Sunday, January 8, 2012

Potsdam Over Plattsburgh

The SUNY Potsdam women’s hockey team (4-7-1, 2-7-1 ECAC
West) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, but was unable to hold off
eighth-ranked Plattsburgh State (9-3-1, 7-0-1 ECAC West), falling 5-2 at
home on Friday afternoon. Cardinal junior forward Teal Grove (Berwick,
Ontario/Ontario Hockey Academy) scored two goals and freshman forward
Shannon Stewart (Pickering, Ontario/Durham West Lightning) added a goal
and two assists to lead Plattsburgh.

Potsdam struck first on its very first opportunity of the contest. Just
1:49 into the game senior captain Annmarie Lewis (Newmarket,
Ontario/Aurora Panthers) took control of the puck at the left side of the
net and centered it. Freshman forward Izzy Fayerman (Calgary, Alberta/The
Edge) tipped the pass and sophomore forward Jenn Crawford (Burlington,
Ontario/Stoney Creek Sabres) slammed it home from the slot. The goal
seemed to wake up the Cardinals. After building pressure over the next
four minutes sophomore defenseman Allison Era (Glendale, Ariz./LA Selects
U-19) ripped a shot from the point that rang the crossbar on its way in to
tie the score at 1-1 at the 6:10 mark. Plattsburgh’s Stewart assisted on
the goal. Just 52 seconds later junior forward Jordan Caldwell (Denver,
Colo./Colorado Selects U-19) picked up the puck in the neutral zone, got
behind the Potsdam defense and lifted a shot over the right shoulder of
Bears junior goalie Jen Conophy (Glenmont, N.Y./Albany Ice Cats) for a 2-1
lead. The Cardinals outshot Potsdam 19-8 in the first period.

The second period was played much tighter defensively. Neither team had
many shots through the first 10 minutes, but Plattsburgh capitalized on
its second power play. Cardinal freshman defenseman Alyssa Parke
(Lynbrook, N.Y./National Sports Academy) fired a shot from the point and
Grove tipped it past Conophy for a 3-1 lead. Era recorded the second
assist on the play. The Bears killed off one other penalty in the period
and trailed 3-1 at the break.

Potsdam wasted no time in the third period. At the 1:10 mark, sophomore
forward Jessica Silveira (Brampton, Ontario/Brampton Thunder) fired the
puck off the right pad off Plattsburgh junior goalie Sydney Aveson (West
Covina, Calif./Minnesota State) and in, to cut the gap to 3-2. However,
two minutes and 18 seconds later, the Cardinals regained the two-goal lead
with another power-play marker. Stewart tipped a Parke shot from the point
to make it 4-2. Era also recorded an assist. The Bears matched
opportunities with Plattsburgh for the remainder of the contest, but
didn’t get any closer. With just 42 seconds remaining, Grove buried a
rebound off a Stewart shot to close the scoring at 5-2. Freshman forward
Morgan MacInnis (Cornwall, Ontario/Nepean Wildcats) notched the final
assist.

Conophy finished with 44 saves for Potsdam and Aveson stopped 16 to earn
the win. Plattsburgh outshot the Bears 49-18 and was 2-4 on the power
play. Potsdam was 0-1 on the man advantage.

“I was very pleased with our effort and execution for the most part,” said
Bears Head Coach Jay Green. “We had a couple fundamental breakdowns that
cost us goals five-on-five. Teams like Plattsburgh capitalize on those
types of mistakes. When you’re in the box, talented teams are going to
take advantage. But there were times when we were able to put pressure on
them and skate with them, so I’m proud of that.”

Potsdam is back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 10, when they travel to
Castleton State to take on the Spartans at 4 p.m.
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