POTSDAM, N.Y.—Utica College (6-6-1, 4-3-1 ECAC West) got goals from Junior
forward Megan Meyers (Las Vegas, Nev./LA Selects) and sophomore forward
Kelsey Dowdall (Smith Falls, Ontario/Nepean) to defeat the SUNY Potsdam
women’s hockey team (6-9-2, 2-6-1) 2-0 at Cheel Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Junior goalie Dawna Salvarinas (Mississauga, Ontario/Brampton Thunder) was
strong again for the Bears, finishing with 35 saves.
The first period was a defensive battle. Potsdam got seven shots away and
Utica took just five. Each team had three power plays during the first
stanza, but even the man advantage didn’t spark the offense. Salvarinas
and Pioneers junior goalie Jennifer Hamel (Ithaca, N.Y./Northwood School)
were perfect through 20 minutes.
The offenses woke up in the second period as Utica outshot Potsdam 19-12.
Salvarinas stopped two breakaways and smothered several other strong
opportunities, but the Pioneers got on the board at the 4:02 mark with a
power-play goal. Meyers went top shelf with assists from sophomore forward
Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, Pa./Millbrook School) and sophomore
defenseman Courtney May (Oxford, Mich./Belle Tire). The teams traded
penalties through the rest of the period as the contest got more physical,
but the score remained 1-0 at the break.
Utica held the edge in play in the third period and had a 13-10 shot
advantage. At 5:38, Utica sophomore Nicole Schwartz (Danville, Calif./San
Jose Sharks) centered a pass from behind the net and Dowdall wristed it
into the right side of the net to give the Pioneers a 2-0 lead.
Steele-Norton recorded the second assist on the goal. The Utica offense
kept the Bears on the defensive through the middle of the period. Potsdam
was able to generate a few strong scoring chances as time wound down, but
Hamel kept the puck out of the net. Salvarinas was pulled for the final 25
seconds, but the Bears were unable to draw closer.
Hamel made 29 saves to earn the shutout. The Pioneers were 1-4 on the
power play and Potsdam was 0-5.
The Bears are now off until they host Neumann College for two games on
Jan. 26-27, at Cheel Arena.
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