Plattsburgh State's Sara Krauseneck charges down on the goalie and wrist it over the shoulder to give the Cardinals the 2-0 win. It would be the championship game of the Northeast Women's Hockey League and it would feature the #1 Plattsburgh State Cardinals hosting the #2 Cortland State Red Dragons for the right to go to the NCAA Tournament in front of a crowd of over 600 fans. It would be a tight and physical game through the first period and neither team would be able to turn the red lamp on and they would end the opening 20 where they started tied at zero. The Cardinals would finally get the opening goal of the game 2:23 into the second period when Ciara Wall would score on the rebound and give the Cardinals the 1-0 lead and that is where the game would remain for the rest of the period. Then on the powerplay, just 4:02 into the third Sara Krauseneck would score as she rushed the net to give the Cardinals the 2-0 lead. From there the Cardinal's defense would stand tall and hold on for the victory as they would only give up 16 shots in the game. In the winning effort, Ashley Davis would stand tall for another shutout as the Cardinals would capture their fifth straight NEWHL title and will wait and see if they get the overall number one seed in the tournament when the brackets are relieved Sunday evening. As for the Cortland Stand Red Dragons, their season will come to end at a record of 20-7. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Caria Wall (34) with the rebound goal from a knee for the game's opening goal. Gallery

Plattsburgh's State' Lilly Stumm with the scramble goal in front of the net to give them the 4-0 lead. It would be the semi-finals of the Northeast Womens Hockey League and the top-seeded Plattsburgh State Cardinals would be hosting the four-seeded Canton Kangaroos at the Ronald B Stafford Ice Arena in front of 475 fans. The Cardinals would open up the scoring just 4:47 into the game on the Mae Olshansky goal. Then around the 12:30 mark of the period the Cardinals would get two goals in under a minute from Sara Krauseneck and Holly Schmelzer for the 3-0 lead after the first period. The game would stay there till the 12:05 mark of the second period when Lily Stumm would score to extend the Cardinal's lead to 4-0. Although just over two minutes later the Kangaroos would get on the board to break up the shutout and make it a three-goal game again on the Mathilde Couture goal at 4-1. Then with just over 90 seconds left in the period the Cardinals would regain the four-goal lead at 5-1 on the Su An Cho goal. In the third period, the Cardinals would put the icing on the cake as they would get a pair of goals from Bridget Orr and Sierra Benjamin for the 7-1 victory. In the winning effort, Ashley Davis would make 17 saves as they go to 24-2. With the win, the Cardinals will host the NEWHL Championship next weekend against the winner of Cortland State and Oswego State on March 4th. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Mae Olshansky (18 with the look od relief and joy as she gets the opening goal of the game. Gallery

Plattsburgh junior goaltender Lilla Nease prepares to dive on the loose puck at the top of her crease. The Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team claimed third place at the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey National Championships with a 3-2 victory over Elmira College Saturday at Chip Kenyon Arena in Middlebury, VT
With both teams coming off semifinal losses the night prior, it was Elmira who jumped on the scoreboard first in the consolation game.
Freshman forward McKenzie Schmidt carried the puck into the offensive zone, but quickly lost possession to Plattsburgh defenseman Sierra Benjamin. Benjamin was unable to clear the puck out of the zone, instead finding the stick of Elmira freshman forward Claire Elfring, who sent a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle to beat Plattsburgh goaltender Lilla Nease on the blocker side.
Despite a 12-8 advantage in shots in the opening period, the Cardinals went to intermission with a 1-0 deficit.
Plattsburgh tied things up early in the second period, with a goal from senior forward Nicole Unsworth. Elmira goaltender Leonie-Louise Kuehberger made the save on a shot from junior forward Ivy Boric, and Unsworth – fresh off the bench – picked up the rebound, moved the puck to her backhand as she skated across the slot, and deposited it into the open net.
A bit more than four-minute later, the Soaring Eagles regained the lead. Junior forward Kelly Millins forced a turnover in the neutral zone and carried the puck into the offensive zone, where she left a no-look drop pass to senior defenseman Brianna Haviland. Haviland passed the puck to senior forward Brooke McArdle, whose shot from the left hash marks was tipped by Millins for the goal.
Down 2-1, the Cardinals were intent on drawing level before the second intermission, and the powerplay unit did it in final minute of the second period.
Benjamin sent in a wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle toward the far post. Boric had her stick tied up with Elmira senior forward Morgan Mordini at the top of the crease, but managed to get just enough contact with the puck to redirect it through Kuehberger's five-hole.
Plattsburgh thought they had the lead at the 11:58 mark of the third period with a Boric wrap-around into an open net, but after video review, the goal was disallowed due to goaltender interference by Katinka.
The Cardinals took the lead for real just three minutes later, this time scored by Katonka off an assist by Boric. Katonka found Boric in the neutral zone, who skated it in and left the drop pass to return it to Katinka. The shot from the high slot beat Kuehberger high on the glove side.
Elmira pulled Kuehberger late in the period to try to come back and got a reprieve when a Plattsburgh shot at the empty net hit the post and settled in the crease, but the Cardinals held on for the 3-2 win.
Kuehberger made 30 saves on the 33 shots she faced in the Elmira net, while Nease stopped 18 of 20.
With the final result, Plattsburgh finished the season in third place with a record of 26-3-1, while fourth-placed Elmira finished with a record of 25-4-1. Gallery

