PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Nicole Unsworth scored 59 seconds into overtime to lead the nationally second-ranked Plattsburgh women's ice hockey team to a 4-3 victory versus Cortland in the NEWHL Finals Saturday afternoon at Stafford Arena. The Red Dragons dropped to 18-6-1 with the setback, while the Cardinals improved to 24-2-1 and earned an automatic NCAA Div. III playoff berth.
Graduate student
Grace Schnorr (Camillus/Little Caesars), junior
Dany Donegan (Cicero/Syracuse Nationals) and freshman
Destiny Bautista (Quesnel, BC/Okanagan Hockey Academy) each scored goals for Cortland. Junior
Molly McCabe (Webster/Webster Thomas H.S. Boys) recorded two assists, and seniors
Emily Kromer (Angola/Nazareth College) and
Amanda Gaffney (Williamsville/Amherst Knights) and freshmen
Gillian Zwolak (Stoney Creek, ON/Ancaster Avalanche) and
Mia Hlasnick (Olean/Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles) collected one assist apiece. Freshman goalie
Molly Goergen (Eden Prairie, MN/Eden Prairie H.S.) registered 32 saves.
Annie Katonka, the tournament MVP, tallied a goal and an assist for Plattsburgh. Sara Krausenek and Tatem Cheney also netted goals, while seven Cardinals recorded an assist. Goalie Chloe Beaubien improved her record to 12-0, making 23 saves.
Donegan gave Cortland a 1-0 lead with her eighth goal of the season 3:11 into the game. The lead held until Krauseneck tied the game at 4:11 of the second period. Bautista's fourth goal of the season put the Red Dragons back up, but Katonka scored at 15:13 and Cheney netted her goal at 18:37 to send the Cardinals into the third period with a 3-2 lead.
Schnorr tied the game with her team-high 19th goal of the season on the power play, the game's lone player advantage, at 12:23 of the third period. In overtime, Cortland registered the first shot on goal, but Unsworth gave Plattsburgh the win with her goal at the 59-second mark, giving the Cardinals the 4-3 win and the NCAA playoff berth.
Joining Katonka on the all-tournament team were Unsworth and Mattie Norton of Plattsburgh, and Donegan, McCabe and Goergen of Cortland. Senior
Quinn Metcalfe (Churchville/Rochester Monarchs) of Cortland received the Elite Award, presented to the team member with the highest cumulative grade-point average at the championship site.
The Red Dragons finished the season with a school-record 18 wins since the program was re-established in the 2000-01 season. Schnorr tied her single-season record with 19 goals and broke her record for points with 35. Goergen set the program record with her 11 wins this season and tied the single-season program record with five shutouts.
Plattsburgh 4, Cortland 3 (OT)
Score by periods:
Cortland 1-1-1-0 3
Plattsburgh 0-3-0-1 4
Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Cortland:
Dany Donegan 1-0,
Destiny Bautista 1-0,
Grace Schnorr 1-0,
Molly McCabe 0-2,
Emily Kromer 0-1,
Gillian Zwolak 0-1,
Mia Hlasnick 0-1,
Amanda Gaffney 0-1
Plattsburgh: Annie Katonka 1-1, Sara Krauseneck 1-0, Tatem Cheney 1-0, Nicole Unsworth 1-0, Emma Killeen 0-1, Ivy Boric 0-1, Mattie Norton 0-1, Taylor Whitney 0-1, Riley Calhoun 0-1, Mae Olshansky 0-1, Kaitlin Drew-Mead 0-1
Saves:
Molly Goergen (Cortland) 32 saves (4 GA in 60:59); Chloe Beaubien (Plattsburgh) 23 saves (3 GA in 60:59)
Shots on goal: Plattsburgh 36 (7-12-16-1), Cortland 26 (6-8-11-1)
Penalties: Plattsburgh 1-2:00, Cortland 0-0:00
Power Play: Cortland 1-1, Plattsburgh 0-0
Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 18-6-1, Plattsburgh (Cardinals) 24-2-1 (ranked 2nd in USCHO Div. III poll)
STORY UPDATED ON MAR. 15 TO REFLECT QUINN METCALFE RECEIVING THE ELITE AWARD.
