After winning their fifth MASCAC championship in a row, Plymouth State now seeks an elusive first win in the NCAA tournament hosting a red-hot Cortland squad that recently upset Geneseo and Plattsburgh on their way to their first ever SUNYAC title. The Panthers will host the first-round game against the Red Dragons in what should be a terrific battle between two highly skilled teams.
“Yeah, we will be ready for sure, said PSU head coach Craig Russell. “It will be a good test because they are playing really well right now, but this is what we have been waiting for. I like our group a lot and think we have a lot of depth in key areas for this time of the year. Now we just have to go out and prove it.”
The Panthers who are playing in their seventh NCAA tournament are led by MASCAC Player of the Year, Will Redick (26G – 29A – 55 Pts; +34) and Connor Tait (16G – 19A – 35Pts; +27) who are a dynamic duo on the ice and especially productive on the power play. A deep group of forwards (nine with more than 20 points) and defensemen contribute to strong 200-foot game in front of the MASCAC Defensive Player of the Year, goaltender Kalle Andersson (23GP – 1.75GAA – .934SP – 2SO) who already has twenty wins on the season.
Cortland enters their first NCAA tournament having defeated two nationally ranked teams on the road to win their first-ever SUNYAC title from the No. 4 seed in the tournament. The Red Dragons are led upfront by Nate Berke (15G – 20A – 35 Pts; +16), Colby Seitz (12G – 17A – 29 Pts; +17) and Domenic Settimo (8G – 20A -28 Pts; +14) along with “Mr. Overtime”, Anthony Bernardo (10G – 9A – 19 Pts; +10) who scored the decisive goals in beating Geneseo and Plattsburgh. Cortland is big, fast and physical and has relied on terrific goaltending from senior jack Riedell (14GP – 2.07 GAA – .938 SP – 1SO) who has been stellar in Cortland’s recent run of success.
“Yeah, I think we may struggle with their combination of size and speed a little bit in the early stages,” noted Russell. “We haven’t played against a fast team in a while. I know we are fast too, but we will just have to make decisions quicker. If we play simply and within our structure, we will be fine.”
Plymouth State and Cortland have not played each other since the 2008-09 season but both come into Saturday looking for a win and chance to advance and face Utica in the NCAA quarterfinal round.
Plymouth State hosts the game at Hanaway Rink in Plymouth, NH at 7 PM on Saturday, March 9.
