The captains and seniors of the Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team receive the new NEWHL championship trophy. The Plattsburgh State Women's hockey team won its third Northeast Women's Hockey League title, and eighth consecutive conference championship overall, with a 6-1 victory over SUNY Oswego Saturday at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. The victory earned the Cardinals an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III championship tournament, which was subsequently canceled as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The NEWHL Championship game began well for the visiting Lakers, who found themselves on the powerplay on six-second into the contest when senior defenseman Hannah Kirly was called for interference. While Oswego was unable to capitalize on that opportunity, the visitors took the lead at the 7:52 mark with a goal from Pliomena Teggart, assisted by Kate Rendazzo and NEWHL Rookie of the Year Megan Teachout. The Cardinals tied the contest at 10:23 when a loose puck deflected out to the top of the crease and Kaitlin Drew-Mead picked it up and put it under the pad of goaltender Rachel Farmer. Plattsburgh took the lead for good five minutes later, as Drew-Mead carried the puck into the zone and stretched around the defense to get a soft shot on Farmer, giving Sara Krauseneck the rebound opportunity for her 19th goal of the season. The home team went into the first intermission up 2-1, with a healthy 22-8 advantage in shots on goal. The defending national champions got the insurance goal at 7:06 of the second period on the powerplay, when Nicole Unsworth's shot from the left faceoff circle found the back of the net, prompting a leaping celebration from defenseman Emma Killeen. Later in the period, Kiraly found herself down low in the crease to poke at a rebound in front of Farmer and extend the Cardinals' lead to 4-1. Plattsburgh's Taylor Whitney and Annie Katonka both scored in the third period for the final tally of 6-1. Plattsburgh goaltender Ashley Davis made 20 saves in the win, while Farmer stopped 49 of the 55 shots she faced between the pipes for Oswego. With the win and subsequent cancellation of the NCAA tournament, the Cardinals finished their season with a final record of 26-1 and an 18-game winning streak. Seniors Kiraly, Sarah Wolf, and Jen Manning denied an opportunity to play for their third national title, finished with a career record of 107-8-3. Gallery

Plattsburgh State defenseman looks up to see referee Scott Prim signaling that her shot into the scrum in front of the net has crossed the line for a goal against Cortland in the NEWHL Semifinal Saturday at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. The No. 1 Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team notched another win Saturday, taking down SUNY Cortland 3-0 in the NEWHL semifinals at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. The afternoon started slowly for the Cardinals’ offense, as the defending national champions were held off the scoreboard through 20 minutes of play for the first time since Jan. 11, ending a streak of 10 games. The defense held firm, though, as goaltender Ashley Davis turned away all six shots she faced. Plattsburgh State broke the deadlock at the 7:58 mark of the second period, as Abby Brush sent home a third rebound chance in a chaotic sequence in the Cortland crease to score her 12th goal of the season. While that was the only scoring of the middle frame, the Cardinals looked to capitalize on that momentum heading into the third period to ensure victory. That insurance came on the powerplay when Annie Katonka was in front to capitalize on the rebound from Erin McArdle’s shot from the left faceoff circle. With the Cardinals in front 2-0, the victory was all but certain after defenseman Sierra Benjamin sent a relatively soft shot from a low angle. Benjamin and her teammates crashed the net to pick up a rebound, but Benjamin’s shot had deflected off the pads of goaltender Chelsea Allain and crossed the line. The 3-0 victory improved Plattsburgh State’s all-time record against Cortland to 47-0-0, a streak dating back to December 2001, and brought this season’s record to 25-1-0. After winning the semifinal, the Cardinals will host the Lakers of SUNY Oswego in the NEWHL Championship game Saturday at 3 p.m. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Ashley Davis (1) with the shoulder save for one of her 17 saves on the night for the shutout win. It would be a battle of national powers as the #1 Plattsburgh State Cardinals would host the #4 Elmira Soaring Eagles at the Ronald B Stafford Ice Arena as part of the senior night for the Cardinals. The game would start off good for the home Cardinals as they would take the 1-0 lead 5:48 into the first period when Sara Wolfe would light the lamp. The game would stay there the ten-minute mark of the period when the Cardinals would strike again once again from Sara Wolfe for her second of the night to make it 2-0 Cardinals. The Soaring Eagles would do there best to keep the game close as they would go through the whole second period without a goal. In the third period about halfway through the back would break and the Cardinals would score from Taylor Whitney for the 3-0 lead and hold one for the win. In the winning effort, the Cardinals would go to 22-1 on the season as Ashley Davis would make 22 stops on the night. