PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The No. 3 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team posted an excellent team effort on Tuesday night, as the Cardinals defeated No. 6 Middlebury for the second time this season, 2-1. Lilla Nease (Lake Forest, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) made several key saves throughout the game, while Ivy Boric (Newport Beach, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) registered the eventual game-winner in the second period.

The Plattsburgh State Cardinals are currently ranked No. 3 in the USCHO.com Division III Top-15 Poll, while Middlebury is No. 6.

With the win on Tuesday, the Cards have now won five straight games against the Panthers and have won 15 of the last 16 meetings. Nease made 20 saves to earn her 11^th win of the season, while Boric picked up her fifth goal of the season with her eventual game-winner. Zsofia Pazmandi (Kaposvar, Hungary/Ontario Hockey) scored the first goal of the game to put Plattsburgh up 1-0 in the second period, while Taya Balfour (Moorestown, N.J./Philadelphia Jr. Flyers) and Sydnee Francis (Canton, N.Y./Nepean Jr. Wildcats) each had an assist for the Cards.

Over the 60 minutes of play, Plattsburgh did not commit a single penalty and outshot the Panthers 30-21 but were 0-3 on power play opportunities on the night.

The Cardinals rise to 15-2-1 with the win and will take on Williams College on Saturday, Jan. 27 at home at 3 p.m. in the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. Middlebury falls to 8-3-3 with the loss and returns to league play on Jan. 26 at home against Connecticut College.

Despite the low score, the game proved to be an exciting affair between two of the country's best teams and most storied programs. The first period saw no scores from either team but both Nease and Middlebury goalie Sophia Merageas made several outstanding saves to keep the score at 0. Nease made two key saves after the first power play of the game, as Avery McInerny returned from the box to the puck and nothing but ice between herself and the Plattsburgh netminder. Nease stood tall, however, making the initial save off a McInerny slapshot and then stopped the rebound attempt as well to keep the score at zero.

In the second period, the Plattsburgh offense finally broke through at the 4:54 mark, as Balfour played a puck up to the neutral zone, where Pazmandi freed a puck from the boards and into the offensive zone for an advantage in transition. In a one-on-one opportunity with the goalie, Pazmandi showed off her skill on the ice, faking out the goalie and finishing under the outstretched arm of the netminder for the goal on the doorstep. With the score, the first-year now has 14 scores on the season, good for tops on the team and in the conference.

The Cards added to their lead with just under two minutes to go in the second period, as Francis dove to get a loose puck off the boards to Boric, who finished with a one-time past the Panther's goalie. The two-goal lead did not last long, however, as Molly MacQueen broke the shutout with under a minute to go in the second stanza, scoring off assists from Raia Schluter and Cece Ziegler.

The one-goal game heading into the third period led to an exciting finish, as both teams fought for control of the puck and the game throughout the final 20 minutes of action. Ultimately, the Cardinals made several big offensive stands with Adriana Urban (Monroe, N.J./Hoosac School) and Kendall Wasik (Novi, Mich./HoneyBaked) blocking five and three shots, respectively, while Nease made six important saves down the stretch, helping the team earn the big win.

Merageas was tagged with the loss for Middlebury, making 28 saves in just over 58 minutes of action.