By Emma Deo
Defense was the key for Plattsburgh State women’s hockey as they shutout the Oswego Lakers 2-0 to capture their 13th conference championship.
Plattsburgh (20-6-1, 14-3-1) shipped off to play the first-seeded, nationally fifth-ranked Oswego Lakers (22-3-2, 15-1-2) on Oswego’s home ice. The Cardinals dominated, skating away with their first SUNYAC championship in their second season in the conference.
Sophomore goaltender Chloe Lewis was named SUNYAC tournament MVP, while senior defender Mattie Norton, junior forward Molly Riggi and first-year forward Tessa Morris were also named to the SUNYAC All-Tournament team.
“I think for us to use the energy and momentum that we did to have two really great weekends and then earn a way to play back at home again was huge for us. It taught us a lot about ourselves, we faced a little bit of adversity there. It was just huge,” Norton said.
The Cardinals were in the driver’s seat right away, outshooting the Lakers 14-2 in the first period.
Oswego committed one minor penalty 15 minutes into the game, but Plattsburgh did not capitalize on the power play. The Plattsburgh State defense stood tall, and the Cards went into the first intermission with all the momentum.
Oswego evened out the second period with a few shots on goal, but Lewis stopped everything that came her way.
“We shut down a good team that scores offensive goals and gets gritty goals out front. I think we covered the net well, and our goaltender was obviously on and stood on her head for us,” Norton said.
With just over a minute left in the second period, the Cards finally found the back of the net. Riggi blocked a pass, corralled the puck and skated toward the Oswego goalkeeper. She lost her footing, but still got a shot off from her knees and lit the lamp unassisted to put the Cards up 1-0.
“They’ve shut us out in the past, so I think our mentality has been more focused on getting pucks on the net from anywhere on the ice. We know they lead to second and third opportunities, which is where we score a lot of our goals,” Morris wrote in a text.
The Plattsburgh State defense held strong to end the period, and the Cards headed to the locker room with the advantage.
“Our defense was just as good as the Cortland game the week before. They only had eight shots going into the third period. It was just awesome to see the lockdown defense that we had,” Lewis said.
Morris said the Cards knew they needed to score at least two goals to take down Oswego, and in the third period the Lakers put pressure on the Cardinal defense. Plattsburgh committed back-to-back penalties, with the first one coming 12 minutes into the period and the second just eight seconds later.
“I was kind of anxious at that point. I was just recovering from the first one, and then I saw the ref, and I was like, great, another one, but honestly, we didn’t give them that many opportunities on the kill,” Lewis said.
After the penalties, sophomore forward Emily Kasprzak found Morris with a pass, and Morris took a shot at the Oswego goaltender which was initially blocked. Morris got the puck between the pipes on the second attempt.
“It felt great. I’m happy I was able to find the back of the net and help keep our season going,” Morris wrote. “Being a freshman, I’m grateful for the amount of ice time I get. I try to make the most of every shift and my line has really been clicking on the offensive zone recently, helping me get more opportunities in front of the net.”
Oswego pulled their goalie but couldn’t get a shot on goal even with the extra skater, and the Cards clinched the championship shutout win, moving on to the NCAA tournament.
“It gave us all the momentum at the end of the game there. We were all super excited. Everyone was cheering on our teammates and as much as it could’ve been in their favor, it really worked out for us for the best,” Norton said.
Plattsburgh State is set to take on the Elmira College Soaring Eagles (20-7-1, 14-3-1) Saturday, March 15 at 3 p.m. at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena in Plattsburgh. Admission is free for all attendees, courtesy of SUNY Plattsburgh. The two teams have not met on the ice since Dec. 10, 2022 where the Cards earned a 3-2 overtime win. Historically, Plattsburgh is 37-23-3 against the Soaring Eagles, averaging 2.71 goals per game.
“Having the home ice advantage for these games where you never know where you’re going to play since it’s going to be out of conference. It’s awesome to have it going into this weekend and having the fans there as well. They always bring such a good atmosphere to the games,” Lewis said.
In the NCAA tournament, high level hockey is guaranteed. The Cards have the home ice advantage, but Elmira is not to be taken lightly.
Last season, the Soaring Eagles reached the NCAA tournament championship, knocking out SUNY Cortland, Amherst College and Middlebury College before falling to the University of Wisconsin – River Falls 1-4 in the championship.
“We know that they’re going to bring everything that they have, and we know that they have good offensive scoring abilities. They have a great goaltender in net. We’re going to respect both sides of it, but we’re going to keep continuing to do what we do,” Norton said. “We’re going to focus on what we’ve been doing and keep continuing to build off of that and use our momentum in every way possible.”
