Senior Carmen Johnson (Falls Church, VA/Washington Pride) scored with 52 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Utica women’s hockey team to a 3-2 win versus Cortland Saturday afternoon in ECAC West action at Alumni Arena. The Red Dragons fell to 0-6 overall and 0-4 in the conference, while the Pioneers improved to 3-3 overall and in the league by sweeping the two-game home-and-home weekend series.
Senior Maggie Giamo (Orchard Park/RIT) and sophomore Abbie Adams (Potsdam/Cornwall Typhoons) scored Cortland’s goals with senior Chelsey Wright (Medford/Suffolk PAL) and junior Gina Tomei (Bronx/Sound Shore Warriors) picking up one assist each. Freshman goalie Deanna Meunier (Parsippany, NJ/New Jersey Rockets) made 36 saves.
Sophomore Kelsey Dowdall (Smiths Falls, ON/Nepean) and freshman Morgan Reed (Fort Myers, FL/Cushing Academy) netted Utica’s other goals. Senior Meghan McMahon (Gardner, MA/St. Mark’s) recorded two assists, and four others collected one assist each. Junior goalie Jennifer Hamel (Ithaca/Northwood School) stopped 16 shots.
Giamo gave Cortland a 1-0 lead at 15 minutes, 12 seconds of the first period when she knocked in a rebound of Tomei’s shot from the right faceoff circle. Dowdall tied the game at 1:55 of the second period on a rebound goal. Reed gave Utica the lead at 6:31 of the third period with a one-time shot on the left side off a feed from sophomore Nicole Schwartz (Danville, CA/San Jose Sharks). Adams tied the game on the power play just over a minute later with a shot that deflected in off a Utica defensman to set up overtime.
In the extra session, the Pioneers kept the puck in Cortland’s defensive zone and eventually worked a shot from the right point that Meunier saved. Johnson, however, put in the rebound for the game-winner at 4:08.
