PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The No. 1/1 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team overcame a slow start to defeat SUNY Cortland, 5-2, on Sunday afternoon in Northeast Women's Hockey League (NEWHL) action at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. It completed a NEWHL weekend sweep of the Red Dragons, as the Cardinals prevailed, 5-1, over Cortland on Saturday.
 
Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 1 in both the USCHO.com Women's Division III Top-10 Poll and the D3hockey.com Women's Top-10 Poll.
 
The Cardinals needed a three-goal third period to come out on top in the contest, as the two teams entered the locker rooms at the second intermission tied at 2-all.
 
Senior forward Kayla Meneghin (Clifton, N.J./The Gunnery) posted three points in the game on two goals an assist to up her career scoring total to 175. That moved her into a tie for ninth in NCAA Division III women's ice hockey history with Norwich University's Julie Fortier (2009-12).
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 15-2-0 overall (10-0-0 NEWHL) with the win and further cemented its spot atop the NEWHL standings. The Cardinals visit non-conference Amherst College next on Wednesday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m. Cortland drops to 6-9-2 overall (1-8-1 NEWHL) with the loss and hosts SUNY Potsdam next on Friday, Jan. 26, at 2 p.m.
 
Freshman forward Annie Katonka (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Pens Elite) put the Cardinals on the board 4:18 into the contest. Freshman forward Abby Brush (Mount Prospect, Ill./Chicago Young Americans) sent a centering pass to Katonka from the bottom of the right face-off circle, and Katonka went five-hole on the Red Dragon goalie to stake Plattsburgh State to a 1-0 lead.
 
Cortland's junior forward Charlie Calamari leveled the score with 9:02 gone in the first period, scoring on the power play. Calamari capitalized on a Cardinal turnover and scored blocker side from the right hash marks.
 
Meneghin made it a 2-1 game with 16:40 elapsed in the first period. Junior forward Mackenzie Millen (Anchorage, Alaska/North American Hockey Academy) took a shot that was turned aside by the Red Dragon netminder, and as the puck squirted off to the left, a Cortland defender redirected it back toward the goal accidentally with her skate. Meneghin was at the doorstep to punch the puck home and give Plattsburgh State the lead once again. Freshman defenseman Erin McArdle (Macomb, Mich./Detroit Belle Tire) also earned an assist on the play.
 
With just 3:55 gone in the second period, Calamari tied the game once again with an unassisted goal. She took control of a dumped puck in the Red Dragons' defensive zone on a Cardinal shift change and carried the puck into the Cortland offensive zone. Calamari then fired off a shot from the high slot that beat the Cardinal netminder glove side.
 
Junior forward Courtney Moriarty (Estero, Fla./Northfield Mount Hermon) buried the eventual game-winner—her Division III-leading ninth of the season—4:18 into the third period. Millen took advantage of a mishandled puck by a Cortland defender in the Cardinals' offensive zone, giving Plattsburgh State two attackers with just the goalie to beat. She dished the puck to Meneghin, whose point-blank shot was denied with a sprawling pad save. With a loose puck in front of the net, Moriarty roofed it into the top of the goal to put Plattsburgh State out in front, 3-2.
 
Meneghin scored her second goal of the afternoon on the power play with 9:46 gone in the third. Moriarty passed from the right point to senior forward Melissa Sheeran (Schaghticoke, N.Y./Millbrook School) along the goal line, and Sheeran drew the attention of two Red Dragon defenders and the Cortland goalie. That allowed her to pass across to Meneghin, and Meneghin buried a shot from point-blank range along the left post to stake the Cardianls to a 4-2 advantage.
 
McArdle put the game on ice with 13:07 elapsed in the third period. Katonka passed up to McArdle, and McArdle fired a shot from the top of the left face-off circle that navigated through traffic in the slot and beat the goalie five-hole. Brush also earned an assist on the score.
 
Plattsburgh State finished with a 54-16 edge in shots, and both teams went 1-for-4 on the power play.

Senior goaltender Brooke Wolejko (South Windsor, Conn./St. Lawrence University) made 14 saves in the victory for the Cardinals, while sophomore goaltender Rachael Farmer turned aside 49 shots in the loss for the Red Dragons.