MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The No. 4 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team posted a dominant win over the No. 9 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire BluGolds, winning 6-1 in the Cardinal/Panther Classic matchup. With the win, the Cardinals move on to the championship game where they will face No. 5 Middlebury in a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament second-round game as the Cards will also look for their first Cardinal/Panther Classic title since November of 2016.

The Plattsburgh State Cardinals are currently the No. 4 team in the USCHO.com Division III Top-15 Poll for women's ice hockey.

For the second straight game, Zsofia Pazmandi (Kaposvar, Hungary/Ontario Hockey Academy) registered two goals, scoring the first two scores of the game in the opening minutes of action. Aizah Thompson (Williamsville, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons) also recorded two goals, the first multi-goal game of her career. Lilli Bills (Castle Rock, Colo./New Hampton School) recorded her first career score in the win, while Riley Calhoun (New Hartford, N.Y./Bishop Kearney Selects) added the final tally for Plattsburgh in the win. Lilla Nease (Lake Forest, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) earned the win in goal, making 23 saves and allowing just one goal.

Plattsburgh was outshot by UW-Eau Claire 24-20, and both teams went scoreless on the power play, with the Cardinals going 0-2 and the BluGolds 0-1.

With the win, the Cards advance to the championship game against Middlebury, which is set for 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 26 as they moved to 5-0-1 on the year. UW-Eau Claire falls to 6-3 on the season and will take on No. 15 Endicott in the consolation game of the Cardinal/Panther Classic at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 26.

The Cardinals came out strong to begin play, as they scored on their first two shots on goal in the game. Pazmandi tallied the first score at the 1:14 mark of the first period, as Ivy Boric (Newport Beach, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) and Ciara Wall (Stoneham, Mass./University of New Hampshire) each added assists on the play. After the ensuing faceoff, Plattsburgh maintained control, eventually resulting in another Pazmandi score, this time assisted by Ava Mattaliano (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Belle Tire) at the 1:58 mark of the first period.

The score remained for the rest of the first period, despite the BluGolds holding an 11-4 shot advantage over the entire 20 minutes of action.

In the second stanza, an eerily similar start saw Plattsburgh score at the beginning period, with Bills picking up her first college goal and point at the 3:27 mark of the second period. Sydnee Francis (Canton, N.Y./Nepean Jr. Wildcats) picked up an assist on the play for the Cards, marking her first career point at the collegiate level.

UW-Eau Claire broke through on the scoreboard at the 7:31 mark of play as Maddie Hulter notched a goal for the BluGolds unassisted. Plattsburgh responded quickly, scoring exactly two minutes later at the 9:31 mark of play, with Thompson's first goal of the game assisted by Julia Masotta (Tewksbury, Mass./Norwich), bringing the Cardinal lead back to three goals.

The third period saw UW-Eau Claire outshoot Plattsburgh 10-4, but the Cardinals registered two late goals, making the most of their opportunities. A few minutes after killing a penalty, Plattsburgh continued to pad their lead, as Thompson scored unassisted at the 18:06 mark and Calhoun followed with an unassisted goal at the 19:14 mark. Throughout the period, Nease continued her strong play in net, stopping all of the shots she faced.

Alexa Backmann was charged with the loss in goal for the BluGolds, making 14 saves in 60 minutes.