The Plattsburgh State men's hockey team has rebounded from a slow start to the season and now finds itself ranked 13th in the country in Division III.
Cardinals' head coach Bob Emery, however, isn't all that big on rankings this time of year.
"I don't care for the rankings — they don't tell my anything," he said. "I will be more concerned with the NCAA rankings when they come out.
"If I had my way, I would rather not have us ranked right now. It's hard enough to win games, but it makes it more difficult when you have a huge target on your back. Hockey is an emotional game."
The Cardinals return to the ice this afternoon in a rare 4 p.m. nonconference game against Williams College at the Stafford Ice Arena.
"We have to take care of business," said Emery. "Williams is one of the most improved teams in the NESCAC and has a good chance of getting into the NCAA Tournament.
"These are the type of games we need to win, but we're going to have our hands full. It's going to be a big week for us."
The Cardinals (10-4-1) overall had won eight games in a row until skating to a 2-all home overtime tie with Elmira on January 8.
Plattsburgh State, unbeaten in its last nine games, has not played since then.
"It's only been eight days and we'll see how it goes," said Emery. "That, along with the early starting time, shouldn't matter."
Williams (9-2-1) comes into today's game ranked seventh in the country in Division III.
The Ephs went 7-0-1 in their first eight games and were ranked as high as third before suffering losses at Amherst (4-2) and at Hamilton (6-3).
But, this past weekend, Williams righted the ship with a 3-2 overtime victory over Wesleyan on Friday and then a 5-0 blanking of Trinity on Saturday.
The Ephs have five players with 10 points or more, led by senior forward Ben Contini (8-12-20) and sophomore forward John Wickman (6-10-16).
Junior Ryan Purdy has a 9-2-1 record between the pipes, with an excellent 1.48 goals-against. The Ephs have held eight of their opponents to one goal or less.
"They have good goaltending and this is one of those types of games where you have to beat them with good defense," said Emery. "We've been emphasizing keeping the puck out of our net and nothing has changed."
Plattsburgh State forwards Patrick Jobb and Jared Docking, who have been out of the line-up with injuries, will be game-time decisions today.
After today's game, the Cardinals return to State University of New York Athletic Conference play on Friday and Saturday, with home games against Geneseo and Brockport, respectively.
Service personnel in uniform and area youth hockey players wearing their jerseys, accompanied by a parent, will be admitted into the game free of charge.
