Submitted by Potsdam Sports Information Department
| Last season, the SUNY Potsdam women’s hockey team shook off a slow start to reach the playoffs for the fourth time in the last five years. Under third-year head coach Greg Haney and new assistant Olivia Cook, the Bears look to build on their recent success and climb the ranks of the Northeast Women’s Hockey League.Senior forward Kaylee Merrill (Wasilla, Alaska/Anchorage North Stars) will captain the team this season and senior defenseman Taylor Swamp (Akwesasne, N.Y./St. Lawrence Steel) will serve as assistant captain. In two seasons, Merrill has amassed 29 goals and eight assists and has two All-NEWHL honors. She ranks 15th on the program’s NCAA-era scoring list and seventh in goals. Swamp established herself as a skilled defender last season, providing the Bears with five assists from the blue line as well.Of the 22 players on the roster, 13 are veterans. Of the nine newcomers, six are forwards along with one defenseman and two goaltenders.Forward Merrill will lead the offense again this year. Her career-high 22 points on 16 goals and six assists were a key reason the Bears reached the postseason a year ago. A full season with senior Megan Teachout (Auburn, N.Y./Oswego State) in the lineup will ease the pressure on Merrill and generate more offense for Potsdam. Teachout was the 2019-20 NEWHL Rookie of the Year and had eight points (3g-5a-8pts) with the Lakers last season before transferring. With the Bears she immediately made her presence felt, providing 10 points on five goals and five assists in just nine games. Senior Emily DellaNeve (Buffalo, N.Y./Buffalo Bison) had a career-year in 2021-22 as well, providing five goals and eight assists for 13 points. Graduate student Makenzie Martin (Potsdam, N.Y./Potsdam High School) also had a personal-best nine points on a goal and eight assists, while playing in all 25 games. Sophomore Karley Green (Potsdam, N.Y./Potsdam Ice Storm) produced a solid debut season with five goals and three assists for eight points in 23 games. Sophomore Lyvia Chambers (Buffalo, N.Y./Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles) returns after playing in 24 contests and producing four goals and four assists.Six new faces join the offense this season. Freshmen Alessia Marandola (Oakville, Ontario/Oakville Jr. Hornets), Josie Purdy (White Lake, Nova Scotia/Ontario Hockey Academy) and Megan Mills (Mono, Ontario/North York Storm) each head south of the St. Lawrence River to join the team. Freshman Jane Rowell (Tampa, Fla./Honeybaked) travels north from Tampa, Fla. Freshman Keely Towne (Potsdam, N.Y./Potsdam Ice Storm) remains in her hometown to play college hockey and classmate Rebecca Cain (Skaneateles, N.Y./Syracuse Valley Eagles) joins the Bears from Central New York.Defense Potsdam’s defensive core remains mostly intact from last season. Senior Alex Quinn (Potsdam, N.Y./St. Lawrence Steel) and Swamp are back to lead the blueliners. Quinn played in all 25 games last year and contributed seven points of offense on five goals and two assists. Junior Sara Barrett (Tonawanda, N.Y./Niagara Jr. Eagles) proved to be a two-way player last season with nine points on three goals and six assists in 25 games. Junior Rebecca Holmes (Lawtons, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons) had a goal and two assists in 25 games and classmate Megan Sheehan (Akron, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons) saw time in 22 contests. Freshman Rachelle Cain (Skaneateles, N.Y./Syracuse Valley Eagles) is the lone newcomer to the defense this season.Goal Junior Ellie Zurfluh (Arvada, Colo./Team Colorado) and sophomore Hannah Barrett (Tonawanda, N.Y./Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles) are back between the pipes for the Bears. Zurfluh had a strong debut campaign, posting a 7-10-1 record, 3.64 goals-against-average and a .897 save percentage in 18 starts. Barrett also played well with a 2-5 mark, 4.71 G.A.A. and a .847 save percentage in seven starts. Joining them are freshmen Madelyn Adamic (Mentor, Ohio/Washington Pride) and Magalie Parent (Trois-Rivières, Quebec/Les Diablos – Cégep de Trois-Rivières). Adamic posted a solid 3.28 G.A.A. and .899 save percentage in 41 games for the Washington Pride last season. Parent was impressive in an 11-game stretch with Cégep de Trois-Rivières. She compiled a 1.55 G.A.A. and .941 save percentage. The four netminders give Potsdam as much depth as the program’s ever had in goal.Schedule The Bears open the season this weekend with contests against NEWHL opponents Oswego State and Buffalo State. Potsdam hosts the Lakers at 7 p.m. on Friday to kick start the season. On Saturday, the Bengals invade Maxcy Ice Arena for a 3 p.m. showdown. The Bears will face their six league foes three times apiece, with three contests coming against 3rd-ranked Plattsburgh State and three more against No. 14 SUNY Cortland. Potsdam will play seven nonconference contests, beginning with a two-game series with King’s College on November 25-26. The Monarchs are guided by newly minted Bears Hall of Famer Jordan Ott ’17. Potsdam will square off with William Smith College in a neutral site game in Skaneateles on November 29. The Bears host Rivier University for two games on December 2-3 in the teams’ first ever meetings. They close out the non-NEWHL slate at the Castleton University Invitational on December 9-10. The Bears will play Colby College in the first round, followed by a meeting with the host Spartans or Rivier in the championship or consolation games.All home games will be streamed live on potsdambears.com with Bears Hall of Fame Coach John Horan providing the play-by-play and analysis for most contests.See the Bears full schedule here.Watch the season opener with Oswego here.Follow the live statistics with Oswego here. |
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