PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The No. 1/2 Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team needed a gritty team effort to get past No. 4/4 Middlebury College in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III Tournament, edging the Panthers, 3-1, on Saturday afternoon at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.
Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 1 in the D3hockey.com Women’s Top-10 Poll and No. 2 in the USCHO.com Women’s Division III Top-10 Poll, while Middlebury is ranked at No. 4 in both the D3hockey.com Women’s Top-10 Poll and the USCHO.com Women’s Division III Top-10 Poll.
The eventual game-winner came with 6:58 gone in the third. With a power play opportunity just ending, freshman defenseman Erin McArdle (Macomb, Mich./Detroit Belle Tire) passed to senior defenseman Lizzy Viola (Williamsville, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons) from the high slot, and Viola took a shot from inside the left face-off circle that was turned away by sophomore goaltender Lin Han with a pad save. The rebound squirted out in front to junior forward Ashley Songin (Springville, N.Y./Nichols School) in the low slot, and Songin went five-hole to put the Cardinals up, 2-1.
Middlebury had its chances to tie the game, particularly in a short stretch of time in which freshman defenseman Kerri Corcoran (Rockville, Md./Washington Pride), freshman forward Madison Walker (Denver, Colo./Lansing Spartans) and sophomore forward Sarah Wolf (Fairport, N.Y./Boston Shamrocks Elite) combined for four blocked shots with about five minutes to go in regulation. The Panthers pulled their goalie following a timeout with 2:12 left in the third period, and despite putting three shots on goal, junior goaltender Kassi Abbott (Medford, Mass./Boston Shamrocks Elite) stood on her head to keep the score at 2-1.
Junior forward Mackenzie Millen (Anchorage, Alaska/North American Hockey Academy) put the game on ice with 12 seconds remaining, scoring unassisted on an empty-net goal from the blue line.
“I told the team after the game that no question, no doubt, that was the guttiest win in my years here at Plattsburgh,” head coach Kevin Houle said in a postgame press conference. “To find a way to win that game, it took everybody.”
Plattsburgh State rises to 24-2-2 overall with the win and continues its quest for a fifth straight and seventh overall NCAA Division III national title on Friday, March 16, when it takes on No. 3/3 Elmira College in the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament at Norwich University’s Kreitzberg Arena. This marks the seventh straight year in which Plattsburgh State has advanced to the NCAA Tournament semifinals. The winner of that game will play for the national championship on Saturday, March 17, at 7 p.m., also at Norwich. Middlebury concludes its season at 20-5-3 overall.
Though the score remained tied at 0-0 through one period of play, the Cardinals applied pressure early, finishing with an 18-5 edge in shots on goal in the opening stanza.
McArdle fired the opening salvo with 14:34 elapsed in the first period. With a Middlebury penalty releasing, junior forward Karen Hudson (Sykesville, Md./Washington Pride) played the puck up to Viola on the left point, and Viola passed D-to-D to McArdle. McArdle took a shot from the right face-off circle that was saved, but she collected the rebound, settled the puck and scored stick side to give the Cardinals a 1-0 advantage.
Middlebury scored on the power play just 3:11 later to tie the score at 1-all. Junior defenseman Jenna Marotta passed to freshman forwrad Madie Leidt in the high slot, and Leidt took a shot that was deflected in by senior forward Maddie Winslow.
The Cardinals finished with a 38-27 edge in shots on goal and went 28-for-51 on face-offs. The Panthers, meanwhile, went 1-for-5 on the power play, while Plattsburgh State was scoreless in four chances with the extra attacker.
Abbott turned aside 26 shots in the win for Plattsburgh State, while Han made 35 saves in the loss for Middlebury.
