makes its 24th NCAA Championship appearance and its third in six years. The Cardinals are winless in their last four tournament games, with their last victory coming against Middlebury College in the 2010 quarterfinals. Plattsburgh State and Trinity have met four times in the past, the most recent coming in the 2015 quarterfinal round as the Bantams won, 5-1, en route to capturing that season's national championship title.
The Cardinals have had a near improbable run to the NCAA Championship. After posting a 6-8 overall record through the first week in January, Plattsburgh State went 9-1-1 to end the regular season. As the SUNYAC's second-seeded team, the Cardinals beat third-seeded and defending league champion SUNY Geneseo, 5-2, in the semifinal before knocking off top-seeded Oswego State, 3-2, in the title tilt. Senior goalie Brady Rouleau (Fort Macleod, Alberta/Quinnipiac) was named the tournament's most valuable player, while freshmen Antoine Desnoyers (Quebec City, Quebec/Cegep de Saint Laurent), Joe Drabin (Rochester, N.Y./Wenatchee Wild) and Evan Lindquist (Amston, Conn./Ottawa Jr. Senators) were tabbed for the all-tournament team.
Plattsburgh State head coach Bob Emery has guided the Cardinals to 18 NCAA Championship appearances in now his 28th season. Both of Plattsburgh State's national titles (1992 and 2001) have come with Emery at the helm. He enters Saturday with 598 career victories, needing just two wins to become the 12th men's ice hockey head coach across all NCAA divisions to reach the 600-win plateau.
Trinity makes its third straight NCAA Championship appearance after clinching its second consecutive NESCAC title. As the third-seeded team, the Bantams topped Tufts University and Williams College before grabbing the crown with a 3-2 overtime win over Hamilton College. Trinity, winners of eight straight games, is tied for the third-longest current unbeaten streak in Division III.
The Bantams' offense is tied for 10th nationally in goals scored (4.19), while their defense is fourth in goals allowed (1.85). Trinity's +2.33 scoring margin is fourth nationally. The Bantams boast four of the NESCAC's top-five point getters, led by senior Sean Orlando, who paces all league skaters in points (33). Junior goalie Alex Morin is third in the NESCAC in both winning percentage (.700) and goals-against average (1.80), while sporting a fifth-best .930 save percentage.
