POTSDAM, NY - The SUNY Potsdam women's hockey team (1-1) never trailed as they bounced back from a Friday loss to defeat Williams Smith College (1-1) 2-1 on Saturday afternoon. The victory was the first of Bears head coach Greg Haney's career. Freshman defenseman Sara Barrett (Tonawanda, N.Y./Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles) and graduate student assistant captain Allie Banas (Buffalo, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons) each scored for Potsdam, while sophomore goalie Ellie Zurfluh (Arvada, Colo./Team Colorado) made 32 saves to earn her first win in her first collegiate start.

Aided by two power plays, the Herons peppered Zurfluh with 16 shots in the first period. However, she managed to turn each one aside. At the other end of the rink, Heron sophomore goaltender Annie Hauser (White Plains, N.Y./Berkshire School) stopped all six shots that came her way.

The Bears evened out the play in the second period and struck early. At 2:36, Barrett ripped a shot into the net from the right side of the crease after senior forward Stephanie Dunlap (Bath, Mich./Meijer U19 AAA) fed the puck from the left. Graduate student defenseman Emily Burke (San Jose, Calif./San Jose Jr. Sharks) picked up the second assist. With another six saves from Zurfluh in the second period, the Bears led 1-0 after 40 minutes.

About three minutes into the third period, William Smith freshman defenseman Annabel Ziskin (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown) broke loose on the left side of the ice and went in all alone. She fired toward the right corner of the net, but Zurfluh robbed her with a glove save. Moments later, Potsdam doubled its lead. After a flurry around the Herons' net, the puck popped out to Banas. She charged in and blasted a slapshot from the high slot past a screened Hauser to make it 2-0 at 5:41. Zurfluh made 10 more stops in the third period, but William Smith finally solved her on its last power play. The Bears were called for interference at 12:56 and at 13:33, Herons junior forward Julianna Gong (Hingham, N.Y./St. Mark's School) tipped a Ziskin slap shot past Zurfluh at the left post. Potsdam was able to counter with pressure to diffuse any William Smith momentum. Hauser made 12 saves in the third and was never able to be pulled for an extra-attacker as Potsdam closed out its first win since the 2019-20 season.

Hauser stopped 25 shots. The Herons outshot the Bears 33-27 and was 1-for-3 on the power play. Potsdam was 0-2. The Bears are now 4-2-2 in eight meetings with William Smith dating back to 2014 when both teams played in the ECAC West.

Potsdam opens up NEWHL play next Friday, when the Bears host Morrisville State at 3 p.m.