AMHERST, Mass. – Graduate student goaltender Ashley Davis (Winterville, N.C./Northwood School) made 44 saves, but the No. 2 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team dropped a 3-2 double-overtime thriller to top-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College in the semifinal round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Friday afternoon at Amherst College's Orr Rink.
Gustavus Adolphus is ranked at No. 1 in the DCU/USCHO.com Women's Division III Top-15 Poll, while Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 2.
Davis' 44 saves are tied for the second most in a single game in program history, as Sydney Aveson also made 44 stops on Jan. 28, 2012 at Elmira College.
Gustavus Adolphus scored the game winner at the 6:41 mark of the second overtime period. Junior defenseman Sophia Coltvet took control of the puck in the defensive zone and sent a drop pass back to first-year forward Lily Mortenson along the left wall. Mortenson skated into the left circle and scored high glove side.
Plattsburgh State finishes its season at 26-3-0 overall, having made its 10th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament semifinals. Gustavus Adolphus rises to 26-3-0 overall with the win and faces Amherst on Sunday, March 19, at 3 p.m. in the national championship game.
Senior forward Julia Masotta (Tewksbury, Mass./Norwich University) fired the opening salvo 3:31 into the first period. Graduate student forward Sara Krauseneck (Saginaw, Mich./Northern Cyclones) took control of a loose puck in the neutral zone and passed ahead to Masotta, and Masotta entered the zone on the left before scoring over the goalie's blocker side shoulder from the left circle.
Gustavus Adolphus knotted the score at 1-all at 10:25 of the first. Senior forward Emily Olson passed down to Coltvet in the right circle, and Coltvet took a shot that was saved before senior forward Kristina Press jabbed in the rebound.
At the 11:12 mark of the second, senior forward Ivy Boric (Newport Beach, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) gave Plattsburgh State the lead once again. Gustavus tried to send a puck toward the net, but senior defenseman Kendall Wasik (Novi, Mich./HoneyBaked) was able to block the puck forward to Boric. Boric entered the zone on the right side and took a shot that deflected off the inside of the goalie's stick and into the back of the net.
Gustavus Adolphus tied the score at 7:02 of the third, scoring on the power play. Senior defenseman Kayla Vrieze and senior forward Hailey Holland passed back and forth before Holland took a shot from the inside edge of the right circle that went through the five-hole. Junior forward Brooke Power also earned an assist on the goal.
The Golden Gusties finished with a 47-37 edge in shots on goal and went 1-for-4 on the power play. The Cardinals were 0-for-2 with the extra attacker. Gustavus Adolphus' senior goaltender Katie McCoy made 35 saves in the victory.
Krauseneck finished the season on a 12-game point streak, while Davis ended the season with a 0.99 goals-against average and a .956 save percentage in nine games played. Krauseneck finished with a tally of 138 career points on 62 goals and 76 assists, ranking 11th on the program's all-time point scoring list while tying for ninth in career assists. Senior defenseman Sierra Benjamin (Palm Coast, Fla./Northwood School), who finished with 87 career points on 12 goals and 75 assists, ranks fourth all-time in program history in point scoring among defensemen. Davis' career wound up placing her among the all-time leaders in winning percentage (second, .936), goals-against average (third, 1.08) and save percentage (third, .946).
Friday marked the final game for Plattsburgh State's senior class, which includes Davis, Krauseneck, Benjamin, graduate student forward Holly Schmelzer (East Amherst, N.Y./Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles), graduate student forward Nicole Unsworth (Milwaukee, Wis./East Coast Wizards), senior goaltender Chloe Beaubien (Colorado Springs, Colo./Ontario Hockey Academy) and student assistant coach Hanna Rose. During their time with the program, the Cardinals have achieved a record of 107-9-1, won four Northeast Women's Hockey League (NEWHL) championships and the 2019 national championship in addition to making three NCAA Tournament semifinal appearances and holding the top seed in the 2020 NCAA Tournament that wound up being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.