POTSDAM, N.Y.-The SUNY Potsdam women’s hockey team (12-11-2, 4-10-2) will head to top-seeded Plattsburgh State (21-2-2, 15-0-1) as the fourth seed in the first ever Northeast Women’s Hockey League Playoffs at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24. It’s the Bears fifth playoff appearance in seven years, the previous four coming in the old ECAC West.
For the second straight season, the Bears tied their single-season record for wins with 12. Potsdam has used balanced scoring this season, with seven players accounting for the bulk of the offense. Freshman forward Natalie Wasielewski (Carnegie, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) has had a strong rookie campaign, leading the team with 15 points on nine goals and six assists. She has twice earned the NEWHL Rookie of the Week Award. Senior captain Anna-Rose Bertin (Marathon, Ontario/Canadian International Hockey Academy) has contributed six goals and eight assists for 14 points. Bertin now ranks ninth on the program’s scoring list with 30 goals and 18 assists for 48 points. Fellow senior captain Brenna Wilson (Kanata, Ontario/Ottawa Senators) also reached double digits with three goals and seven assists for 10 points. Junior forward Jenna Patterson (Boissevain, Manitoba/Westman Wildcats) matched a career-high with six goals to go with three assists for nine points. Sophomore forward Lucy Condon (Kitchener, Ontario/Waterloo Ravens) and senior forward Taylor Marcellus (Waddington, N.Y./Ontario Hockey Academy) each totaled eight points on four goals and four assists.
Junior Rylie Murray (Berkley, Mich./Honeybaked) and sophomore Delphine Léonard (Montreal, Quebec/Dawson College Prep) have guided a young, but talented Potsdam defense this season. The Bears defensive corps, also including sophomore Shelbi Thacker (Chesterfield, Mich./Honeybaked) and freshmen Emily Burke (San Jose, Calif./San Jose Jr. Sharks) and Keira Thacker (Oakville, Ontario/Hamilton Hawks), has allowed a program record low 2.12 goals-per-game this season.
Between the pipes, freshman Samantha White (Oceanside, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) has emerged as the next Bears’ prodigy between the pipes. Posting a 6-4-2 record with two shutouts, a 1.65 goals-against-average and a .942 save percentage, White has earned three NEWHL Rookie of the Week Awards. White shares the time sophomore Alexa Pfeiffer (Sylvania, Ohio/Little Caesar’s) who was the ECAC West’s All-Rookie goaltender last season. Pfeiffer has a 5-5 record, a shutout along with a .931 save percentage and a 2.10 goals-against-average.
The Cardinals, who are the four-time defending national champs, bring the nation’s sixth best offense (4.20 goals-per-game) and best defense (0.96 GPG). Melissa Sheeran lead’s Plattsburgh’s offense with 42 points on 17 goals and a team-high 25 assists. Courtney Moriarty has with 27 goals, including 11 power play and 13 game-winners, and 13 assists for 40 points. Kayla Meneghin rounds out the Cardinals’ 30-point scorers with 16 goals and 17 assists. In goal, like the Bears, Plattsburgh has two of the best goalies in the nation. Kassi Abbott is 12-1-1 with a .957 goals-against-average, a 0.92 save percentage and seven shutouts. Division I transfer Brooke Wolejko is 9-1-1 with a .963 save percentage, a 0.90 goals-against-average and five shutouts.
This marks the first meeting between the two teams in the postseason. If the Bears advance beyond Saturday’s semifinal, they would travel to either two-seeded Buffalo State or third seed Oswego State on Saturday, March 3, for the championship contest.
