Plattsburgh State's Blake with the crunching hit on Amherst's Zack Jesse (4) that knocks him off the puck and his feet. It would be the championship of the 2026 Comfort Inn Cardinal Classic, featuring the host Plattsburgh State Cardinals and the Amherst Mammoths at the Ronald Stafford Ice Arena, in front of 1,200 fans. The game would not look good for the home crowd, as the Mammoth would get the opening goal oatthe g1:01 mark of the first period on ta power-playgoal from Ray Hou, givingthem the 1-0 lead The game would stay there till the 3:39 mark of the second period when the Cardinals would answer back with their own powerplay goal coming from Quinn Tavares to tie the game at one. The Mammoth would answer right back two minutes later on their second power-play goal of the game from Josh Burke, making it a 2-1 game. The Cardinals would come back again, though, and tie the game back up at the 13:28 mark of the period, once again scoring on the power play this time from Gabriel Filion to make it 2-2. The game would stay until the last 5, when the Mammoth would strike their power-play goal of the game, this thing from John Sm, all to secure the 3-2 victory and the championship of the Comfort Inn Cardinal Classic. In the winning effort for the Mammoth, Vincent Lamberti would make 16 saves as they go to 5-4-1 on the season. As for the Cardinals, Rady Spry would make 28 on the night as they extended their 4-game winning streak, and they go into the end of the season. Gallery

Amherst Jacob Pohl (7) with the hit on Plattsburgh State's Mike English (20) that pins him along the boards. Gallery

Amherst's Andrew Palena (30) with the pad save on Suffolk's Josh Milso (2) as he tried to slide it by for the goal. It would be the opening game of the 2026 edition of the Cardinal Winter Classic. It would see a battle between the Amherst Mammoth and the Suffolk in front of 800 fans at the Ronald Stafford Ice Arena to see who would play in the championship game Saturday evening. The Mammoth would get the opening goal of the game at the 16:08 mark of the first period when Carson Baylis would light the lamp for the 1-0 lead. The Rams would answer right back, like 90 seconds later, when Marko Giourof would tie the game at one on a wrister. The Mammoth would not stay quiet, though, as they would regain the lead at 2-1 on Daniel McKiernan's goal at the 6:15 mark of the second period. The Rams would answer right back once again and tie the game at two on the Cristobal Tola goal two minutes later. The game would stay there through the rest of regulation, and overtime would not be needed on this day. The game winner would come in overtime for the Mammoth as Caden Olenczak would snip one through the goalie to give them the win. In the winning effort, Mammoth Andrew Palena made 29 saves as they headed to the championship against the winner of Plattsburgh State and Wesleyan. As for the Suffolk Rams, Austin McNicholas would make 23 saves as they head to the third-place game tomorrow. Gallery

Suffolk's Aidan O'Connell (20) with the crunching hit on Amherst Ryan Corcoran (13) as they went after the puck behind the net. Gallery