PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The No. 6 Plattsburgh State women's hockey took home their third straight State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) win on Friday night in the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena, defeating Morrisville 5-1. Su-An Cho (Madison, Ala./Florida Alliance) led the way for the Cardinal offense, notching the game's opening goal and tallying an assist.

The Plattsburgh State Cardinals are currently ranked No. 6 in the latest USCHO.com Top-15 poll.

Kayson Ruegge (Edmond, Okla./Philadelphia Jr. Flyers) tallied the game-winning goal for the Cards, while Molly Riggi (Farmingdale, N.J./New Jersey Titans) tallied her second career goal for Plattsburgh. Tessa Morris (Grand Island, N.Y./Rome Girl's Hockey) also notched a goal for the Cards and Mattie Norton (Glen Carbon, Ill./St. Louis Lady Blue's) tallied a power play goal for Plattsburgh. Ciara Wall (Somerville, Mass./New Hampshire) and Taya Balfour (Moorestown, N.J./Philadelphia Jr. Flyers) each recorded two assists for Plattsburgh State.

Chloe Lewis (Monson, Mass./Northwood School) played over 33 minutes in goal, making seven saves to earn the win, while Maddy Stetson (Wasilla, Alaska/Little Caesars) played over 26 minutes making two saves. The Cardinals won the shot battle 34-10, while holding the Mustangs to 0-2 on the advantage, while also going 1-5 on the power play themselves.

Plattsburgh State improves to 6-2-1 (4-1-1 SUNYAC) on the season and next plays on Jan. 5, 2025, as they take on Nazareth in the Norwich East-West Classic. Morrisville falls to 5-3 (2-2 SUNYAC) and next plays against Williams on Sunday, Dec. 8.

The Cardinals wasted little time getting on the board to start action, as Cho took the puck all the way from the neutral zone to the goal for a score with just over two minutes of action elapsed. The junior defender avoided nearly every Morrisville defender, taking the puck over the blueline herself, before evading the last defender in front of the crease and finishing with a shot past the goalie glove-side. Balfour added an assist on the play for the Cardinals as Plattsburgh led 1-0

A few minutes later, at the 11:50 mark, Ruegge added to the team's lead with her third goal of the season. Wall corralled a loose puck along the boards and found the first-year on the doorstep, where she wristed a quick shot into the back of the net past the goalie's right blocker for the score. Balfour also added an assist on the goal, as the Cardinals had a quick 2-0 lead.

Morrisville responded at the 14:01 mark, as Avery Holland notched a goal for the Mustangs to put them down 2-1 as they scored with an extra skater due to a delayed penalty.

Plattsburgh State also had a response, however, as Riggi scored her first goal of the season and second of her career in the 18^th minute. Adriana Urban (Monroe, N.J./Hoosac School) and Bridget Orr (Excelsior, Minn./North American Hockey Academy) combined to pass the puck through the neutral zone up ahead to Riggi, who went right over the goalie's blocker stick side for the goal to put the Cards up 3-1.

The 3-1 lead held through intermission, and the Cardinals wasted little time once more adding to their lead. Cho put a shot right on the net from the point, but her initial shot was saved. Morris was waiting right for the puck outside the crease and finished off the play by shoveling the puck into the back of the net for a 4-1 lead.

The Cardinals got their final goal of the game on the power play in the 17^th minute, as Norton buried a shot from just inside the right face-off circle to put her team up 5-1 just before the second intermission.

The third period saw three power plays for Plattsburgh and one from Morrisville, but neither could take advantage of the power play with each team going scoreless. The Cardinals outshot the Mustangs 8-1 in the period, as the score of 5-1 held until the final buzzer.

Elizabeth Timby took the loss for Morrisville, making 29 saves in just under 60 minutes.