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For that matter, have them stay until Monday, we all know the 'burgh's reputation for St. Paddy's Day.

Which is why starting some years ago, Plattsburgh's spring break mysteriously began always always always coinciding with the week where St. Patrick's day fell (things were starting to get just a little out of hand  )

So..........just to sum up next Saturday:

• Memorial hosting a Sectional Final (possibly involving Plattsburgh)
• Stafford hosting an NCAA Men's Hockey Quarterfinal
• Stafford also hosting an NCAA Women's Hockey Quarterfinal
• Mass exodus from dorms for spring break
• All of this happening along a mile or so stretch of a single road (Rugar Street) in Plattsburgh

I say we tell the students they're staying in town another day, close the road, and open the beer tents.

I certainly won't argue that Memorial is a detriment to Plattsburgh hosting a sectional, although your description makes it sound like a dumpy arena, which certainly isn't the case - it isn't poorly maintained, it's just tiny.  And if there's blame to be placed, it's on the relatively recent era of sustained success for the program: Plattsburgh has a perfectly sound 5,000-seat field house, but it was renovated largely with high school playoff hoops in mind since the college program's longstanding mediocrity made Memorial a far more appropriate venue.  Blaming the college for failing to predict that the basketball program would experience such a profound resurgence a few years after said renovation is more than a little suspect.

By the way, the hockey tournament's placement in Lake Placid, while almost certainly lucrative, was not really a monetary decision on the NCAA's part.  For one thing, northern New York's remote location is moot, since New York and Vermont teams dominate the division: since 1995, there has been a grand total of one champion from outside of the two states.  Additionally, the DIII hockey final four has traditionally been held on-campus, and there would be more than enough arenas - Oswego, Plattsburgh, Middlebury, Norwich, and Elmira, to name a few - able to generate comparable revenue for the final four.  The problem is given that the disparity in numbers between Eastern and Western DIII hockey programs almost guarantees a perennial 3-1 East-West split, along with the far greater number of suitable on-campus rinks in the East, the West has very little ground to stand on by way of hosting without the division making the move to neutral sites.  Ironically, the West has yet to arrange a neutral host for next season, so it might be back to the drawing board there.

83-77 Plattsburgh in OT over King's.  Great game, although I would expect both sides would take exception toward the officiating.  From a Plattsburgh perspective, for example, there's no denying King's big man John Soboleski played a fine game, but he was awarded some questionable fouls and allowed some fancy footwork in the paint all evening.  Clutch 3 by King's to send it into OT, made especially dramatic by the fact that it was one of those roll-around-the-rim 3s that don't seem possible.

Travis Gorham was a monster on the boards at both ends for Plattsburgh as usual, although foul trouble courtesy Soboleski kept him somewhat more tentative toward the end of the game.  Williams had a hot and cold night, hitting a few clutch 3s but making some mental errors by way of some ill-advised passes and a totally inexcusable 10-second call.  Wild game to watch, in any case, and Plattsburgh has to be happy just to have survived this one.

Quote from: Cards7580 on March 03, 2008, 03:14:17 PM
I'm sure they are not complaining.   They could where Brockport or St Lawrence or St John Fisher is right now.

Most certainly agreed.  I'm looking forward to Saturday at Memorial in any case, and all's the more fun if the Knights make it through.

Yikes, what a difference a round makes: Clarkson might get their shot at Plattsburgh, but they're looking at a 650-mile detour through Wilkes-Barre (plus a little game of basketball) rather than an 88-mile jaunt across the Adirondacks if it's going to happen.

Quick question: in the case of Plattsburgh making a bid to host, is there a chance they would offer the Field House Gym rather than Memorial?  I know that even since its renovation the playing surface has been called into question as suspect, and normally I'd take the cozier confines of Memorial any day, but the Field House has nonetheless held the high school sectional tournament since it was renovated, and the place can seat literally five times as many fans as Memorial.  It also has plenty of locker rooms and the same amenities as a connected ice arena that's hosted a number of NCAA games.

Of course, if Curle and his team are most comfortable at Memorial, that's obviously where they should lobby to play.  I'm just wondering at the feasibility of the other site.