MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The No. 2 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team ended its 2021-22 season with a 3-2 victory over No. 3 Elmira College in the third-place game of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Middlebury College's Chip Kenyon '85 Arena.
Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 2 in the DCU/USCHO.com Women's Division III Top-10 Poll, while Elmira is ranked at No. 3.
Junior forward Ivy Boric (Newport Beach, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) led the Cardinals with a goal and two assists, which included a drop pass to graduate student forward Annie Katonka (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) for what wound up being the game winner. Katonka scored once and added an assist, while senior forward Sara Krauseneck (Saginaw, Mich./Northern Cyclones) was credited with two assists. Krauseneck finished the campaign with a single-season program record 34 assists. Her 34 assists are tied for the 12th most in a single season in NCAA Division III history.
Plattsburgh State finishes its season at 26-3-1 overall, qualifying for the national semifinals for the ninth consecutive year. Elmira closes out the year at 25-4-1 overall.
Elmira opened scoring at 6:56 of the first period, as first-year forward Claire Elfring scored unassisted high blocker side. The Cardinals, despite outshooting the Soaring Eagles by a 12-8 margin in the first period, trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes of play.
At 4:34 of the second period, senior forward Nicole Unsworth (Milwaukee, Wis./East Coast Wizards) tied the score at 1-all. Katonka passed out to Boric in the slot, and Boric took a shot that was saved. Unsworth then collected the rebound and sent a backhanded shot into the back of the net.
The Soaring Eagles took a 2-1 lead at 8:56 of the second. Senior defenseman Brianna Haviland centered a pass to senior forward Brooke McArdle, and McArdle took a shot from the left circle that junior forward Kelly Millins redirected through the five-hole.
Boric leveled the tally at 2-all with a power-play goal at 19:35 of the second. Krauseneck passed to senior defenseman Sierra Benjamin (Palm Coast, Fla./Northwood School) along the right boards, and Benjamin centered a pass into the slot that Boric poked past the Soaring Eagle netminder.
At 11:58 of the third period, the Cardinals appeared to score on a goal by Boric, but it was ultimately waved off due to goaltender interference. Plattsburgh State continued to carry play the next few minutes before Katonka buried the game winner at 14:54 of the third. Krauseneck passed ahead to Katonka in the neutral zone on the rush, and Boric carried the puck into the zone on the right wing. Boric sent a drop pass back to Katonka at the top of the right circle, and Katonka took advantage of a screened goalie to score high glove side.
With the goaltender pulled and 1:05 left in regulation, Katonka nearly added an insurance goal with a shot that went the length of the ice, but the puck bounced off the left post and spun just in front of the goal line before an Elmira skater picked up the rebound. Unsworth also had a grade-A scoring chance with the empty net, but senior defenseman Jenny Heath blocked the shot as the last line of defense.
The Cardinals finished with a 33-20 edge in shots on goal and went 1-for-2 on the power play. The Soaring Eagles were scoreless in one chance with the extra skater.
Junior goaltender Lilla Nease (Lake Forest, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) made 18 saves in the win for Plattsburgh State, while first-year goaltender Leonie-Louise Kuehberger turned aside 30 shots in the loss for Elmira.
It marked the last collegiate game for Katonka, graduate student defenseman Erin McArdle (Macomb, Mich./Belle Tire), graduate student forward Kaitlin Drew-Mead (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons), senior defenseman Emma Killeen (Watertown, Conn./The Gunnery) and senior forward Taylor Whitney (Livonia, Mich./Little Caesars), as they helped the Cardinals earn a 105-10-3 overall record, four Northeast Women's Hockey League (NEWHL) titles and a national championship over the past four years.