PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The No. 2 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team clinched the top seed in the Northeast Women's Hockey League (NEWHL) Tournament for the fourth time in the four-year history of the league, as the Cardinals downed SUNY Potsdam, 8-3, on Friday evening at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.
 
Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 2 in the DCU/USCHO.com Women's Division III Top-10 Poll.
 
Senior forward Nicole Unsworth (Milwaukee, Wis./East Coast Wizards) led the Cardinals with five points on two goals and three assists, while graduate student forward Annie Katonka (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) scored two goals, both of which came on the power play, and added an assist. Katonka now has 28 power-play goals for her career, just one shy of the program record of 29 set by Laurie Bowler from 2006-10. Sophomore forward Mae Olshansky (Wilmette, Ill./North American Hockey Academy) notched two goals, while graduate student forward Kaitlin Drew-Mead (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons) and junior forward Ivy Boric (Newport Beach, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) each recorded two points on a goal and an assist. Senior defenseman Emma Killeen (Watertown, Conn./The Gunnery) and graduate student defenseman Erin McArdle (Macomb, Mich./Belle Tire) also had two points, with each offering two assists.
 
The Cardinals finished with a 39-23 edge in shots on goal, and both teams excelled on the power play. Potsdam scored two goals on three chances with the extra skater, while Plattsburgh State was 2-for-4 on the power play.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 18-2-1 overall (13-0-1 NEWHL) with the win and runs its unbeaten streak to 13 games, while Potsdam falls to 8-12-1 overall (6-8-1 NEWHL) with the loss. The two teams will complete the weekend series tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.
 
The Unsworth-to-Olshansky connection accounted for the first two goals of the game. Olshansky's first goal came at 1:39 of the first period, as she scored on a one-time shot low glove side off a pass from Unsworth. Killeen also earned an assist on the score. Olshansky then struck again at 5:39 of the first, as she banged a backhanded feed from Unsworth past the goaltender stick side. First-year defenseman Mattie Norton (Glen Carbon, Ill./St. Louis Lady Blues) earned an assist as well.
 
Drew-Mead tallied at 11:17 of the first period. First-year forward Lily Stumm (Cranberry Township, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) fed Drew-Mead along the goal line, and Drew-Mead scored over top of the goaltender's blocker-side shoulder from the bottom of the left circle. Unsworth also earned an assist.
 
Katonka scored on the power play at 15:19 of the first to make it a 4-0 game. McArdle passed to Boric in the left circle, and Boric quickly centered a pass to Katonka in the slot. Katonka then deposited a one-time shot into the back of the net low glove side.
 
Unsworth registered her fourth point of the period when she entered the scoring column at 17:03 of the first. After the puck trickled past the blue line, Unsworth entered the zone once the last Cardinal skater entered neutral ice. Unsworth evaded three Bear defenders before scoring through the five-hole. Killeen and Drew-Mead earned assists on the goal.
 
Potsdam got two goals back in the second period, accounting for the only two markers produced in the frame. Senior forward Stephanie Dunlap scored on the power play at 6:29 of the second, as a feed from senior forward Ellie Cleary deflected off her skate and past the Cardinal goalie. Junior forward Megan Teachout also earned an assist on the play. Junior forward Emily DellaNeve cut the gap to 5-2 at 14:25 of the second, burying the rebound off a shot taken by junior forward Kaylee Merrill. Junior defenseman Abigail Lyon also earned an assist.
 
Boric doubled the Cardinal lead at 3:36 of the third. Senior forward Sara Krauseneck (Saginaw, Mich./Northern Cyclones) flicked a pass to Katonka in the right corner, and Katonka sent a pass across the low slot that Boric hammered home on the weak side.
 
At 8:41 of the third, Katonka netted her second power-play goal of the evening, burying a one-timer from the slot off a feed from senior defenseman Sierra Benjamin (Palm Coast, Fla./Northwood School). McArdle also earned an assist on the score.
 
Less than two minutes later, the Bears scored their second power-play marker of the game, as senior defenseman Makenzie Martin took a shot from the right point that graduate student forward Alexis Clark tipped into the goal. Merrill also earned an assist on the play.
 
Finally, at 18:40 of the third, Unsworth scored her second goal of the game to close out scoring in the contest. Unsworth skated the length of the ice after intercepting a pass in the defensive zone, and she deked the goalie before scoring low glove side.
 
Junior goaltender Chloe Beaubien (Colorado Springs, Colo./Ontario Hockey Academy) made 20 saves in the win for the Cardinals, while sophomore goaltender Ellie Zurfluh turned aside 31 shots in the loss for the Bears.

UFirst Federal Credit Union is the official Zamboni sponsor of Plattsburgh State men's and women's ice hockey.