Plattsburgh freshman forward Lily Stumm chips the puck into the corner from the half-boards under pressure from Elmira freshman defenseman Elizabeth LePage. Gallery

Plattsburgh senior defenseman Emma Killeen takes a shot on net past Gustavus Adolphus freshman Hannah Gray. The Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team saw its quest for another NCAA Division III national championship end in the semifinal round Friday with a 5-1 loss to Gustavus Adolphus College at Chip Kenyon Arena in Middlebury, Vermont.
The game could hardly have started better for the defending champions, as senior defenseman Emma Killeen put the Cardinals on the board just 1:21 into the game with a snipe from the left point to the blocker side.
The elation from that goal was short-lived, however. Just 45 seconds after Killeen’s goal, junior forward Molly McHugh tied the game for the Golden Gusties off an assist from senior forward Kristina Press and junior forward Hailey Holland.
Holland gained the lead for Gustavus Adolphus at 13:25 of the first period with what would prove to be the game-winner. Press and Holland crossed paths below the goal line, and once Press was behind the Plattsburgh goal, causing goaltender Chloe Beaubien to shift to the far post, she passed the puck back to Holland for the tap-in goal.
The Golden Gusties outshot the Cardinals in the opening period 12-4.
Gustavus Adolphus kept the pressure on Plattsburgh in the second period, scoring a power-play goal just before three minutes to cushion their lead. Holland corralled a pass from senior defenseman Kayla Vrieze and sent a shot in from the right faceoff circle, which was saved by Beaubien before Press jumped on the rebound to send the puck home.
Just 21 seconds later, the Cardinals appeared to cut the deficit to 1 with a goal off a deflection by sophomore forward Mae Olshansky, but after a lengthy video review, the goal was disallowed due to a high stick.
With the goal overturned, the Golden Gusties rode the momentum the rest of the way.
Gustavus Adolphus ended the second period with a 4-1 lead, scoring a shorthanded goal on Plattsburgh’s only power play of the game. Sophomore forward Brooke Power picked the pocket of graduate defenseman Erin McArdle at the Gustavus blue line and skated in alone on substitute goaltender Ashley Davis for the unassisted goal.
Gustavus Adolphus freshman forward Hannah Gray scored the only goal of the third period unassisted at the 4:49 mark. Gray blocked a shot from junior defenseman Mack Emery at the Gustavus blue line and hustled to get the puck in the neutral zone. Gray sent a wrist shot from just outside the left faceoff dot that slipped just below Davis’s blocker.
In net for the Cardinals, Beaubien and David made 13 and 17 shots, respectively. Gustavus Adolphus goaltender Katie McCoy made 15 saves as the Golden Gusties led shot 35-16
With the win, Gustavus Adolphus advanced to the NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Championship game Saturday against hosts Middlebury College, while Plattsburgh fell to the third-place game against Elmira College.
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Plattsburgh freshman defenseman Mattie Norton sends a pass into the corner under pressure from Gustavus Adolphus freshman forward Hannah Gray. Gallery

Colby goaltender Nina Prunster charges out of the crease to cut off a break by Plattsburgh’s Sara Krauseneck. 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

Plattsburgh’s Ivy Boric takes a backhanded shot high glove-side on Colby goaltender Nina Prunster. Gallery