WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The No. 8 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team dropped a non-conference road matchup to Williams on Tuesday night, falling to the Ephs 3-2 in their regular-season finale. After Emily Kasprzak (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) tied the game with just under five minutes to go, Williams went ahead with just over a minute left to earn the win.

The Plattsburgh State Cardinals are currently the No. 8 team in the latest USCHO.com Division III Top-15 Poll.

Kasprzak scored in the third period, while senior captain Mattie Norton (Glen Carbon, Ill./St. Louis Lady Blues) tallied a power play goal to open the scoring in the first. Norton also led the team with 10 shots on goal. Chloe Lewis (Monson, Mass./Northwood School) was the goalie of record in net, making 30 saves in just over 59 minutes of action.

The Cardinals unleashed a flurry of shots,  outshooting the Ephs 42-33, including 21-7 in the third period. Plattsburgh finished the night 1-5 on the power play, while Williams was 1-4 on the advantage.  

Plattsburgh State falls to 18-6-1 on the season and will await an opponent for their conference semifinal match, with a site to be determined on Saturday, March 1. Williams moves to 12-9-1 with the win and travels to No. 15 Bowdoin on Friday, Feb. 21, for a weekend set.

In a period mired with penalties,  Plattsburgh State took advantage first, with Norton giving the Cardinals the early advantage just over 11 minutes into the game's action. Working on the power play, Norton finished off an early advantage, with Mae Olshansky (Las Vegas, Nev./North American Hockey Academy) and Seoyoung Yoo (Yongin, Republic of Korea/Ontario Hockey Academy) each adding assists.

Williams soon tied up the score at a goal apiece as Quinn Dawson tallied a power play goal at the 14:05 mark of the first period, sending the game into the first intermission tied at one.

In the second period, the Plattsburgh State offense, with three power play opportunities, put up 21 shots, but could not get past the Ephs goalie, who made 21 saves to keep the game tied at one all.

The fantastic goaltending paid off, as the Williams offense found their footing while playing the Cardinals in even strength, taking a 2-1 lead four-and-half-minutes into the third period.

Plattsburgh State continued to work hard offensively and finally came through at the 15:24 mark.  Kasprzak skated up the ice from the neutral zone and scored around a handful of defenders with a top-shelf shot, tying the game at two with just over four-and-half-minutes left in the game. Adriana Urban (Monroe, N.J./Hoosac School) also tallied an assist on the play.

The Ephs finished off a strong third period with the game-winning goal of the stick of Leah Rueinshteyn, as the Williams forward scored with 1:01 left in the game.

The Cards were able to pull their goalie down the stretch, winning a couple of key face-offs to put an extra skater on the ice, but could not get past Erin Pye in goal, as she led her team to the 3-2 win.

Pye earned the victory in net making 40 saves, while both Claire Murphy and Chloe Noxon had two assists for the Ephs.