PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — The Plattsburgh State Cardinals returned home for their final weekend of SUNYAC regular-season play and served notice on Friday night, powering past Cortland in a dominant 5-1 victory at Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.

From the opening puck drop, the Cardinals set the tone against the second-seeded Red Dragons in a matchup between the conference's top two teams, building on the confidence of a 4-0 win over the Canton Kangaroos last weekend and extending their unbeaten stretch to seven games.

Plattsburgh struck first at 14:45 of the opening period when sophomore Kate Conlon (New Hudson, Mich.) capitalized on a pass from sophomore Tessa Morris (Grand Island, N.Y.) and junior Sydnee Francis (Canton, N.Y.) to put the Cardinals ahead 1-0. The offense continued in the second period with Morris igniting a surge, tallying two goals in the frame. She netted the first at 2:03 with assists from first-year Bailey MacKellar (Hamburg, N.Y.) and junior Maeghan Forsyth (Billings, Mont.), then added her second at 7:53 with helpers from MacKellar and junior Emily Kasprzak (Niagara, N.Y.) to put Plattsburgh comfortably in front, 3-0, by intermission.

In the third period, Plattsburgh extended its advantage with a power-play strike by Kasprzak at 12:39, assisted by sophomores Brooke Terry (Massena, N.Y.) and Seoyoung Yoo (Yongin, Republic of Korea), making it 4-0. Cortland finally broke through later in the period, but the Cardinals responded just 59 seconds later when first-year Riley Keller (Cuba, N.Y.), set up by senior Molly Riggi (Farmingdale, N.J.) and Yoo, tallied Plattsburgh's fifth goal to seal the 5-1 final.

With the victory, the Cardinals improve to 17-6-1 overall and 11-1-1 in SUNYAC play, solidifying their position atop the conference standings. Plattsburgh will wrap up the regular season tomorrow when they host Morrisville at 3 p.m. for Senior Day in the final regular-season home game of the year.