The SUNY Potsdam women’s hockey team (2-1-1, 2-1-1 ECAC West) held off William Smith College (0-5-1, 0-3-1 ECAC West) after a late surge by the Herons to win a 4-3 decision on Sunday afternoon at Maxcy Ice Arena. Sophomore forwardJordan Ott (Hilton, N.Y./Rochester Edge) led the Bear charge with two goals and an assist and sophomore forward Roberta Beatty(Prince Albert, Saskatchewan/Ontario Hockey Academy) added a goal and an assist.
After 1-1 draw in yesterdays’ game, the Bears came out with something to prove. Ott opened the scoring at the 12:43 mark, burying a rebound off a shot from senior captain Izzy Fayerman(Calgary, Alberta/The Edge). Potsdam ended the period with the one-goal advantage, while William Smith led 15-11 in shots.
The Bears’ offense went on the attack in the second period, while their defense held the Herons to only eight shots. At 16:31, Beatty tipped a shot from Ott past William Smith freshman goalie Megan Messuri (Stoneham, Mass./Northwood School). Sophomore forward Amanda Peterson (West Chazy, N.Y./Chazy Flyers) notched the second assist on the play. With time ticking away, freshman forward Brenna Wilson (Kanata, Ontario/Ottawa Senator) picked up her first collegiate goal in epic form. She fended off two Heron defenders for the puck at center ice after a pass from Beatty and then backhanded a shot by Messuri with only one second remaining on the clock.
Potsdam was in the driver’s seat opening the final period at 3-0, but the Herons didn’t break. About two minutes into the period, freshman forward Rachel McKay (Marblehead, Mass./Marblehead) scored to close the gap to 3-1. At 6:58, Ott rocketed a shot past Messuri for some insurance. Fayerman recorded her second assist on the play. Six minutes later, the Bears were called for tripping and the power-play opportunity got William Smith rolling again. At13:04, freshman forward Dori Craig (South Berwick, Maine/New Hampton School) deflected the shot into the goal to make it 4-2 with seven minutes remaining.
William Smith pulled Messuri with less than two minutes to go. Freshman forward Krista Federow (Niagara Falls, Ontario/Kent School) buried a wrap-around attempt get the Herons within one. After the goal, Potsdam’s defense and junior goalie Abby Tardelli(Potsdam N.Y./North Country Ice Storm) tighten up and held on for the 4-3 victory.
Tardelli finished with 35 saves, while Messuri recorded 40 stops on the night. Each team went 1-3 on the man advantage.
The Bears are back in action next Friday, Nov. 21, when they travel to Oswego State to take on the Lakers at 3 p.m.
