PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Senior defenseman Emma Killeen (Watertown, Conn./The Gunnery) recorded her first collegiate hat trick and senior forward Sara Krauseneck (Saginaw, Mich./Northern Cyclones) broke the program's single-season assists record, as the No. 2 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team posted a 15-1 Northeast Women's Hockey League (NEWHL) win over Buffalo State on Senior Day Saturday afternoon at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena in its regular-season finale. The victory extended Plattsburgh State's unbeaten streak to 17 games and marked the most goals the Cardinals have scored in a game since defeating Chatham University, 15-0, on Nov. 14, 2003.
Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 2 in the DCU/USCHO.com Women's Division III Top-10 Poll.
Prior to the start of the contest, Plattsburgh State honored graduate student defenseman Erin McArdle (Macomb, Mich./Belle Tire), graduate student forward Kaitlin Drew-Mead (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons), Killeen, senior forward Taylor Whitney (Livonia, Mich./Little Caesars) and graduate student forward Annie Katonka (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) as a part of Senior Day.
On the Cardinals' eighth goal of the game, Krauseneck earned the record-breaking assist, pushing her season total to 32. Bridget Balisy set the previous mark of 31 during the 2015-16 season. Krauseneck will now have her eyes set on the NCAA Division III single-season record of 42, which is shared by Colleen Baude of the Rochester Institute of Technology (2001-02) and Ashley Ryan of Elmira College (2014-15).
Killeen registered four points on three goals and an assist, while senior forward Nicole Unsworth (Milwaukee, Wis./East Coast Wizards) tallied four points on two goals and two assists. Krauseneck and junior forward Ivy Boric (Newport Beach, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) each netted two goals and earned an assist, while Whitney distributed four assists.
The Cardinals went 3-for-6 on the power play, while the Bengals were scoreless on their lone opportunity with the extra skater. Plattsburgh State finished with a 74-12 edge in shots on goal.
Plattsburgh State rises to 22-2-1 overall (17-0-1 NEWHL) with the win and begins its pursuit for a fourth NEWHL championship when it hosts fourth-seeded SUNY Potsdam in the semifinal round on Tuesday, March 1, at 7 p.m. as the tournament's top seed. Buffalo State falls to 1-22-1 overall (0-17-0 NEWHL) with the loss and hosts Oswego State in its season finale on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m.
Junior forward Tatem Cheney (Ottawa, Ontario/Ottawa Lady 67's) put the Cardinals on the board at 2:25 of the first period on assists from McArdle and Whitney, and Boric cashed in on a Katonka feed at 7:09 of the first to make it a 2-0 game. Senior defenseman Sierra Benjamin (Palm Coast, Fla./Northwood School) scored a power-play goal at 9:01 of the first period on assists from Katonka and Boric, while Krauseneck scored unassisted at 16:46 of the first. With just 1:10 left in the first period, Unsworth tallied on feeds from Drew-Mead and sophomore forward Mae Olshansky (Wilmette, Ill./North American Hockey Academy) to give the Cardinals a 5-0 advantage heading into the first intermission.
Buffalo State scored its lone goal of the contest at 3:08 of the second period when junior forward Sarah Jackson found the back of the net on a pass from sophomore defenseman Hannah Tingley, but just 2:08 later, Krauseneck put the Cardinals back on the scoreboard, using assists from Katonka and first-year defenseman Mattie Norton (Glen Carbon, Ill./St. Louis Lady Blues). Killeen and Boric scored goals just 1:05 apart, with Killeen receiving assists from Norton and Whitney and Boric utilizing assists from Krauseneck and junior defenseman Kendall Wasik (Novi, Mich./HoneyBaked).
The Cardinals would score three more times before the second intermission, beginning with Killeen's second goal of the game on passes from Unsworth and Norton at 17:14 of the second. Unsworth scored her second of the contest on assists from Wasik and Olshansky at 18:04 of the second period, while first-year forward Lily Stumm (Cranberry Township, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) pushed the puck past the goal line just 29 seconds later on assists from Benjamin and first-year forward Rachel Martin (Lancaster, Pa./Philadelphia Jr. Flyers). Plattsburgh State took an 11-1 lead into the locker rooms at the second intermission.
Martin scored her first collegiate goal at 9:28 of the third period on the power play, utilizing passes from Stumm and Killeen. First-year forward Tes Hurd (Ann Arbor, Mich./HoneyBaked) netted her second collegiate marker at 12:53 of the third on a pass from Whitney, and Whitney dished the assist to Killeen's hat trick goal at 19:04 of the third period. Olshansky buried a shot with 1.2 seconds left on assists from Drew-Mead and Unsworth.
Senior goaltender Ashley Davis (Winterville, N.C./Northwood School) made 11 saves in the victory for the Cardinals, while junior goaltender Valerie Helminen and first-year goaltender Jessica Auge made 35 and 24 stops, respectively, in the loss for the Bengals.