CORTLAND, N.Y.– Nationally second-ranked Plattsburgh scored two power-play goals to break a 1-1 tie in the second period and the Cardinals defeated host and nationally 12th-ranked Cortland, 3-1, in a battle of the SUNYAC's top two teams.
Plattsburgh (21-2-1, 16-1-0 SUNYAC) clinched the SUNYAC regular-season title with the victory. Cortland (17-5-2, 12-4-1 SUNYAC) will finish second in the league. The teams face each other in Cortland Saturday at 3 p.m. to close out the regular season, but that game will not affect the two teams' placements. Both Plattsburgh and Cortland will host SUNYAC semifinal games on Feb. 24 - Cortland's game will be versus third-seeded Oswego.
Zsofia Pazmandi opened the scoring for Plattsburgh 14:15 into the first period, but Cortland tied the game 9:03 into the second when
Natalie O'Brien (Lockport/Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles) scored off assists from
Dany Donegan (Cicero/Syracuse Nationals) and
Molly McCabe (Webster/18UAA Webster).
The Cardinals took the lead on Kendall Wasik's power-play goal with 5:05 left in the second and added an insurance goal less than three minutes later when Mattie Norton found the net. Wasik finished the game with a goal and two assists and Norton had a goal and an assist.
Plattsburgh goalie Lilla Nease finished with 29 saves and Cortland netminder
Molly Goergen (Eden Prairie, MN/Eden Prairie H.S.) recorded 32 saves before being pulled for an empty net over the final 1:20.
Score by periods:
Plattsburgh 1-2-0 3
Cortland 0-1-0 1
Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Plattsburgh: Kendall Wasik 1-2, Mattie Norton 1-1, Zsofia Pazmandi 1-0, Adriana Urban 0-1, Julia Masotta 0-1, Mae Olshansky 0-1
Cortland:
Natalie O'Brien 1-0,
Dany Donegan 0-1,
Molly McCabe 0-1
Saves: Lilla Nease (Plattsburgh) 29 saves (1 GA in 60:00);
Molly Goergen (Cortland) 32 saves (3 GA in 58:40), Empty Net 1:20
Shots on goal: Plattsburgh 35 (13-11-11), Cortland 30 (12-14-4)
Penalties: Plattsburgh 6-12:00, Cortland 4-8:00
Power Play: Plattsburgh 2-4, Cortland 0-5
Records after game: Plattsburgh (Cardinals) 21-2-1, 16-1-0 SUNYAC (ranked 2nd in Div. III); Cortland (Red Dragons) 17-5-2, 12-4-1 SUNYAC (ranked 12th in Div. III)
