College Hockey Stats Box Score
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The No. 2/3 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team kicked off its 2018-19 regular-season and Northeast Women's Hockey League (NEWHL) schedule with a 5-0 victory over SUNY Cortland on Friday evening at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. It also marked the NEWHL opener for Cortland.
Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 2 in the D3hockey.com Women's Top-10 Poll and No. 3 in the USCHO.com Women's Division III Top-10 Poll.
Senior forward Courtney Moriarty (Estero, Fla./Northfield Mount Hermon) posted her 19th career game-winning goal and now just sits one game-winner away from moving into a tie for second on the program's all-time list. Moriarty finished the game with two goals and added an assist. Sophomore forward Kaitlin Drew-Mead (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons), who entered the evening with one career assist to her credit, scored her first collegiate goal and earned two assists, while freshman forward Taylor Whitney (Livonia, Mich./Little Caesars) buried her first collegiate goal.
Senior forward Mackenzie Millen (Anchorage, Alaska/North American Hockey Academy) tallied one goal and two assists, while freshman defenseman Hanna Rose (Chaumont, N.Y./Northwood School) collected her first collegiate point with one assist. Senior defenseman Maci Hoskins (Oklahoma City, Okla./Northwood School) and sophomore defenseman Emma Killeen (Watertown, Conn./The Gunnery) also chipped in with one assist each.
The Cardinals outshot the Red Dragons by a 45-12 margin, while both teams were scoreless on the power play, as Cortland was 0-for-4 and Plattsburgh State was 0-for-3.
Plattsburgh State rises to 1-0-0 overall (1-0-0 NEWHL) with the win, while Cortland slips to 2-1-0 overall (0-1-0 NEWHL) with the loss. The two teams complete the weekend series tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m.
After a first period that featured no scoring or penalties, Moriarty scored just seven seconds into the second. Millen won the period's opening face-off and sprung Moriarty forward. Moriarty skated into the left face-off circle and beat the Red Dragon goalie top shelf glove side to stake the Cardinals to a 1-0 lead.
Just 17 seconds later, Millen doubled the Cardinal advantage. Cortland won the ensuing face-off and dumped the puck into its offensive zone, but Plattsburgh State easily picked it up along the end boards and started a rush. Drew-Mead fed Moriarty on the right wing, and Moriarty centered a pass to Millen from the right circle. Millen then poked the puck past the Red Dragon goaltender just outside the crease.
Drew-Mead's first collegiate goal came with 8:15 elapsed in the second. Killeen passed to Millen along the left boards from the point, and Millen sent the puck into the slot from along the goal line. The puck hit skates in traffic and ended up at the bottom of the right circle. Drew-Mead then went five-hole on the goalie to push the Cardinal lead to 3-0.
Midway through the third period, Whitney buried her first collegiate marker. Hoskins passed to Rose D-to-D, and Rose threw the puck down to Whitney behind the goal line. Whitney wrapped around the net and was initially denied by the goalie before going five-hole with the second-chance effort.
Moriarty scored 1:30 later to close out scoring. Drew-Mead took control of a Red Dragon turnover in the Cardinals' defensive zone and quickly found Moriarty in the neutral zone. Moriarty split a pair of defenders and scored top shelf glove side from the low slot, beating the goaltender one-on-one.
Senior goaltender Kassi Abbott (Medford, Mass./Boston Shamrocks Elite) posted her 10th career shutout, making 12 saves in the win for Plattsburgh State. Cortland's senior goaltender Victoria Gibson took the loss, making 38 saves in 51:55 of action before handing the reins over to sophomore goaltender Chelsea Allain for the final 8:05. Allain ended up stopping both shots she faced on net.