College Hockey Stats Box Score
MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. – The No. 2/2 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team will have an opportunity to play for the NCAA Division III national championship tomorrow at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central, as the Cardinals defeated No. 4/5 Adrian College, 4-1, in the NCAA Tournament semifinals at the University of St. Thomas' St. Thomas Academy Ice Arena Friday afternoon.
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, while Adrian is ranked at No. 4 in the D3hockey.com Women's Top-10 Poll and No. 5 in the USCHO.com Women's Division III Top-10 Poll.
Senior forward Courtney Moriarty (Estero, Fla./Northfield Mount Hermon) scored twice, while sophomore forward Annie Katonka (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) finished with three points on a goal and two assists. Moriarty scored her 23rd career game-winning goal, while Katonka took over the NCAA Division III lead in goals with her 31st of the season.
Plattsburgh State rises to 28-2-0 overall with the victory and extends its winning streak to 17 games. The Cardinals will face the winner of the other semifinal game between St. Thomas and Hamline University tomorrow night at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central in the championship game. Adrian falls to 23-5-2 overall with the loss and will face the loser of the St. Thomas-Hamline game tomorrow in the 3 p.m. third-place game.
Moriarty put the Cardinals on the board at 10:24 of the first period right after an Adrian penalty released. Sophomore forward Annie Katonka (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) passed to junior defenseman Hannah Kiraly (Glendale, Ariz./Northern Cyclones) on the point, and Kiraly took a shot that got caught up in traffic in the slot. Moriarty then banged in the rebound to give Plattsburgh State a 1-0 lead.
With 5:57 gone in the second, Moriarty scored the game-winner. Sophomore forward Abby Brush (Mount Prospect, Ill./Chicago Young Americans) passed forward to Katonka in the Bulldogs' zone, and Katonka centered a pass to Moriarty. Moriarty wristed a shot from the slot that beat the goaltender high glove side.
Adrian cut the deficit in half at 5:03 of the third. Junior forward Jacqueline White sent a stretch pass up to freshman forward Jessica VonRuden, and VonRuden took on three defenders before scoring low glove side.
Sophomore forward Madison Walker (Denver, Colo./Lansing Spartans) added much-needed insurance with 13:45 gone in the third. Sophomore defenseman Emma Killeen (Watertown, Conn./The Gunnery) fed freshman forward Nicole Unsworth(Milwaukee, Wis./East Coast Wizards) with a stretch pass, and Unsworth took a shot that was saved before Walker hammered home the rebound.
Katonka put the game on ice with 3:07 left to play in regulation. Brush centered a pass into the slot on the rush, and Katonka tipped the puck over the goalie's shoulder glove side.
Plattsburgh State finished with a 28-15 edge in shots on goal, while both teams were scoreless on the power play. Adrian was 0-for-4, while Plattsburgh State was 0-for-6. The Bulldogs killed off a lengthy 5-on-3 power play late in the second period.
Senior goaltender Kassi Abbott (Medford, Mass./Boston Shamrocks Elite) finished with 14 saves in the win for the Cardinals, while freshman goaltender Denisa Jandová turned aside 24 shots in the loss for the Bulldogs.