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Hannah Kirlay (21) swipes the puck from the Cortland State forward and heads back the other way. It would be the second game of a pair of Northeast Women's Hockey League action weekend as the #1 Plattsburgh State Cardinals would host the Cortland State Red Dragons at the Ronald B Stafford Arena in front of over 650 fans. The Cardinals would get the opening goal of the game at the eleven-minute mark of the first on the powerplay from Annie Katonka for the 1-0 lead. The game would stay there till the nine-minute mark of the second when the Cardinals would extend there lead to 2-0 on the Madison Walker goal. Then just over four minutes later the Cardinals would strike again on the Katlin Drew-Mead goal for a 3-0 lead. The game would stay there till the seven-minute mark of the third when the Cardinal would take a 4-0 lead on the Sara Krauseneck goal. Then with just under five minutes left in the game, the Cardinals would strike for the last time on the Nicole Unsworth goal for the 5-0 lead. In the winning effort, the Cardinals would go to 21-1 on the season as Ashley Davis would make 14 saves on the day for the shutout. Next up for the Cardinals would be a game on February 14th in non-conference action against Elmira on a senior night at the Ronald B Stafford Arena. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Anne Katonka (47) on the doorstep with the rebound goal to get the Cardinals on the broad. The #1 Plattsburgh State Cardinals would return the Ronald B Stafford Ice Arena for the first time since January 21st and play the Cortland State Red Dragons in Northeast Women's Hockey League action in front of 275 fans. It would start off good for the home team as Anne Katonka would score at the thirteen-minute mark of the first period on the powerplay for the 1-0 lead. The Cardinals would be able to extend there lead to 2-0 just 1:14 into the second period on a powerplay goal by Sara Krauseneck. Then just about three minutes later the Cardinals would extend there lead to 3-0 on the Abby Brush goal. Then in the fourteenth minute of the second period, the Red Dragons would get on the broad and avoid the shutout at 3-1 on the Grace Schnorr goal. The game would stay there till the last second of the game when Red Dragons Grace Schnorr would score again to make it 3-2. In the Cardinals 3-2 win, Ashley Davis would make 20 saves as they go to 20-1 on the season. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Sara Krauseneck’s (28) shot from just above the goal line finds its way behind the far post to open the scoring in the matchup between the top two teams in DIII Women’s Ice Hockey. The Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team avenged its only loss so far this season with a 4-1 victory over the Middlebury Panthers Tuesday at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. The No. 1 Cardinals entered the contest on a nine-game winning streak since losing in the final of the Panther/Cardinal Classic Dec. 1, while the No. 2 Panthers boasted an undefeated 10-0-2 record. Plattsburgh had to weather a storm early on, as Middlebury maintained offensive zone possession for nearly all of the first eight minutes of the game. A strong defensive performance by the team, including several blocked shots, meant that this territorial advantage resulted in only one shot on goal for the Panthers. Momentum swung in favor of the Cardinals at the 8:01 mark, when Middlebury defenseman Anna Zumwinkle was called for body checking. Reigning NEWHL player of the week Sara Krauseneck took advantage, putting a shot from just above the goal line behind the far post. Plattsburgh scored the eventual game-winner in the final minute of the first period when Madison Walker won the quick battle for a rebound in the slot and passed it to a wide-open Nicole Unsworth, putting Middlebury goaltender Lin Han out of position and unable to make another save. The only goal of the second period came at the 18:02 mark after Han made a spectacular shoulder save on a goal-bound shot from the high slot by Kaitlin Drew-Mead. As the Middlebury defense scrambled to clear the rebound, the puck found its way to Drew-Mead. She passed it to Walker, who hit the top glove-side corner with a quick wrist shot. A penalty in the dying seconds of the second period gave Middlebury a powerplay entering the final frame, and Eva Hendrickson scored her first of the season to get the Panthers on the board, but the Cardinals’ advantage was too much. Unsworth capped off the night with an unassisted empty-netter after forcing the turnover at the blue line and skating the puck up the ice herself. Han made 30 saves in the losing effort, while Plattsburgh’s Ashley Davis stopped 21 of the 22 shots she faced on the evening. Gallery.

