PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Graduate student forward Annie Katonka's (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) 98th career goal came in dramatic fashion, as she scored 3:24 into overtime to lead the No. 2 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team to a 3-2 victory over No. 9 Colby College in the NCAA Division III Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.
Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 2 in the DCU/USCHO.com Women's Division III Top-10 Poll, while Colby is ranked at No. 9.
Katonka involved herself in the forecheck right in front of the Cardinals' bench and took control of the puck along the outside hash marks on the left circle. She used a toe drag move to separate herself from a Colby defender and the goaltender, and she scored with a diving shot that went into the back of the net inside the right post.
Katonka finished the game with two goals, her 33rd and 34th of the season, to move into second in the program's single-season record book. Only Elizabeth Gibson has scored more goals in a single season, as she netted 39 during the 2001-02 campaign.
Plattsburgh State rises to 25-2-1 overall with the win and will be making its ninth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament semifinals when it squares off with No. 6 Gustavus Adolphus College in the semifinal round on Friday, March 18, at 3 p.m. at Middlebury College's Chip Kenyon '85 Arena. The Cardinals are also unbeaten in their last 20 games. Colby, which was making its first NCAA Tournament appearance, closes its season at 16-6-1 overall.
Katonka scored her first goal of the afternoon to open scoring at 14:01 of the first period. Katonka passed back to junior forward Ivy Boric (Newport Beach, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) at the top of the right circle, and Boric took a shot that Katonka redirected into the back of the net. The Cardinals entered the locker rooms at the first intermission with a 1-0 lead and a 16-9 edge in shots on goal.
At 11:32 of the second, senior forward Sara Krauseneck (Saginaw, Mich./Northern Cyclones) scored to make it a 2-0 game. First-year forward Lily Stumm (Cranberry Township, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) passed to junior defenseman Kendall Wasik (Novi, Mich./HoneyBaked) on the right point, and Wasik sent a puck toward the slot that Krauseneck deflected past the goaltender.
Colby cut the deficit in half with 1:51 left to play in the second, as it scored on the power play. Senior forward McKinley Karpa passed back to first-year defenseman Anna Staton on the right point, and Karpa passed D-to-D to sophomore forward Meg Rittenhouse. Rittenhouse then wristed a shot from the high slot that went in high glove side.
At the 7:43 mark of the third period, the Mules netted the equalizer. Karpa passed down to Rittenhouse behind the goal line, and Rittenhouse backhanded a pass out in front that senior forward Lexi Cafiero knocked in through the five-hole.
Plattsburgh State finished with a 50-30 advantage in shots on goal. Colby went 1-for-2 on the power play, while the Cardinals were scoreless in two chances with the extra skater despite putting nine shots on frame during those two power plays.
Junior goaltender Chloe Beaubien (Colorado Springs, Colo./Ontario Hockey Academy) made 28 saves in the win for the Cardinals, while senior goaltender Nina Prünster turned aside 47 shots in the loss for the Mules.