BUFFALO, N.Y.—Senior captain Anna-Rose Bertin(Marathon, Ontario/Canadian International Hockey Academy) and junior forward Jenna Patterson (Boissevain, Manitoba/Westman Wildcats) each scored as the SUNY Potsdam women’s hockey team (3-1, 1-1 NEWHL) rallied for a 2-1 win at Buffalo State (1-3, 1-1) on Saturday afternoon. Freshman goalie Samantha White (Oceanside, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) made a career-high 37 saves to earn the victory.
The Bengals pressured Potsdam early, but solid goaltending by White and a power-play opportunity slowed Buffalo State’s attack. The Bears didn’t score on the man advantage, but it gave them momentum. A barrage of shots followed, but Bengals goalie Justine Silva kept the game scoreless. With six minutes remaining in the period Buffalo State went on the power play and broke the stalemate. Cheyenne Mason carried the puck out of the left corner and fed Natasha Steinle at the right side of the net and she tapped it home for a 1-0 lead. The score was unchanged at the first intermission.
The Bengals controlled the play for the majority of the period, but White stopped all 15 shots that came her way. Potsdam killed off Buffalo State’s lone power play and then went on three consecutive attempts of its own. The Bears were unsuccessful, but struck shortly afterward. With just 25 seconds left in the period, senior captain Brenna Wilson (Kanata, Ontario/Ottawa Senators) poked the puck up the right boards to Patterson. She then stickhandled her way past a defender and beat Silva on the backhand for a highlight-reel goal. Bertin also assisted on the play. The score was even at one apiece after 40 minutes.
The teams battled evenly early in the third period and traded unsuccessful power plays through the first 12 minutes. At the 13:36 mark, Bertin picked off a Buffalo State pass in the neutral zone, skated into the slot and beat a partially screened Silva with a low shot to the right post. Potsdam then killed off another penalty with the help of more key saves from White. Bears pressure and a late penalty prevented the Bengals from pulling Silva as Potsdam closed out its first ever NEWHL win.
Silva finished with 19 saves. Buffalo State outshot the Bears 38-21. Potsdam was 0-for-5 on the power-play and the Bengals went 1-for-4.
The Bears are back home on Friday as they kick off a home-and-home series with league foe SUNY Cortland at 7 p.m.
