PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Senior goaltender Lilla Nease (Lake Forest, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) posted a 16-save shutout, her third shutout of the season, as the No. 3 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team stretched its winning streak to seven with a 1-0 win over SUNY Canton in Northeast Women's Hockey League (NEWHL) action Friday afternoon at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.
Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 3 in the DCU/USCHO.com Women's Division III Top-15 Poll.
The Cardinals finished with a 35-16 edge in shots on goal and continued to play well on the power play, going 1-for-3. The Kangaroos were scoreless on one power-play opportunity.
Plattsburgh State rises to 15-2-0 overall (10-1-0 NEWHL) with the win and closes out the non-conference portion of its schedule on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 5:30 p.m. at Williams College. Canton falls to 11-4-2 overall (5-4-1 NEWHL) with the loss and next hosts SUNY Potsdam tomorrow at 3 p.m.
The lone goal of the contest came when junior forward Ciara Wall (Stoneham, Mass./University of New Hampshire) scored on the power play at 5:24 of the second period. Senior defenseman Kendall Wasik (Novi, Mich./HoneyBaked) passed D-to-D to first-year defenseman Taya Balfour (Moorestown, N.Y./Philadelphia Jr. Flyers) on the left point, and Balfour wristed a shot that Wall deflected past the Kangaroo netminder high glove side.
With Canton's goalie pulled in the final 1:16 of regulation, Plattsburgh State sustained significant pressure, and the best chance to net an insurance goal came when graduate student forward Nicole Unsworth (Milwaukee, Wis./East Coast Wizards) took a shot just wide of the net from the blue line.
Senior goaltender Sirena Alvarez made 34 saves in the loss for Canton.