Box Score
SUPERIOR, WIS. – The Plattsburgh State women’s hockey team’s hopes were dashed in the NCAA Semifinals Friday night as the Cardinals suffered their first loss of the season, falling 4-1 to the Middlebury Panthers at Wessman Arena on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
The last time Plattsburgh State lost a game was in the 2012 NCAA Semifinals, a 2-1 overtime loss to RIT exactly 364 days ago. Saturday’s loss snaps a 29-game unbeaten streak for the Cardinals.
Both teams had good looks early in the first period. Middlebury fired a shot that hit the near post and bounced back out. Plattsburgh State responded a few minutes later when Giovanna Senese found Chelsea VanGlahn alone in the slot, but VanGlahn was denied by Middlebury goaltender Annabelle Jones.
The Cardinals ran into penalty trouble in the first, drawing four penalties and giving the Panthers the chance to strike first. Middlebury cashed in its first power-play opportunity when Plattsburgh State’s penalty-kill unit failed to clear the puck. Lauren Greer gathered the loose puck and roofed a shot over Plattsburgh State goaltender Sydney Aveson to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead at the 10:10 mark.
Plattsburgh State gained some momentum with a number of good opportunities at the start of the second period, including a no-goal call within the first minutes. Teal Gove got a stick on a high shot that rolled past Jones but the officials ruled a high stick and waived off the goal, allowing Middlebury to retain a 1-0 lead.
The Panthers made it a 2-0 lead on a Plattsburgh turnover at the blueline that led to a breakaway for Emily Fluke. A Cardinals’ defender stayed on Fluke down the ice but Middlebury’s sophomore forward was able to get enough of a shot off for the puck to trickle past Aveson at the 3:40 mark.
With 3:07 gone in final period, VanGlahn deflected a feed from Ali Vakos to cut the deficit to 2-1. A few minutes later, VanGlahn almost struck again when she stole a puck deep in the offensive end but her shot rang off the crossbar and went out of play.
The Cardinals’ offense continued to generate opportunities throughout the third but Jones was able to withstand the pressure. The Panthers’ sophomore goaltender finished the day with 20 saves, including nine stops in each of the final two periods.
The backbreaker came late in the third when Molly Downey scored off a scrum in front at the 17:25 mark to give Middlebury a 3-1 lead.
Head Coach Kevin Houle pulled Aveson with 2:18 remaining to give the Cardinals a chance but the Panthers got an empty-net goal from Maggie Woodward with 17 seconds left to lock up Middlebury’s spot in the championship game on Saturday night.
Aveson recorded 19 saves for the Cardinals and drops to 22-1-2 on the year.
With the loss, Plattsburgh State drops to 26-1-2 on the year while Middlebury improves to 20-7-2.
The Cardinals will look to end their season with a victory in Saturday’s third-place game. Plattsburgh State will face Gustavus Adolphus, who lost 4-3 in overtime to Elmira in the second semifinal game Friday night. The third-place game is set for 3:30 CDT/4:30 EDT and will be followed by the championship game between Middlebury and Elmira at 7 p.m. CDT/8 p.m. EDT.
