POTSDAM, N.Y.-The SUNY Potsdam women’s hockey team (3-6-1) ended a five-game skid with a 3-2 victory over New England College (1-9) on Saturday evening at Maxcy Ice Arena. Three different Bears scored and junior goalie Abby Tardelli (Potsdam, N.Y./North Country Ice Storm) made 32 saves for her second win of the season.
Potsdam jumped on the Pilgrims early. Just 3:39 into the contest, junior forward Natasha Allen (Aspen, Colo./Ontario Hockey Academy) poked the puck away from an NEC defender at center ice and skated in all alone for the first goal of the contest. The Bears continued to control the play in as the period wore on. At the16:02 mark, Potsdam broke out of the zone and freshman forwardBrenna Wilson (Kanata, Ontario/Ottawa Senators) carried the puck to the right side of the Pilgrims’ net. She then sent it across the crease where freshman forward Anna-Rose Bertin (Marathon, Ontario/Canadian International Hockey Academy) was there to slam it home for her first collegiate goal. The Bears outshot NEC 19-9 in the first period and took a 2-0 lead into the break.
The play evened out in the second period. The shots were nearly even with Potsdam holding a slight 15-13 edge. At 9:55, senior captain Izzy Fayerman (Calgary, Alberta/The Edge) sent a cross-ice pass from the Bears’ blue line to junior captain Sally Mooney(New Albany, Ohio/Wyoming Seminary). Mooney poked it ahead to sophomore forward Jordan Ott (Hilton, N.Y./The Edge) who ripped it over the shoulder of Pilgrims freshman goalie Michaela Clark (Dorchester, Mass./Hebron Academy) for a 3-0 lead. The goal chased Clark from the net. She was replaced by senior goalie Lauren Hopps (Green Bay, Wisc./Madison Capital). Six minutes later, NEC finally got on the board with a power-play goal. A loose puck popped out to Pilgrim junior forward Rachel Vigliano (Monroe, N.J./New Jersey Colonials) in the slot and she blasted past Tardelli. The score remained 3-1 at the second intermission.
New England gained some momentum in the final stanza, thanks in part to some Potsdam penalty trouble. However, the Bears killed the penalties and nearly scored on a power play of their own. Ott appeared to notch her second of the contest with 4:18 remaining, but the goal was waved off. With 1:39 left, the Pilgrims pulled Hopps for an extra attacker. After a Potsdam turnover in its own corner, freshman forward Amanda McGoldrick (Natick, Mass./Boston Jr. Shamrocks) tipped home a rebound to close the gap to 3-2 with 1:16 remaining. After the ensuing faceoff, the Bears kept the pressure in the neutral zone or NEC’s end and Hopps couldn’t come out again as Potsdam held on for the win.
Clark was tagged for the loss in her first collegiate start. She made 20 saves on 23 shots in the first 29:55. Hopps stopped all 19 shots she faced in 29:32.
Potsdam outshot NEC 42-34. The Pilgrims were 1-for-4 on the man advantage in the Bears were just 0-for-2.
