College Hockey Stats Box Score

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Head coach Kevin Houle earned his 400th career win on Wednesday evening at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena, as the No. 1 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team downed No. 8 Norwich University, 3-1, in its regular-season home opener. Prior to the game, the Cardinals celebrated their 2019 national championship team as a part of a banner raising ceremony.
 
The Cardinals, whose 2019 national championship was their seventh in program history and their fifth in the past six years, extended their winning streak to a Division III-best 21 games.
 
Houle is just the third coach in the history of NCAA Division III women's ice hockey to reach the 400-win plateau, joining Bill Mandigo of Middlebury College and Mike Carroll of Gustavus Adolphus College. With an .868 winning percentage, Houle is the winningest coach in Division III women's ice hockey history.
 
Senior forward Sarah Wolf (Fairport, N.Y./Boston Shamrocks Elite) and junior forward Kaitlin Drew-Mead (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons) each finished with a goal and an assist, while junior forward Annie Katonka (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) also scored for the Cardinals.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 3-0-0 overall with the win and hosts Oswego State next on Friday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m. Norwich falls to 0-1-0 overall with the loss and visits the University of Massachusetts-Boston next on Friday, Nov. 8, at 4 p.m.
 
After a scoreless first period, Katonka got the Cardinals on the board with 8:35 elapsed in the second. Freshman defenseman Kendall Wasik (Novi, Mich./HoneyBaked) sent a pass forward from behind the goal line in Plattsburgh State's zone, and freshman forward Ivy Boric (Newport Beach, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) swiped the puck ahead along the right boards to Katonka. From inside the right circle, Katonka wristed a shot that went over the goalie's glove and hit the inside part of the post and crossbar before settling into the back of the net. With the secondary assist, Wasik earned her first collegiate point.
 
Norwich countered just 56 seconds later. Junior defenseman Samantha Benoit played the puck along the boards to sophomore forward Maddie Moell, and Moell led an odd-man rush in favor of Plattsburgh State into the Cardinals' zone. Moell poked a shot at sophomore goaltender Ashley Davis (Winterville, N.C./Northwood School) that Davis turned away with a pad save, but freshman forward Julia Masotta banged in the rebound just outside the crease to make it a 1-1 game.
 
Wolf helped the Cardinals regain the lead just 1:04 after the Cadets' equalizer. Sophomore forward Holly Schmelzer (East Amherst, N.Y./Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles) won an offensive-zone face-off back to senior defenseman Hannah Kiraly (Glendale, Ariz./Northern Cyclones), and Kiraly passed up to Drew-Mead. Drew-Mead skated just below the goal line and centered the puck toward the goal, and Wolf hammered a one-timer through the five-hole on the doorstep.
 
Drew-Mead added insurance with 17:55 gone in the second. Junior defenseman Erin McArdle (Macomb, Mich./Belle Tire) fed Wolf with a short pass in the Cardinals' end, and Wolf sent a stretch pass ahead. A Norwich skater tipped the pass at center ice, and Drew-Mead took control of the puck at the blue line. Drew-Mead skated inside the right circle and took a wrist shot that beat the Cadet goalie blocker side.
 
Neither team scored in a mostly-uneventful third period, and that 3-1 score wound up standing as the final tally.
 
Plattsburgh State finished with a 32-27 edge in shots on goal, while both teams were scoreless on the power play. The Cadets were 0-for-3 with the extra skater, while the Cardinals were 0-for-4.
 
In her first regular-season home start, Davis (3-0-0) made 26 saves in the win. Sophomore goaltender Alexa Berg (0-1-0) shouldered the loss for Norwich, turning aside 29 shots.