POTSDAM, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam women’s hockey team (8-4-1) scored in the second and third periods to erase a 1-0 deficit and defeat Hamilton College (6-3-1) 2-1 on Tuesday afternoon. It was the Bears first victory in the series’ 11 games dating back to 2009. Senior captains Anna-Rose Bertin (Marathon, Ontario/Canadian International Hockey Academy) and Brenna Wilson (Kanata, Ontario/Ottawa Senators) each scored for the Bears and freshman goalie Samantha White (Oceanside, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) made 26 saves for her fourth career victory.
As has been the case in many of the previous meetings, the first period was a defensive battle that saw multiple blocked shots and few quality chances. Potsdam was on the penalty kill just 16 seconds into the contest, but managed to keep the Continentals off the board. Hamilton drew first blood at the 13:39 mark. Sophomore forward Timary Malley (Worcester, Mass./Worcester Academy) fired a shot off the left pad of White. The rebound found freshman forward Missy Segall (Wellesley, Mass./Boston Jr. Eagles) in the slot and she wristed it past White for a 1-0 lead. Potsdam earned its first power play with just under four to go in the first. The Bears managed to test Continentals senior goalie Sam Walther (Gambrills, Md./Conn. Polar Bears), but didn’t solve her. Hamilton outshot Potsdam 9-7 in the first 20 minutes.
Three power plays in the second period gave the Bears momentum. Walther stood tall, but couldn’t keep Potsdam from netting the equalizer. At the 5:53 mark, Bertin tipped a shot from freshman defenseman Emily Burke (San Jose, Calif./San Jose Jr. Sharks) to tie the score. Sophomore defenseman Shelbi Thacker (Chesterfield, Mich./Honeybaked) recorded the second assist. The Bears finished the period with a 15-6 advantage and a 1-1 draw.
Just 2:47 into the final period, Potsdam got the decisive goal. Bertin poked the puck up the right boards to clear the zone. Junior forward Jenna Patterson (Boisevain, Manitoba/Westman Wildcats) collected it, carried it into the zone and found Wilson in the slot. Wilson grazed the crossbar over Walther’s right shoulder for the 2-1 lead. The Continentals answered with good pressure, increased by two power plays. They outshot Potsdam 12-4 in the final period, but White slammed the door to preserve the win.
Walther made 24 stops on the afternoon. Hamilton edged the Bears in shots 27-26 and both teams were 0-for-4 on the power play.
Potsdam is back in action at 7 p.m. on Friday night in Oswego as the Bears start a home and home series with the Lakers.
