CORTLAND, N.Y. – The No. 1/1 Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team netted all six of its goals in the first two periods as it defeated SUNY Cortland, 6-0, in the inaugural Northeast Women’s Hockey League (NEWHL) game for both teams on Friday afternoon at Alumni Arena.
Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 1 in both the USCHO.com Women’s Division III Top-10 Poll and the D3hockey.com Women’s Top-10 Poll.
Senior forward Melissa Sheeran (Schaghticoke, N.Y./Millbrook School) finished with five points (two goals, three assists), while senior forward Kayla Meneghin (Clifton, N.J./The Gunnery) tallied four points (two goals, two assists). The Cardinals held a 37-16 edge in shots on goal and also went 3-for-6 on the power play.
Plattsburgh State rises to 2-0-0 overall (1-0-0 NEWHL) with the win and finishes out the weekend with a 2 p.m. game tomorrow against Cortland. The Red Dragons fall to 1-1-1 overall (0-1-0 NEWHL) with the loss.
The Sheeran-to-Meneghin connection accounted for both first-period goals, while Sheeran fed Meneghin for her first goal of the season 3:56 into the second stanza. Sophomore defenseman Hannah Kiraly (Glendale, Ariz./Northern Cyclones) scored off assists from junior forward Courtney Moriarty (Estero, Fla./Northfield Mount Hermon) and Sheeran midway through the period before freshman forward Annie Katonka (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Pens Elite) netted her first career goal with 12:55 gone in the second. Freshman forwards Kaitlin Drew-Mead (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons) and Madison Walker (Denver, Colo./Lansing Spartans) each recorded their first career points on the marker by offering up assists. Finally, just 35 seconds later, Meneghin found the back of the net off a pass from Sheeran.
Senior goaltender Brooke Wolejko (South Windsor, Conn./St. Lawrence University) earned a shutout in her first regular-season game as a Cardinal, making 16 stops. Sophomore goaltender Rachael Farmer made 31 saves in the loss for Cortland.
