College Hockey Stats Box Score

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Sophomore forward Annie Katonka (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) scored 45 seconds into the first overtime period, helping the No. 2/2 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team complete a 3-2 come-from-behind win over Endicott College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament Wednesday evening at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.
 
Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 2 in both the USCHO.com Women's Division III Top-10 Poll and the D3hockey.com Women's Top-10 Poll.

Junior defenseman Hannah Kiraly (Glendale, Ariz./Northern Cyclones) sent the puck deep from the right point, and Katonka passed to sophomore forward Abby Brush (Mount Prospect, Ill./Chicago Young Americans) in the left corner before Brush returned the puck to Katonka along the back wall. Katonka tried to center a feed out in front to senior forward Courtney Moriarty (Estero, Fla./Northfield Mount Hermon) along the right post, but in doing so, the puck hit the inside of the goalie's left pad and crossed the goal line.
 
The Cardinals were forced to climb out of a 2-0 first-period deficit, scoring a goal in each of the final two regulation periods before Katonka buried the game-winner on the first shift in overtime. Katonka, who now has 50 points on 30 goals and 20 assists this year, is the first Cardinal to post a 50-point season since Melissa Sheeran and Kayla Meneghin registered 55 and 53 points, respectively, in 2015-16.
 
"It's one of those games, one that we certainly haven't had all year long," head coach Kevin Houle said about the come-from-behind victory during a postgame press conference. "You come out maybe a little bit flat and they score a nice goal and then they kind of get a little bit of a fluky one. Next thing you know, you're scrambling, and it's 2-0 with half a period gone by. The only good thing about that is you have 40 minutes left to play. You just want to make sure you get out of that period at 2-0, and hopefully you don't give up another one. Obviously, we wanted to turn the tide and get one ourselves."
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 26-2-0 overall with the victory and stretches its winning streak to 15 games. The Cardinals will host No. 6/9 Williams College in the quarterfinal round on Saturday, March 9, at a time to be determined. Endicott, which was making its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, finishes its season at 19-5-4 overall.
 
Endicott wasted no time getting on the board, as junior forward Jillian Gibbs scored 4:37 into the contest. Sophomore defenseman Alexa Pretkelis took control of a loose puck in the Gulls' zone and sent a short pass to sophomore forward Ashlie Jones. Jones sent a stretch pass ahead to Gibbs, and Gibbs wristed a shot top shelf glove side from inside the left face-off circle.
 
The Gulls dug the Cardinals in a 2-0 hole with just 3:07 left in the first. On an offensive-zone face-off win, Gibbs passed back to sophomore defenseman Lauren Ferraiuolo on the left point, and Ferraiuolo ripped a slap shot that was redirected into the goal by freshman forward Courtney Sullivan.
 
Moriarty trimmed the gap to one with a goal 4:22 into the second period. Senior defenseman Maci Hoskins (Oklahoma City, Okla./Northwood School) blocked a shot in the defensive zone, gathered the puck in the left corner during an Endicott line change and passed ahead to Brush. That line change wound up being costly, as Brush charged up the right wing on a 3-on-1 rush and centered a pass over to Moriarty. Moriarty ended up scoring through the five-hole to record her 17th goal of the season. With the goal, Moriarty upped her career point total to 145, which gives her sole possession of sixth in the program's record book.
 
Eight seconds after the release of an Endicott tripping penalty, Katonka came up with the game-tying goal. Sophomore defenseman Erin McArdle (Macomb, Mich./Belle Tire) took a one-timer that was turned aside before freshman forward Nicole Unsworth (Milwaukee, Wis./East Coast Wizards) poked the puck on the backhand in a scramble in front of the crease. Katonka banged in a loose puck stick side to knot the game at 2-all.
 
Plattsburgh State finished with a 51-10 edge in shots on goal, while both teams were scoreless on the power play. The Cardinals were 0-for-4, while the Gulls were 0-for-2.
 
Senior goaltender Kassi Abbott (Medford, Mass./Boston Shamrocks Elite) made eight saves in the win for the Cardinals, while senior goaltender Vendela Jonsson turned aside a career-high 48 shots in the loss for the Gulls.
 
Despite taking the loss, Houle had nothing but praise for Jonsson's performance.
 
"[Jonsson] played absolutely lights out," Houle said. "You could tell from the beginning she was seeing and tracking everything, and you knew it would have to be ugly goals, breakaway goals that would beat her."