Plattsburgh’s Annie Katonka (47) falls to the ice in celebration after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime. The Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team advanced to its ninth straight - and 14th overall - trip to the NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey semifinal with a 3-2overtime win Saturday over the Mules of Colby College.

Division III’s leading goalscorer, Annie Katonka, netted goals number 33 and 34 of the season, including the game-winner in overtime.

Katonka scored the opening goal of the game at 14:01 of the first period, redirecting a shot from linemate Ivy Boric to beat Colby Goaltender Nina Prunster. That goal proved to be the only tally of the first period.

The Cardinals doubled their lead midway through the second period, once again with a redirection to beat Prunster. Junior defenseman Kendall Wasik let loose a shot from the right point, and senior forward Sara Krauseneck got her stick on it in the crease to change the angle. Freshman forward Lily Stumm got the secondary assist on the goal.

The two-goal lead lasted just six minutes before the Mules got on the board with a powerplay goal late in the second period, as sophomore forward Meg Rittenhouse hit the snipe shot from the blue line on the powerplay, assisted by senior forward McKinley Karpa and freshman defenseman Anna Staton

The Cardinals ended the second period with a 2-1 lead, but the Mules controlled play for the early part of the third.

At 7:43 of the third period, senior forward Lexi Cafiero tied the game off a pass from Rittenhouse, with Karpa getting the secondary assist.

Plattsburgh held a narrow 13-12 lead in shots on goal in the third period but was unable to beat Prunster, so the game went to overtime.

A goal at 3:24 of the overtime period ended the game and sent the Cardinals on to the semifinal round of the NCAA tournament. As Katonka skated in from the half-boards on the left side, she pulled the puck across her body toward the goal line to get around Colby defenseman Klara Jandusikova before evading Prunster’s poke check with toe drag.

Katonka tripped over the outstretched leg of Prunster as she deposited the puck into the net, and she rolled on her back with her arms out wide welcoming her teammates to pile onto her in celebration.

With the win, the Cardinals advanced to the NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey semifinals for the 14th time overall. The semifinals and final will be hosted by Middlebury College, where Plattsburgh will face Gustavus Adolphus at 3 p.m. Friday. Gallery

The Plattsburgh State Women’s Ice Hockey Team poses with the NEWHL championship trophy. The Plattsburgh State Women’s Hockey Team earned its ninth consecutive conference championship Saturday with a 4-3 overtime victory over SUNY Cortland in the New England Women’s Hockey League final.

The Cardinals found themselves on the back foot early, as the Red Dragons scored with the very first shot of the contest. Junior forward Dany Donegan was credited with the goal after getting a redirection on a shot from junior defenseman Molly McCabe at the 3:11 mark of the first period.

Plattsburgh pressed for much of the period, but the Cortland defense restricted the Cardinals to 7 shots on goal in the opening period, recording 6 shots themselves.

The Cardinals got the break they needed at the 4:11 mark of the second period when senior forward Sara Krauseneck took a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle that deflected off a defenseman’s stick and found its way into the goal just behind the far post. Graduate student Annie Katonka and senior defenseman Emma Killeen recorded assists on the tying goal.

The Red Dragons pulled out in front again in the middle of the second period, as freshman forward Destiny Bautista put the puck high glove side with assists credited to fellow freshmen Gillian Zwolak and Mia Klasnick, but the lead would not last long.

At 15:13 of the second period, Katonka leveled the game at 2-2 as she scored her 32nd goal of the season with a one-timer from the slot off a feed from junior forward Ivy Boric, with a secondary assist credited to freshman defenseman Mattie Norton.

The Cardinals took their first lead of the game at 18:37 of the second as junior forward Tatem Cheney got her stick on the puck in a crowded crease to put it in the net. Assists went to senior forward Taylor Whitney and freshman forward Riley Calhoun.

The Red Dragons drew back level in the third period after the Cardinals were called for the only penalty of the entire game. Graduate student Erin McArdle was called for the slash to deny a near breakaway, and senior forward Grace Schnorr made Plattsburgh pay with a blast from the right point that found the back of the net.

The level at three goals each, the teams went to the locker room to prepare for the overtime period.

The extra frame was short, though, as sophomore forward Mae Olshansky made a pass in the neutral zone that sent senior forward Nicole Unsworth in alone on goal in the first minute. As Unsworth skated in close, passing from left to right at the top of the crease, she managed to evade the poke check from NEWHL goaltender of the year Molly Goergen and slip the puck into the net on the blocker side to seal the win for the Cardinals.

Goergen made 32 saves in the loss for Cortland, while Plattsburgh’s Chloe Beaubien recorded 23 saves and the win.

With the win, the Cardinals earned an automatic qualification for the NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey tournament, in which they will host Colby College at 3 p.m. on March 12th.

