By Justin Rushia
The Plattsburgh State women’s hockey team (16-5-1, 12-3-1) entered their matchup against the Potsdam Bears (5-12-2, 1-11-2) with renewed determination and focus, eager to seize the opportunity to climb the SUNYAC standings for the chance to host a playoff game following a hard-fought-series split with Cortland (16-3-2, 11-3) the previous weekend.
“We’d love to host one game, if not two,” senior defender Mattie Norton said. “I think it’s a huge thing, kind of just for the mental side of it. It gives one less factor that people have to worry about.”
Head coach Kevin Houle was not in attendance for the first game of the series. The team decided not to comment on his absence.
Former assistant Plattsburgh State women’s hockey coach Danielle Blanchard was on the bench in his place.
“He was there that whole week of practice, and then we talked to him that morning just kind of going over some final critiques, and we knew he’d be watching, of course. He kind of joked about that a little bit; I don’t think it threw us off at all,” graduate student forward Mae Olshansky said.
Blanchard coached for the Plattsburgh women’s ice hockey team for six seasons, during which she helped lead the Cardinals to five National Championships. She was inducted into the Plattsburgh Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019.
During Blanchard’s time at Plattsburgh as a player, the women’s hockey team secured its first two national championships in program history during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. Blanchard was recognized as an All-American four times throughout her career and earned the title of Most Outstanding Player at the 2007 NCAA Division III Tournament. She was also named the Plattsburgh State Female Athlete of the Year for the 2006-07 and 2007-08 academic years.
Blanchard currently works for the Plattsburgh University Police.
“The team feeling wasn’t any different. It’s just a hockey game,” Norton said. “But we also knew that we had the opportunity to play with Blanchard on our bench, and we know how good she has been for Coach (Houle) and her history with the program, so we knew we were in good hands.”
First-year forward Kayson Ruegge races down the ice against Potsdam Feb. 7.
Plattsburgh started its weekend at home in the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena, where it handled business and took down Potsdam 3-0.
“They have some pretty talented players on that team,” sophomore goaltender Chloe Lewis said. “It was a good test for us coming off of Cortland. Just getting those pucks to the net and making smart plays when we needed to.”
The Cardinals controlled the Bears throughout the game, scoring one goal in each period. First-year forward Tessa Morris opened the scoring in the first period, followed by fellow first-year forward Kate Conlon in the second and junior defender Su-An Cho in the third.
“We moved the puck pretty well. We saw a couple of goals where we just had people getting in front, like Conlon,” Olshansky said.
The teams traveled to Potsdam for the second game of the series, where Plattsburgh won decisively with a score of 3-1. Morris opened the scoring for the Cardinals in the first period, followed by senior forward Bridget Orr, who also scored in the first period. Fifth-year forward Ciara Wall rounded out the scoring in the third period.
“We obviously want to win every game. The league is getting better, and the level of hockey is growing. Everybody’s getting 10 times better than they have been,” Norton said.
The Cardinals are currently the second seed in SUNYAC with 25 points. The only team ranked ahead of them is Oswego (18-2-1, 12-1-1), which also has 25 points but has played two fewer games.
Sitting right behind Plattsburgh in the rankings is Cortland. The Cardinals split their series with the Red Dragons the week before their series against Potsdam. Cortland currently has 22 points, but has also played two fewer games than Plattsburgh.
“For us to bounce back and get two big wins on the weekend, to secure more points and secure a better position in the league, it’s just huge,” Norton said
Plattsburgh will look to complete its last conference sweep of the season against Canton today at 3 p.m. and Saturday, February 15.
“We’re playing well together. The chemistry is there. Things are flowing well. It’s just refining those little things and being ready for the games ahead,” Norton said.
