POTSDAM, N.Y.-The SUNY Potsdam women’s hockey team (3-7-2, 1-7-1 ECAC West) came within inches of forcing overtime before falling to No. 2 Elmira College 3-2 on Saturday afternoon. Junior forwards Jordan Ott (Hilton, N.Y./Rochester Edge) and Amanda Peterson (West Chazy, N.Y./Chazy Flyers) each scored for the Bears and senior assistant captain Abby Tardelli (Potsdam, N.Y./North Country Ice Storm) finished with 26 saves.
As in game one, this contest was tightly played through the opening 17 minutes. The Soaring Eagles began the game with good pressure, but Potsdam’s defense slowly diffused it and evened the momentum. Turnovers proved to be the difference in the period. A Bears’ failed clear attempt ended up in the back of the net at 16:32. Elmira freshman forward Bobbi Strople (Halifax, Nova Scotia/CIHA) fired a shot off the pads of Tardelli and sophomore forward Arianna Smith (Eagle, Wisc./Chicago Young Americans) poked home the rebound. The lead only lasted 36 seconds. Peterson fed Ott in the neutral zone. Ott went in all alone and beat Soaring Eagles junior goalie Kyle Nelson (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Mission) stick side to tie the game.
The second period featured more even play with strong chances by both teams and stronger goaltending. Elmira nearly regained the lead midway through the period as sophomore forward Sarah Hughson (East Haddam, Conn./The Gunnery) rang the crossbar with a high shot. The just over two minutes later Elmira did succeed in grabbing the advantage. At 12:30, sophomore forward Megan Fonfara (Elma, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons) cut in front of the net and slipped the puck past Tardelli. Senior forward Olivia Nystrom (Vaxholm, Sweden/Ormstra HC) assisted on the play. The score remained 2-1 after 40 minutes and the Soaring Eagles had a 20-12 advantage in shots.
Just 1:58 into the final period, Hughson picked up a long pass at center ice, split the defense and made it a 3-1 contest. Senior defenseman Phoebe Piku (Point Grosse, Mich./Bluewater Jr. Hawks) and sophomore defenseman Erin Kishoni (Duluth, Ga./Northwood School) each assisted on the play. The Bears battled back and were able close the gap to 3-2 in the final minutes. Senior forward Alison Greene (Massena, N.Y./Norwich University) broke up an Elmira clearing attempt and found Peterson in the slot. She skated in and wristed a shot over the left shoulder of Nelson. With 1:40 to go, Nystrom was called for a trip and Potsdam closed the contest on the power play. At the 41-second mark, Tardelli was pulled for an extra attacker. Nearly 20 seconds later, senior captain Sally Mooney (Columbus, Ohio/Wyoming Seminary) fired a shot from the right point. Nelson took the puck in the gut, but didn’t control it. Greene was on the door step to jam the rebound into Nelson’s pads. The rebound kicked into the right corner, where Ott picked it up and fired it into the side of the net. Nelson covered up with two seconds left and sealed the win.
Nelson finished with 20 stops on the afternoon. The Soaring Eagles were 0-for-2 on the man advantage and the Bears were 0-for-3.
Potsdam finishes up the semester next weekend with a swing through New England. The Bears square off with New England College in Henniker, N.H. at 5 p.m. on Saturday. They then travel to Worcester, Mass. for their first ever meeting with Becker College at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.