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Plattsburgh State's Ivy Boric (19) with the goal on the quick wrister that she slips past the goalie's shoulder. It would be the start of the playoff season at the Ronald B Stafford Arena as the #1 Plattsburgh State Cardinals would host the #4 Potsdam State Bears in the semi-finals of the NEWHL Championship. The home Cardinals would start the game fast and furious in front of the near 400 fans with three goals in the first four minutes of the game from Sara Krauseneck, Ivy Boric, and Annie Katonka and lead 3-0 after the first period. In the second the Cardinals would not let off the throttle as they would light the lamp three more times from Sara Krauseneck (second of the night), Nicole Unsworth, and Annie Katonka (second of the night) and have a 6-0 lead after the second period. In the third period, the Cardinals would add a couple more goals to put the icing on the cake from Kaitlin Drew-Mead and Tatem Cheney and secure the 8-0 win. In the winning effort, Chloe Beaubien would make 25 saves in the shutout victory as they advance to the NEWHL Championship against the Cortland State Red Dragons. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Sara Krauseneck (25) with the tap-in goal along the goal line behind the goalie. It would be the start of the last weekend of the regular season as the Plattsburgh State Cardinals would host the Buffalo State Bengals in a pair of games in NEWHL action. The game would start off close as the teams would be felling each other out and the lone goal of the first period as IVY Boric would score at the 15:17 mark. In the second period, the Cardinals would start to pull away as they would get three goals in the period from Taylor Whitney and Annie Katonka (twice) and take a 4-0 lead into the third period. In the third period, the dam would break and the Cardinals would flood the net with five goals from Sara Krauseneck, Mattie Norton, Taylor Whitney (twice and third of the night), and Riley Calhoun to secure the 9-0 win. In the winning effort, Chloe Beaubien would make seven saves for the shutout as they go to 21-2-1 on the season. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Lilla Nease (31) with the pad save on Potsdam State's Kaylee Merrill (17) as she broke in on the net as part of a 17 save performance. The Plattsburgh State's would finish off a two-game home series with North Country foe the Potsdam State Bears in NEWHL action. The Cardinals would start off good as they would get two goals in the first five minutes of the game from Annie Katonka and Mae Olshansky for the quick 2-0 lead. Then with six minutes left in the first period on the Emily Dellaneve to make it a 2-1 game. Then just 90 seconds later the Cardinals would regain their two-goal lead at 3-1 on Annie Katonka's second goal of the period. That is where the game would stay till there was 2:45 left in the second period when Annie Katonka would finish off her hat trick game and make it a 4-1 Cardinals game. In the third period, the Cardinals would once again start off fast with two goals in the first five minutes from Erin McArdle and Ivy Boric to make it a 6-1 game. Then halfway through the period, the Bears would add their second goal of the game on the powerplay from Megan Teachout to make it a 6-2. Then with just under six minutes left in the game, the Cardinals would put the icing on the cake with a goal from Tatem Cheney to secure the 7-2 win. In the winning effort, Lilla Nease would make 17 saves on the day as they go to 19-2-1 on the season as they head into their game against Canton on February 15th. Gallery

Plattsburgh Senior forward buries the puck behind Oswego goaltender Joanna Hiebert for a first-period goal. The Plattsburgh State Women’s Hockey team earned a second straight win over the visiting SUNY Oswego, with a 4-1 score Saturday at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.

The win came in a previously unscheduled non-conference game against the NEWHL opponent due to changes in schedules caused by COVID issues at other schools.

For the second straight game, it was the visiting Lakers who opened the scoring. Freshman Ashlyn McGrath carried the puck around the back of the net on a delayed penalty call before taking a shot from the faceoff circle to beat Plattsburgh goaltender Ashley Davis.

The goal proved to be the only one of the night for the away team, and Plattsburgh had drawn the score level before the end of the opening period. Senior forward Taylor Whitney tied the game for the Cardinals at 8:46 of the period with a one-timer off a feed from Nicole Unsworth from behind the goal line.

Plattsburgh took the lead midway through the second period off a powerplay goal from senior forward Sara Krauseneck, assisted by graduate students Erin McArdle and Annie Katonka. McArdle took a shot from the point before Krauseneck got on the rebound and put the puck home.

Plattsburgh junior forward Ivy Boric got the insurance goal with a shot through the five-hole off an assist from McArdle before the end of the period. The final score of the game came early in the third period as sophomore forward Mae Olshansky scored off the assist from Unsworth.

Oswego generated some consistent offensive pressure in the final minutes of the game, pulling goaltender Joanna Hiebert for the 6-on-4 powerplay advantage, but 4 blocked shots, two wide shots, two saves by Davis, and a shot hitting the post kept the score at 4-1 for the final buzzer.

Davis recorded 25 saves in the victory, while Hiebert stopped 30 of the 34 shots she faced in the loss.

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Plattsburgh State's Nicole Unsworth (20) with the game-tying goal as she taps it in. It would be the Plattsburgh State Cardinals' first home game of 2022 as they would host the Oswego State Lakers in a NEWHL matchup. The game was not looking that great for the home Cardinals as they would always have three first-period goals from Chyne Kennedy, Rachel Corbett, and Sophia Kyrkostas. The Cardinals would not get on the board until the 12:52 mark of the second period when Sara Krauseneck would light the lamp to make it 3-1. Then with 35 seconds left in the period, Sara Krauseneck would score again to make it a 3-2 game. When the teams came back for the third period the Cardinals would stay hot and Nicole Unsworth would tie the game at 3. Then at the 8:50 mark, the Cardinals would take the 4-3 lead on the shorthanded goal by Riley Calhoun. Then with 4:36 left in the game Ivy Boric would put the game away with the goal to make it 5-3. Then just to finish the game Annie Katonka would hit the empty net for the 6-3 win. In the winning effort, Ashley Davis would make 16 saves as they go to 13-2 on the season. Gallery.