POTSDAM, N.Y. - The SUNY Potsdam women's hockey (2-1, 2-1 NEWHL) scored five goals in a 7:55 span of the second period to defeat the Buffalo State Bengals (0-3, 0-3 NEWHL) 5-0 on Friday night. Senior captain Alexa Pfeiffer (Sylvania, Ohio/Little Caeser's) recorded her 22nd career win and fourth shutout with 24 saves for the Bears.
The first period yielded few offensive opportunities for both teams. Despite two power plays a piece, neither team was able to find the back of the net. Strong play from both Pfeiffer and Bengals junior goalie Bri Gawronski (Dunkirk, NY/Buffalo Bisons) kept their opponents off the scoreboard. The Bears held a narrow edge in shots over the Bengals but headed into the second period with a scoreless deadlock.
The floodgates opened in the second period as the Bears hit the scoresheet early and did not look back. Potsdam opened the scoring just 1:35 into the period on a goal from senior forward Miranda Kolb (Watertown, N.Y./SUNY Cortland). After a shot on net, bodies collected in front of the Buffalo State goal, but Kolb was able to locate the puck beneath the Bengal goaltender and stuff it home for the 1-0 advantage. The goal was assisted by junior forward Natalie Wasielewski (Carnegie, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) and senior assistant captain Lucy Condon (Waterloo, Ontario/Waterloo Ravens).
The Bears came back quickly to score again at the 14:53 mark as Wasielewski redirected a shot from the point by junior defenseman Kiera Thacker (Oakville, Ontario/Hamilton Hawks). Kolb also tallied an assist on the goal. The Bears' offensive surge continued, as Kolb netted her second goal and third point of the evening on a wrap-around at 11:36 to make it 3-0.
Less than a minute later, freshman forward Alex Quinn (Potsdam, N.Y./St. Lawrence Steel) buried a rebound off of a shot by sophomore defenseman Ellie Cleary (Buffalo, NY/Buffalo Bisons) to extend the lead to 4-0. The Bears closed out the second period scoring on a beautiful passing play. Condon fed the puck up the ice to Wasielewski, who then threaded a cross-ice pass through traffic to senior assistant captain Delphine Léonard (Anjou, Quebec/Dawson College Prep). Léonard blasted the puck into the net while streaking through the slot.
After building up a lead, the Bears slammed the doors in the third period with strong defense and goaltending. Potsdam killed off four penalties and relied on the strong play of Pfeiffer to keep the score sheet clean.
Potsdam outshot Buffalo State 43-24 and was 1-for-8 on the power play. The Bengals were 0-for-7 and Gawronski finished with 38 stops.
The Bears are back in action tomorrow afternoon as they square off with SUNY Cortland at 3 p.m. Potsdam is looking for revenge after a 5-2 loss to the Red Dragons last weekend.