MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – The No. 2 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team stretched its winning streak to six on Saturday at the Morrisville IcePlex, blanking host SUNY Morrisville, 4-0, in Northeast Women's Hockey League (NEWHL) action.
Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 2 in the DCU/USCHO.com Women's Division III Top-10 Poll.
The Cardinals finished with a 45-19 edge in shots on goal and went 2-for-4 on the power play. Morrisville was unable to score on its lone power-play opportunity of the game.
Plattsburgh State rises to 12-2-0 overall (9-0-0 NEWHL) with the win next visits top-ranked Middlebury College on Tuesday, Jan. 18, at 3 p.m. Morrisville falls to 4-9-1 overall (2-6-1 NEWHL) with the loss and next hosts Oswego State on Tuesday, Jan. 18, at 2 p.m.
After a scoreless first period, sophomore forward Mae Olshansky (Wilmette, Ill./North American Hockey Academy) put the Cardinals on the board at 3:18 of the second on the power play. Senior forward Nicole Unsworth (Milwaukee, Wis./East Coast Wizards) passed to senior defenseman Sierra Benjamin (Palm Coast, Fla./Northwood School) in the right face-off circle, and Benjamin found Olshansky in the low slot. Olshansky then scored glove side to give Plattsburgh State a 1-0 advantage.
Graduate student defenseman Erin McArdle (Macomb, Mich./Belle Tire) buried a power-play goal with 26.1 seconds remaining in the second to double the Cardinal lead. Graduate student forward Annie Katonka (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) won an offensive-zone face-off to senior forward Sarah Krauseneck (Saginaw, Mich./Northern Cyclones) on the right wing, and Krauseneck passed back to Benjamin on the right point. After Benjamin and McArdle passed D-to-D, McArdle ripped a shot through traffic that ultimately went through the five-hole.
Olshansky made it a 3-0 game with 9:02 elapsed in the third, beating the Mustang goalie blocker side with a shot from the right circle. Junior defenseman Kendall Wasik (Novi, Mich./HoneyBaked) and senior forward Holly Schmelzer (East Amherst, N.Y./Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles) earned assists on the play.
Finally, at 15:13 of the third, Katonka added insurance. First-year forward Bridget Orr (Excelsior, Minn./North American Hockey Academy) fed Katonka with a pass across the crease, and Katonka banged the puck in from the left side of the goal. Junior forward Ivy Boric (Newport Beach, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) earned an assist on the goal as well.
Senior goaltender Ashley Davis (Winterville, N.C./Northwood School) made 19 saves in the shutout victory for the Cardinals, while first-year goaltender Emma Plett turned aside 41 shots in the loss for the Mustangs.