PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The No. 2 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team won its fourth consecutive Northeast Women's Hockey League (NEWHL) title and its ninth straight conference championship overall dating back to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) West, as senior forward Nicole Unsworth (Milwaukee, Wis./East Coast Wizards) buried the game winner 59 seconds into overtime to give the top-seeded Cardinals a 4-3 victory over third-seeded SUNY Cortland in the NEWHL Tournament championship game Saturday afternoon 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.
 
Unsworth ended the game just 59 seconds into overtime, scoring on a breakaway. Graduate student forward Kaitlin Drew-Mead (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons) sent a stretch pass ahead to sophomore forward Mae Olshansky (Wilmette, Ill./North American Hockey Academy), and Olshansky quickly sent Unsworth forward in the neutral zone. With just the goalie to beat, Unsworth waited until the last second to deposit the puck past Cortland's goaltender low glove side.
 
Graduate student forward Annie Katonka (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) was named the NEWHL Tournament MVP, while Unsworth and first-year defenseman Mattie Norton (Glen Carbon, Ill./St. Louis Lady Blues) joined her on the All-Tournament Team. Cortland's junior forward Dany Donegan, junior defenseman Molly McCabe and first-year goaltender Molly Goergen also earned spots on the All-Tournament Team.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 24-2-1 overall with the win and stretches its unbeaten streak to 19 games. The Cardinals earn the NEWHL's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament and will be making its 17th appearance in the national tournament. The full bracket for the NCAA Division III Tournament will be revealed in a selection show on Sunday, March 6, at 8:30 p.m. on ncaa.com. Cortland concludes its season at 18-6-1 overall.
 
Donegan put the Red Dragons on the board just 3:11 into the contest. Senior forward Emily Kromer passed to McCabe on the right point, and McCabe took a shot that Donegan deflected into the back of the net. Cortland would take a 1-0 lead into the locker rooms at the first intermission despite Plattsburgh State holding a 7-6 edge in shots on goal.
 
The Cardinals erupted for three goals in the second period, which began with senior forward Sara Krauseneck (Saginaw, Mich./Northern Cyclones) scoring at the 4:11 mark. Katonka centered a pass to Krauseneck on the rush that wound up going in the left corner, and Krauseneck passed back to Katonka along the back wall. Katonka then fed Krauseneck with a pass at the top of the left circle, and Krauseneck scored on a shot that navigated through traffic and wound up crossing the goal line inside the right post. Senior defenseman Emma Killeen (Watertown, Conn./The Gunnery) also earned an assist on the goal.
 
Cortland took a 2-1 lead at 10:41 of the second. After an offensive-zone face-off win, first-year defenseman Gillian Zwolak sent a puck into the slot from the left point. First-year forward Mia Hlasnick slid a pass to first-year forward/defenseman Destiny Bautista, who scored high glove side on a diving shot attempt.
 
Katonka leveled the score at 2-all with her NCAA Division III-leading 32nd goal of the season at 15:13 of the second. Norton banked a pass forward to junior forward Ivy Boric (Newport Beach, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) from the defensive zone, and Boric carried the puck all the way to the bottom of the right circle. She then passed to Katonka in the slot, and Katonka scored on a one-time shot blocker side.
 
The Cardinals took their first lead of the game at 18:37 of the second, as junior forward Tatem Cheney (Ottawa, Ontario/Ottawa Lady 67's) batted an airborne puck into the back of the net. Senior forward Taylor Whitney (Livonia, Mich./Little Caesars) and first-year forward Riley Calhoun (New Hartford, N.Y./Bishop Kearney Selects) were credited with assists on the score.
 
While Plattsburgh State held a 3-2 lead heading into the third, Cortland tied the score at 3-all with a power-play goal at 12:23 of the third period. Senior forward Amanda Gaffney passed to McCabe on the left point, and Gaffney passed D-to-D to graduate student forward Grace Schnorr. Schnorr then blasted a shot from the right point, scoring through the five-hole through traffic.
 
Just one penalty was whistled all game, and Cortland wound up scoring on the lone power-play opportunity either team had. The Cardinals finished with a 36-26 edge in shots on goal.
 
Junior goaltender Chloe Beaubien (Colorado Springs, Colo./Ontario Hockey Academy) made 23 saves in the win for Plattsburgh State, while Goergen turned aside 32 shots in the loss for Cortland.
 
UFirst Federal Credit Union is the official Zamboni sponsor of Plattsburgh State men's and women's ice hockey.