PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The No. 2 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team advanced to the Northeast Women's Hockey League (NEWHL) championship game for the fourth time in as many seasons, as the top-seeded Cardinals blanked fourth-seeded SUNY Potsdam, 8-0, in the semifinal round of the NEWHL Tournament at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena on Tuesday evening. Plattsburgh State is now unbeaten in its last 18 games.
Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 2 in the DCU/USCHO.com Women's Division III Top-10 Poll.
Graduate student forward Annie Katonka (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) finished with four points on two goals and two assists, pushing her season goal total to 31. Her 31 goals are now tied for the third-most in a single season in program history, as she matched her total from 2018-19 and Elizabeth Gibson's total from 2003-04. Katonka now leads NCAA Division III in both goals scored and goals per game (1.35).
Plattsburgh State rises to 23-2-1 overall with the victory and hosts third-seeded SUNY Cortland in the NEWHL Tournament championship game on Saturday, March 5, at 3 p.m., as the Red Dragons edged host Oswego State, 1-0, in overtime in the other semifinal contest. The winner of the NEWHL Tournament championship will earn the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament. Potsdam finishes its season at 9-15-1 overall with the loss.
The Cardinals started out fast out of the gates, scoring three goals in the opening 3:42. Senior forward Sara Krauseneck (Saginaw, Mich./Northern Cyclones) tallied just 22 seconds into the contest, as a pass from junior forward Ivy Boric (Newport Beach, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) helped spring Katonka and Krauseneck ahead on a 2-on-1 rush. Katonka passed to Krauseneck in the slot, and Krauseneck scored blocker side to give Plattsburgh State the early lead. Boric scored on the power play at 2:51 of the first period, going bar down. Graduate student defenseman Erin McArdle (Macomb, Mich./Belle Tire) and Katonka earned assists on the goal. Katonka made it a 3-0 game at 3:42 of the first period when she stole the puck away from a Bear skater on the forecheck and scored blocker side from the slot.
Krauseneck scored her second goal of the game at 5:12 of the second, as she banged in a centering pass from Boric. First-year defenseman Mattie Norton (Glen Carbon, Ill./St. Louis Lady Blues) also earned an assist on the goal. Just 40 seconds later, senior forward Nicole Unsworth (Milwaukee, Wis./East Coast Wizards) extended the Cardinal lead to 5-0. Graduate student forward Kaitlin Drew-Mead (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons) carried the puck into the offensive zone on the right wing, and she centered a pass to sophomore forward Mae Olshansky (Wilmette, Ill./North American Hockey Academy) that Olshansky chipped to Unsworth on the weak side. Unsworth then knocked the puck in stick side for her 18th goal of the season.
Katonka buried her second of the contest at 14:56 of the second, as junior defenseman Kendall Wasik (Novi, Mich./HoneyBaked) banked a pass off the boards to Katonka, and Katonka went bar down over the goalie's left shoulder.
Drew-Mead scored at 11:06 of the third. She took a shot from the right circle that deflected off a Bear defender's stick blade and Olshansky's stick blade before the puck dropped in front of the crease along the left post. Drew-Mead skated around the back of the net and hammered in the loose puck to extend the lead to 7-0. Finally, with 1:50 remaining, junior forward Tatem Cheney (Ottawa, Ontario/Ottawa Lady 67's) closed out scoring. First-year forward Riley Calhoun (New Hartford, N.Y./Bishop Kearney Selects) passed to senior defenseman Sierra Benjamin (Palm Coast, Fla./Northwood School) in the right circle, and Benjamin tried to center a pass into the slot that bounced off a Potsdam player's skate and to Cheney behind the goal line. Cheney skated out in front and went five-hole on a shot from the bottom of the left circle.
Junior goaltender Chloe Beaubien (Colorado Springs, Colo./Ontario Hockey Academy) posted a 25-save shutout to move to 11-0-0 on the season, while sophomore goalie Ellie Zurfluh stopped 43 shots in the loss for Potsdam.
Potsdam Story
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y.-Top-seeded and second ranked Plattsburgh State (23-2-1) overpowered the SUNY Potsdam women's hockey team (9-15-1) 8-0 on Tuesday night in the NEWHL Semifinals.
The Cardinals scored 22 seconds into the contest and never let up, the last marker coming with 1:50 remaining. Plattsburgh scored three times in the first and second periods and twice in the third. Annie Katonka led the Cardinals with two goals and two assists. Mae Olshansky registered three assists. Ivy Boric had a goal and two assists and Sara Krauseneck scored twice.
Plattsburgh was 1-for-2 on the power play and the Bears were 0-for-3.
Bears sophomore goalie Ellie Zurfluh (Aravada, Colo./Team Colorado) finished with 43 saves. Chloe Beaubien made 25 stops for the shutout.
The contest marks the close of the careers of graduate students Emily Burke (San Jose, Calif./San Jose Jr. Sharks), Alexis Clark (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons) and Allie Banas (Buffalo Bisons) and seniors Ellie Cleary (Buffalo, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons), Stephanie Dunlap (Bath, Mich./Meijer U19 AAA), Makenzie Martin (Potsdam, N.Y./Potsdam High School) and Abigail Lyon (Winthrop, N.Y./Lake Placid Rockets).