BUFFALO, N.Y.— Emma Ruggiero (Amherst/Sacred Heart) tallied her fourth goal in two games while Bri Gawronski (Dunkirk/Kenmore West) finished with 34 saves but it was not enough as Cortland scored with just over a minute remaining in the contest to force a 1-1 tie in NEWHL action this afternoon.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 1, Cortland – 1
LOCATION: Ice Arena – Buffalo, N.Y.
RECORDS: Buffalo State (3-4-2, 2-3-1 NEWHL), Cortland (2-5-3, 0-5-3 NEWHL)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Madeline Kromer (Angola/Lake Shore) and Lila Toczek (Pendleton/Starpoint) each recorded assists on the goal.
Cortland were the aggressors for much of the first period, outshooting the Bengals 11-7, but Buffalo State successfully killed the Red Dragons’ lone power play opportunity to keep the score level after 20 minutes of action.
The Bengals finally broke through with a goal just 44 seconds into the second period, as Ruggiero buried home her ninth goal of the season on a rebound off the initial shot by Kromer.
Cortland’s goalie Chelsea Allain recorded five saves in the closing minutes of the second frame, including three on a Buffalo State power play, to keep the deficit at one goal.
After outshooting the Bengals 12-8 in the final period, the Red Dragons were rewarded with a goal with only 1:10 remaining in the contest to force overtime.
Buffalo State had its best chance to win in overtime when it forced a Cortland penalty on a breakaway to earn a penalty shot. Olivia Smith (Tonawanda/Kenmore West) could not push the ensuing penalty shot past Allain as the score remained level.
Each team had a final shot to take the lead in the closing minutes of overtime, but both were blocked by defenders as the game ended with a 1-1 tie.
Cortland finished the game with a 35-28 shots on goal advantage while the Bengals won 32 of 58 faceoffs.
FOR THE FOES
Katie DeVoe scored for the Red Dragons, off assists from Amanda Gaffney and Emily King.
Allain finished with 27 saves in net for Cortland.
UP NEXT
Buffalo State closes out the semester with a two-game home series with non-conference foe Franklin Pierce starting next Friday at 4 p.m.
