PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The No. 1/2 and top-seeded Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team will have a chance to play for the inaugural Northeast Women's Hockey League (NEWHL) title, as the Cardinals topped fourth-seeded SUNY Potsdam, 6-1, in the semifinal round of the NEWHL Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.
 
Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 1 in the D3hockey.com Women's Top-10 Poll and No. 2 in the USCHO.com Women's Division III Top-10 Poll.
 
The Cardinals received huge offensive performances from senior forward Melissa Sheeran (Schaghticoke, N.Y./Millbrook School) and freshman forward Abby Brush (Mount Prospect, Ill./Chicago Young Americans). Sheeran had four points on one goal and three assists, while Brush tallied three points on one goal and two assists. With Sheeran's four-point day and senior forward Kayla Meneghin's (Clifton, N.J./The Gunnery) two-point performance, the two both upped their career scoring totals to 183 points, which stands as the fifth-best mark in NCAA Division III history.
 
Plattsburgh State moves to 22-2-2 overall with the win and will host third-seeded Oswego State in the NEWHL championship game on Saturday, March 3, at 3 p.m. Potsdam finishes its season at 12-12-2 overall.
 
Brush kicked off scoring 9:30 in the first period. Sheeran blocked a clearing pass and took control of the puck in the Cardinals' offensive zone. She skated around the back of the net from left to right, and rather than trying to wrap a shot inside the right post, she pushed the puck out in front to Brush. Brush took advantage of the goaltender's focus on Sheeran and scored stick side to give Plattsburgh State a 1-0 lead, which stood up through the remainder of the first period.
 
Meneghin netted the eventual game-winner on the power play 6:35 into the second. Sheeran flicked a backhanded pass from inside the right face-off circle to junior forward Courtney Moriarty (Estero, Fla./Northfield Mount Hermon) along the goal line. Moriarty took a shot that was saved before Meneghin scored stick side to put the Cardinals on top, 2-0.
 
Moriarty entered the goal column just 1:16 later with her team-leading 28th marker of the season. The Bears sent an errant pass back toward the blue line in their offensive zone that wound up in the neutral zone. Meneghin picked up the loose puck, entered the zone and took a shot from the right face-off circle that was saved. Moriarty crashed the net, however, and punched in the rebound.
 
The Cardinals' fourth goal materialized in a bizarre fashion, with the marker coming with 9:43 elapsed in the second period. Potsdam's senior forward Anna-Rose Bertin took a shot that ricocheted off the right pipe before hitting the left post and trickling back into play. The goal judge lit the lamp to signal that the puck crossed the goal line, but the referee never signaled for a goal. With Potsdam celebrating the goal and Plattsburgh State players looking confused, sophomore forward Meghan Kraus (Bellingham, Wash./Northern Cyclones) picked up the puck and skated down the ice with no Bear defenders in sight. Kraus passed to sophomore forward Sarah Wolf (Fairport, N.Y./Boston Shamrocks Elite) on her left, and Wolf fed the puck right back to Kraus, who took a shot that was denied. With Potsdam's defenders just entering the play, Kraus had enough time to collect the rebound and flick a backhanded shot top shelf.
 
Bertin did finally score with just 1:21 left in the second period. The Cardinals misplayed a pass along the end boards in their defensive end, and sophomore forward Lucy Condon capitalized, passing the puck out in front to Bertin, who scored top shelf from the slot.
 
Sheeran added a goal to her ledger 4:04 into the third period. Freshman forward Annie Katonka (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Pens Elite) sent a short pass out in front to Brush from behind the goal, and Brush took a shot that was denied. Katonka corralled the rebound and then fed Sheeran, who scored low glove side.
 
Junior forward Mackenzie Millen (Anchorage, Alaska/North American Hockey Academy) closed out scoring 8:28 into the third. Sheeran dug the puck out along the left boards in Plattsburgh State's offensive zone, and Brush took control in the left corner. Brush then set Millen up with a centering pass, and Millen scored on a one-timer from the slot.
 
Plattsburgh State outshot Potsdam, 42-18, and went 1-for-2 on the power play. The Bears were unable to convert on either of their two power-play opportunities.
 
Junior goaltender Kassi Abbott (Medford, Mass./Boston Shamrocks Elite) made 17 saves in the win for the Cardinals, while sophomore goaltender Alexa Pfeiffer was saddled with the loss for the Bears in 48:28 of action. Freshman goaltender Samantha White made seven saves in the final 11:32 of the game for Potsdam.