PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The No. 1/1 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team remained perfect in Northeast Women's Hockey League (NEWHL) play with a 5-1 win over SUNY Cortland on Saturday afternoon at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.
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.
Senior forward Kayla Meneghin (Clifton, N.J./The Gunnery) paced the Cardinals with three points on one goal and two assists, while senior forward Melissa Sheeran (Schaghticoke, N.Y./Millbrook School) scored twice. Junior defenseman Baye Flanagan (Billerica, Mass./Merrimack College) and sophomore forward Meghan Kraus(Bellingham, Wash./Northern Cyclones) each posted two assists.
The Cardinals held a 38-14 margin in shots, and they went 1-for-5 on the power play while scoring a shorthanded goal. The Red Dragons, meanwhile, were 1-for-3 with the extra attacker.
Plattsburgh State rises to 14-2-0 overall (9-0-0 NEWHL) with the win, while Cortland drops to 6-8-2 overall (1-7-1 NEWHL) with the loss. The two teams wrap up the weekend series tomorrow at 3 p.m. at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.
Sheeran scored the first goal of the game 15:46 into the first period. Kraus passed to junior forward Ashley Songin (Springville, N.Y./Nichols School) behind the net, and Songin found Sheeran waiting right outside the crease. Sheeran knocked the puck in to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.
With 4:36 elapsed in the second period, Plattsburgh State scored on the power play. Meneghin passed the puck up to Flanagan on the left point, who then passed D-to-D to sophomore defenseman Hannah Kiraly (Glendale, Ariz./Northern Cyclones). Kiraly ripped a shot from the right point that evaded heavy traffic in the slot and found the back of the net.
Sheeran posted her second goal of the contest with 31 seconds left in the second period. Flanagan took control of the puck in the Cardinals' defensive zone during a Red Dragon shift change, and she sent a stretch pass along the right boards to Kraus. Kraus entered the zone and sent a centering pass to Sheeran, and Sheeran deked the goaltender before scoring on the backhand.
Meneghin buried her 10th career shorthanded goal 6:05 into the third period, as she deked out the Red Dragon goalie on an odd-man rush. Freshman defenseman Erin McArdle (Macomb, Mich./Detroit Belle Tire) set up the play by taking the puck away from Cortland in the Cardinals' defensive zone and tapping it forward to Meneghin. Meneghin played the puck off the right boards to gain separation from the defender, setting up the odd-man rush.
Cortland erased the shutout bid by scoring on the power play 13 seconds later. On the ensuing face-off at center ice, freshman forward Katie DeVoe carried the puck ahead into Plattsburgh State's defensive zone. Freshman defenseman Katelinn Cummings threw a pass around the boards to sophomore forward Carly Weigold, who fed a pass back to Cummings on the right side of the net. The puck caromed to DeVoe on the left side of the crease, who knocked in a shot into the open left side of the goal.
Plattsburgh State scored what wound up being the final goal of the contest with 9:27 left in the third period. Senior defenseman Lizzy Viola (Williamsville, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons) took a shot from the left point that was saved, and Meneghin collected the rebound and took a shot that went wide right. Junior Mackenzie Millen (Anchorage, Alaska/North American Hockey Academy) corralled the puck from behind net and found junior forward Courtney Moriarty (Estero, Fla./Northfield Mount Hermon) planted on the right side of the slot. Moriarty took a backhanded shot that went off the goalie's pads and trickled through the five-hole for her NEWHL-leading 17th goal of the season. Moriarty's 1.06 goals-per-game average now ranks second in NCAA Division III.
Junior goaltender Kassi Abbott (North Billerica, Mass./Boston Shamrocks Elite) earned the win in goal for the Cardinals, making 13 stops, while her counterpart, sophomore goaltender Rachael Farmer, turned aside 33 shots.