College Hockey Stats Box Score
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The No. 2/3 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team went 3-for-8 on the power play to defeat Oswego State, 6-1, in Northeast Women's Hockey League (NEWHL) action Friday evening at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.
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.
The Cardinals outshot the Lakers, 57-17, while Oswego went 1-for-7 with the extra skater. Plattsburgh State killed off 36 seconds of a 5-on-3 opportunity late in the second period.
Sophomore forward Annie Katonka (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) finished with two power-play goals to take over the NCAA Division III lead in the statistical category with nine on the season. Junior defenseman Hannah Kiraly (Glendale, Ariz./Northern Cyclones) and freshman forward Nicole Unsworth (Milwaukee, Wis./East Coast Wizards) both finished with a goal and an assist, while freshman forward Moe Tsukimoto (Sapporo, Japan/Northwood School) was credited with two assists.
Plattsburgh State rises to 16-2-0 overall (11-0-0 NEWHL) with the win, while Oswego slips to 8-5-3 overall (3-4-2 NEWHL) with the loss. The two teams will complete the weekend series tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m.
Katonka scored on the power play 9:34 into the first period to put the Cardinals on the board, as she deflected in a shot taken by senior forward Courtney Moriarty (Estero, Fla./Northfield Mount Hermon) from the left point.
Kiraly made it a 2-0 game at the 13:19 mark of the first. Freshman forward Taylor Whitney (Livonia, Mich./Little Caesars) passed to sophomore forward Kaitlin Drew-Mead (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons) in the neutral zone on the rush, and Oswego's freshman goaltender Cassie Shokar made a chest save on a shot by Drew-Mead that sent the puck out toward the blue line. Kiraly then one-timed the rebound from the right point, and the puck dribbled through the slot and past the goalie low stick side.
Just 4:58 into the second period, Katonka scored her second power-play goal of the contest. Unsworth played the puck up to Kiraly in the high slot, and Kiraly took a slap shot that was turned aside by a chest save. Katonka proceeded to poke in the rebound to push the advantage to three goals.
Senior forward Ashley Songin (Springville, N.Y./Nichols School) scored on the power play at 3:23 of the third period, using a pass from freshman defenseman Sierra Benjamin (Palm Coast, Fla./Northwood School) to beat the Oswego goalie blocker side. Tsukimoto also earned an assist on the play. Freshman forward Holly Schmelzer (East Amherst, N.Y./Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles) scored her second collegiate goal 38 seconds later, as sophomore forward Madison Walker (Denver, Colo./Lansing Spartans) touched the puck in the low slot before Schmelzer scored through the five-hole.
Oswego erased the shutout bid 8:19 into the third period on the power play, as sophomore defenseman Philomena Teggart passed D-to-D to freshman defenseman Avery Webster, and Webster ended up scoring low stick side with a wrist shot from the right point. Junior forward Natalie Giglio also earned an assist on the goal.
Unsworth punctuated the win with a goal 50 seconds before the final horn. Tsukimoto intercepted an errant Oswego pass in the neutral zone and carried the puck into Laker territory. She sent a drop pass back to Unsworth, and Unsworth used elite stickhandling to evade an Oswego defender in the left face-off circle before dragging the puck across the crease to score low glove side.
Senior goaltender Kassi Abbott made 16 saves in the win for the Cardinals, while Shokar and junior goaltender Rachael Farmer combined to make 51 stops in the loss for the Lakers.