POTSDAM, N.Y.—SUNY Canton (8-15-1, 3-13-1 NEWHL) defeated the SUNY Potsdam women's hockey team (10-12-2, 7-9-2) 3-1 to close out the regular season. Freshman forward
Kaylee Merrill (Wasilla, Alaska/Anchorage North Stars) scored her team-leading 13th goal for the Bears.
The Kangaroos outshot the Bears 10-5 in the first period. Each team traded unsuccessful power plays, but Canton jumped out in front midway through the period. Junior forward Ashley Gillies (Timmins, Ontario/North Bay Ice Boltz) made it 1-0 at 11:09. The score was unchanged at the first intermission.
Kangaroo junior forward Breanna Bedborough (Brampton, Ontario/Etobicoke Jr. Dolphins) doubled Canton's lead just 2:49 into the second period. The Bears earned two power plays in the middle 20 minutes, but were unable to capitalize. With just over a minute left, Potsdam junior forward
Natalie Wasielewski (Carnegie, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguin Elite) went in all alone, but Roos freshman goalie Sirena Alvarez (Jyvaskyla, Finland/HTI Stars) robbed her as she slid to her right. Canton finished the period with a 13-10 advantage in shots and a two-goal lead.
The Bears finally broke through midway through third period. Potsdam offense generated several good chances early, but Alvarez held them off. At 7:09, senior captain
Shelbi Thacker (Chesterfield, Mich./Honeybaked) hit Wasielewski with a pass in stride at the blue line. Wasielewski then found Merrill in the slot and she beat Alvarez five-hole. Minutes later Alvarez got some revenge, robbing Merrill with her glove from almost the same location. With 2:42 remaining, Alvarez gloved another breakaway attempt from Merrill. With 1:38 left, the Bears called time out and pulled senior assistant captain
Alexa Pfeiffer (Sylvania, Ohio/Little Caesar's) for an extra attacker. With five seconds left, sophomore forward Lily Cullen (Churchville, N.Y./Rochester Monarchs) scored an empty-net goal to ice the game.
Pfeiffer finished with 24 saves and Alvarez stopped 31 shots for the win. Canton was 0-for-1 on the man advantage and Potsdam was 0-for-4.
The Bears currently sit in the fourth and final NEWHL playoff spot, but have no remaining games and will depend on the outcome of this weekend's contests to determine if they qualify for postseason.
