POTSDAM, N.Y.-The SUNY Potsdam women's hockey team (2-0, 2-0 NEWHL) scored two first period goals and made it stand up in a 2-1 victory over Buffalo State. Junior defenseman Rebecca Holmes (Lawtons, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons) and senior forward Megan Teachout (Auburn, N.Y./Oswego State) scored 57 seconds apart for the Bears and freshman goaltender Magalie Parent (Trois-Rivières, Quebec/Les Diablos - Cégep de Trois-Rivières) made 24 saves in her collegiate debut.
The Bengals held a slim edge in play early in the contest, but Parent kept them off the board. Potsdam finally broke out midway through the first. At 8:01, senior forward Emily DellaNeve (Buffalo, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons) won the faceoff back to Holmes at the right point. She fired and the puck evaded Bengals sophomore goalie Jessica Auge (Laingsburg, Mich./Honeybaked Detroit) for a 1-0 lead. Less than a minute later, Teachout picked up the puck in the neutral zone. She skated in on the left side and roofed her shot over Auge's right shoulder to make it 2-0. The Bears looked destined to break the game open, but Buffalo State hung tough. At 11:42, Bengals sophomore forward Amanda Mindzora (Parma, Ohio/Gilmour Prep Academy) knocked home a loose puck to close the gap to 2-1. Buffalo State outshot the Bears 14-11 in the opening 20 minutes.
Potsdam dominated the second period, outshooting the Bengals 22-3. They hovered around the net, but were unable to add to the lead. Auge turned aside everything that came her way and her defense was able to prevent second chance opportunities.
The third period was more tightly contested, with Potsdam totaling an 11-8 advantage in shots, but neither team could change the score. Parent made four over her final eight saves in contest's last five minutes as Buffalo State made a final push. With about 80 seconds remaining, Mindzora rang Potsdam's left goal post, but that's as close as the Bengals came to the equalizer. Buffalo State may have intended to pull Auge for an extra attacker, but fierce Bears play in the neutral and offensive zones prevented her from leaving the goal.
Auge was impressive with 42 stops on the afternoon. Potsdam outshot the Bengals 44-25. The Bears were 0-for-2 on the power play and Buffalo State was 0-for-3.
Potsdam is back in action on Friday at 3 p.m. when the Bears head to Plattsburgh State to take on the third-ranked Cardinals.