The Cardinals open the 2011-12 season at Morrisville today, and that's just the first of several upcoming road trips.
Plattsburgh State plays its first four games — all SUNY Athletic Conference contests — away from home and won't host a matchup at Stafford Ice Arena until Nov. 18.
"It makes it harder. But then again, we gotta take it one game at a time," junior defenseman Mike Grace said. "We've got a ton of games on the road this year. So start off with four, it will just be good for us (to) get used to it."
Plattsburgh's roster includes 12 freshmen and a sophomore transfer, and some of those newcomers might be relied upon even earlier than usual because five upperclassmen will miss the early part of the season.
Coach Bob Emery said the players are serving suspensions ranging from three to eight games for infractions dating back to the spring.
In addition, Emery said a couple of freshmen will be held out of today's game because of a lack of on-ice discipline during an exhibition against the U.S. NTDP Under-18 Team Oct. 15. The Cardinals took three major penalties in that game, and Emery said the new players have had to learn the culture of the program.
"We're going to be a disciplined team one way or another," he said. "I don't know who's going to be on it, but we're going to have a disciplined team."
But he still wants to see the physical play Plattsburgh displayed against the U-18 squad.
"As a coach, you have to make sure your teams continuously play aggressive," Emery said. "We want to be physical. We have to be physical to be successful.
"But you can't be dumb tough, for lack of a better term. You gotta be tough, but you gotta be smart tough."
The Cardinals lost their top two scorers, Eric Satim and Dylan Clarke, from the team that went 20-8-1 last year before being eliminated in the NCAA quarterfinals. But the next six players on last year's scoring list are back, including sophomore Nick Jensen (third last season with eight goals and 14 assists).
Ryan Corry was one of five seniors last year, and fellow defensemen Cody Adams did not return. That leaves the Cardinals with four returning blueliners and four freshmen.
Grace, the top-scoring defenseman last year, and senior forward Ryan Craig both said the new players are fitting in well.
"I think they're all doing a pretty good job out there," said Craig, who had 19 points in 17 games as a junior. "Everyone's learning our systems; it's not taking a while. I think everyone looks great out there so far.
"So I'm looking forward to (today) to see how they all do."
Josh Leis, now a junior, went 17-5-1 in goal last season. He's competing with sophomore Sam Foley, who made two appearances in 2010-11, and Mathieu Cadieux, who was at Division I Quinnipiac for a year before returning to his junior team last season. Emery said he'd name today's starter this morning.
"We feel as though we have a lot of competition in net, and whoever it may be can do the job," he added. "I'm going to start the year off playing different combinations in net, I'll tell you that."
Plattsburgh ended Morrisville's 2010-11 season with a 4-3 overtime victory in the SUNYAC tournament. The Mustangs lost three of their top five scorers as well as their No. 1 goaltender.
The Cardinals, who went 9-7 in conference play last year but won their third championship in four years, were picked second in the SUNYAC Preseason Coaches Poll, with one first-place vote. They received one more point than Geneseo and nine fewer than first-place Oswego.
Plattsburgh is ranked fifth in the USCHO.com Division III Men's Poll.
"I think we look good this year, so I would expect to be right up there in the SUNYAC standings and right there for the championship and absolutely for the NCAA tournament," Grace said. "So that's what I'm hoping for.
"I still think the SUNYAC's the hardest league in D-III hockey. But then again, we're one of the best teams in D-III hockey, so I think we'll be right up there."
