SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team had six student-athletes recognized as 2019 All-Northeast Women’s Hockey League (NEWHL) honorees, as announced Wednesday by the conference office.
Senior forwards Courtney Moriarty (Estero, Fla./Northfield Mount Hermon) and Mackenzie Millen (Anchorage, Alaska/North American Hockey Academy), sophomore forward Annie Katonka (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite), junior defenseman Hannah Kiraly (Glendale, Ariz./Northern Cyclones) and senior goaltender Kassi Abbott (Medford, Mass./Boston Shamrocks Elite) were named to the All-NEWHL First Team, while sophomore defenseman Erin McArdle (Macomb, Mich./Belle Tire) was selected to the All-NEWHL Second Team.
This marks the second All-NEWHL honor for Moriarty, Kiraly and Abbott and the first All-NEWHL plaudit for Millen, Katonka and McArdle. Moriarty and Kiraly were each tabbed to the All-NEWHL First Team last year, while Abbott earned a spot on the All-NEWHL Second Team in 2017-18.
Moriarty, who was an American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Second-Team All-American last season, currently ranks 16th in NCAA Division III in points per game (1.31) and is second in the NEWHL in point scoring with 34 points on 15 goals and 19 assists. She also is tied for second in the NEWHL in goals and assists. She was named the NEWHL Player of the Week on Nov. 6 and has 12 games this year in which she has registered multiple points. Moriarty also was selected to the All-Tournament Team at the Norwich East-West Classic this season. For her career, she ranks seventh in program history in points with 141 (76 goals, 65 assists) and is tied for fifth in goals. Moriarty also is second in program history in game-winning goals with 22 and established Division III’s single-season record in the statistical category last season with 14.
Millen, a two-time NEWHL Player of the Week and a one-time D3hockey.com National Women’s Team of the Week selection this season, ranks ninth in Division III in assists per game (0.85) and leads the NEWHL in assists with 22. She also ranks third in the NEWHL in point scoring (31) and is tied for 10th in the conference in goals (9). Millen, who has eight multi-point games this year, scored the game-winning goal shorthanded against defending national champion Norwich University on Nov. 7. For her career, Millen has 85 points on 28 goals and 57 assists in 107 games played.
Katonka has enjoyed a breakout season for the Cardinals this year, as she leads Division III in power-play goals (11) and is tied for the Division III lead in goals per game (1.04). She also ranks third nationally in points per game (1.73). Katonka leads the NEWHL in points (45), goals (27), power-play points (15) and power-play goals (11), and she ranks fourth in the conference in assists (18). She was a four-time NEWHL Player of the Week this season and also earned a pair of D3hockey.com National Women’s Team of the Week selections. Katonka has scored a hat trick twice this year and has 16 games with multiple points, including eight in which she scored two or more goals. Through 56 career games, she has 68 points on 39 goals and 29 assists.
Kiraly once again has stood out as one of Division III’s top blueliners, as she ranks 17th in Division III in points per game among defensemen (0.73). A 2018 AHCA/CCM First-Team All-American and a D3hockey.com National Women’s Team of the Week selection on Feb. 14, Kiraly ranks second in the NEWHL in defenseman scoring with 19 points and is tied for fifth in the league in assists with 16. She has five games so far this season with two or more points and scored the game-winning goal on Jan. 25 against Oswego State. For her career, she has 57 points on eight goals and 49 assists in 86 games played.
Abbott, who was also named the NEWHL Co-Goalie of the Year, backstopped the Cardinals to a perfect 16-0-0 record in NEWHL play this season and currently ranks among the NCAA Division III leaders in winning percentage (tied for first, .923), shutouts (tied for first, 12), goals-against average (second, 0.70) and save percentage (second, .959). A seven-time NEWHL Goalie of the Week selection and a one-time D3hockey.com National Women’s Team of the Week honoree in 2018-19, she currently tops the program’s career record books in goals-against average (0.92) and save percentage (.959) in addition to ranking third in shutouts (21). Abbott was also named to the All-Tournament Team at the Norwich East-West Classic this season and holds the program’s single-game save record, as she made 47 stops against Hamline University in the NCAA Division III Tournament third-place game on March 17, 2018.
McArdle continued her impressive play this year after an impactful freshman campaign in 2017-18, as she is tied for seventh in Division III in points per game among defensemen (0.81). She leads the NEWHL in defenseman scoring with 21 points and is tied for second in the conference in assists with 19. McArdle was a three-time D3hockey.com National Women’s Team of the Week honoree in 2018-19 and has tallied multiple points in six games this year, including a four-assist performance against SUNY Cortland on Jan. 19. She was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Panther/Cardinal Classic earlier this season, scoring two power-play goals in a 4-1 win over Elmira College in the consolation game. Through 56 games so far in her career, she has recorded 40 points on seven goals and 33 assists.
Top-seeded Plattsburgh State (24-2-0, 16-0-0 NEWHL), which is riding a 13-game winning streak, looks to defend its NEWHL title on Saturday, March 2, as it hosts third-seeded SUNY Cortland in the NEWHL Tournament final at 3 p.m.
2019 All-NEWHL Teams
First Team
F – Annie Katonka (Plattsburgh)
F – Mackenzie Millen (Plattsburgh)
F – Courtney Moriarty (Plattsburgh)
D – Hannah Kiraly (Plattsburgh)
D – Rylie Murray (Potsdam)
G – Kassi Abbott (Plattsburgh)
G – Bri Gawronski (Buffalo State)
Second Team
F – Miranda Kolb (Potsdam)
F – Emma Ruggiero (Buffalo State)
F – Grace Schnorr (Cortland)
D – Erin McArdle (Plattsburgh)
D – Kate Randazzo (Oswego)
D – Philomena Teggart (Oswego)
