PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Junior forward Mae Olshansky (Wilmette, Ill./North American Hockey Academy) scored her first collegiate hat trick to help lead the No. 3 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team to a 6-1 Northeast Women's Hockey League (NEWHL) victory over SUNY Morrisville on Saturday afternoon at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.
It marked the Cardinals' seventh consecutive victory in 2022-23 and eighth overall dating back to the third-place game in the NCAA Division III Tournament last year.
Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 3 in the DCU/USCHO.com Women's Division III Top-15 Poll.
Olshansky tallied in each period, scoring at the 14:25 mark of the first on the power play, the 11:46 mark of the second and the 5:18 mark of the third. Graduate student forward Sara Krauseneck (Saginaw, Mich./Northern Cyclones) added four points on a goal and three assists, while senior defenseman Sierra Benjamin (Palm Coast, Fla./Northwood School) earned three assists.
The Cardinals finished with a 41-23 edge in shots on goal and went 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Mustangs were 1-for-8 with the extra skater.
Plattsburgh State rises to 7-0-0 (6-0-0 NEWHL) with the victory and next hosts the University of Wisconsin-River Falls to open up the Busters Cardinal/Panther Classic on Saturday, Nov. 26, at 3 p.m. Morrisville falls to 1-6-1 overall (0-5-0 NEWHL) with the loss and next visits Hamilton College on Tuesday, Nov. 22, at 1 p.m.
Olshansky tallied the first goal of the game at the 14:25 mark of the first period when she scored on the power play. Olshansky won an offensive-zone face-off over to Krauseneck on the outside hash marks of the left circle, and Krauseneck passed to sophomore defenseman Mattie Norton (Glen Carbon, Ill./St. Louis Lady Blues) on the point. Norton then took a shot that Olshansky redirected into the back of the net from the slot.
The Cardinals scored twice in the final 47 seconds of the first period to enter the intermission with a 3-0 lead. Krauseneck scored shorthanded at the 19:13 mark when she jammed a loose puck between the goalie's right pad and the left post. Junior forward Ciara Wall (Stoneham, Mass./University of New Hampshire) and senior defenseman Kendall Wasik (Novi, Mich./HoneyBaked) each earned assists on the goal. First-year defenseman Taya Balfour (Moorestown, N.J./Philadelphia Jr. Flyers) then netted her first collegiate goal with 21 seconds left in the opening period, as she took a pass from Wall that came across the slot and scored from the bottom of the left circle. Graduate student forward Nicole Unsworth (Milwaukee, Wis./East Coast Wizards) also earned an assist on Balfour's goal.
Olshansky buried her second of the game 11:46 into the second. Benjamin passed ahead to Olshansky to lead Plattsburgh State into the attacking zone, and Olshansky passed over to Krauseneck on the left point. Krauseneck took a shot that was saved before Olshansky buried the rebound glove side with a diving shot.
At 14:58 of the second, junior forward Rivers Morris (Braintree, Mass./Thayer Academy) scored her first goal of the season, as she buried a shot low glove side from the slot off a feed from Benjamin.
Olshansky completed the hat trick at 5:18 of the third, as she scored on a one-time shot from the left circle off a backhand pass from Krauseneck. Benjamin also earned an assist on the goal.
Morrisville broke up the shutout bid at 10:42 of the third when sophomore forward Allie Davidson scored on the power play. Davidson received a pass in the slot from first-year defenseman Meadow Clarke, and she was unable to square up a shot on her first attempt before scoring glove side on her second try. Sophomore forward Allicen Bouchard also earned an assist.
Senior goaltender Lilla Nease (Lake Forest, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) moved to 6-0-0 on the season with the win, making 22 stops. For Morrisville, sophomore goaltender Emma Plett made six saves in the first period before handing the reins over to first-year goaltender Maggie Jones, who stopped 29 shots in the final 40 minutes of play.