Plattsburgh State's Nicole Unsworth (20) battles for the loose puck in front of the net on the scramble play. It would be a rare Friday afternoon matchup as the #1 Plattsburgh State Cardinals would host the Canton Kangaroos in NEWHL action at the Ronald B Stafford Arena in front of 300 fans. The upstart Kangaroos would show that they came to play as they would get the opening goal of the game at 2:57 of the first period from Breanna Bedborough. Although the Cardinals turn around and come back on fire as they would get four goals to end out the period from Erin McArdle, Sara Krauseneck (twice) and Hanna Rose for the 4-1 lead. In the second period, the Cardinals would keep their foot on the accelerator as they would get four more goals from Sarah Wolfe, Abby Brush (twice), and Sara Krauseneck would get her hat trick goal for a 8-1 Cardinals lead. In the third period, the Cardinals would lighten up as they would have just a lone goal from Holly Schmelzer to secure the 9-1 victory. In the winning effort, Chloe Beaubien would make 16 saves as the Cardinals go to 16-1 on the season. Next, up for the Cardinals, they will finish a home and home with the Canton Kangaroos on Saturday. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Nicole Unsworth (20) puts it to the top shelf for one of her two goals on the afternoon. The #1 Plattsburgh State Cardinals would host the Buffalo State Bengals in NEWHL Women's Hockey action. The two teams would take sometime to feel out each other and with that being said there would be no scoring in the first period. Although that would change in the second period and right off the bat as Sara Krauseneck would score just 22 seconds into the game. Then just over the a minute later the Cardinals would strike again and make it 2-0 on the Nicole Unsworth goal. Then at the 7:02 mark Annie Katonka would strike and make it 3-0 Cardinals. Then in the closing seconds of the second period Taylor Whitney would score and the Cardinals would take a 4-0 lead. In the third period the Bengals didn't have much of a answer as the Cardinals would score twice more from Nicole Unsworth (second of the night) and Tatem Cheney as the Cardinals secure the 6-0 win. In the winning effort Ashley Davis would make 11 saves for the shutout as the Cardinals go to 14-1 on the season. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Anne Katonka (47) gets the rebound goal as she is falling to the ice. The Plattsburgh State Cardinals would return home for there first game of the home game of the 2020 portion of there season with NEWHL matchup against the Morrisville State Mustangs. The Cardinals would return home in top form as they would get three goals in the opening period two from Katiln Drew Mead and one from Annie Katonka and have a 3-0 lead at the end of the period. In the second period the Cardinals would get one more from Sara Krauseneck at the 3:20 mark to take the 4-0 lead. Although the Mustangs would answer back two minutes later on a goal from Mackenzie Lombardi to break up the shutout bid. That is where the game would stay till 12:49 mark of the third period when Annie Katonka would strike again this time on the powerplay for her second goal of the night and secure the 5-1 victory. In the winning effort, Anne Katonka and Katlin Drew-Mead would each have a pair of goals while Chole Beaubein would make 19 stops as the Cardinals go to 13-1 on the season. Gallery.