POTSDAM, N.Y. – The SUNY Potsdam women's hockey team (11-12-2, 6-7-1) will travel to SUNY Cortland (14-7-4, 8-4-2) for the first round of the SUNYAC tournament. The sixth-seeded Bears will take on the third-seeded Red Dragons this Wednesday at 3 p.m. in their first postseason appearance in four seasons and the first in Potsdam's SUNYAC era. 

A conference-weekend sweep of Morrisville and Cortland kept the Bears ahead of Buffalo State on points and clinched the final postseason spot. Offensively, scoring has been spread across Potsdam's lines, with 14 different players netting 38 goals. Junior forward Jalynn Castro (Dexter, N.Y./Syracuse Valley Eagles) leads the Bears' offense with 18 points (11g, 7a) and has two goals in the last five games, including the game-winner against Morrisville. Senior forward Rebecca Cain (Skaneateles, N.Y./Syracuse Valley Eagles) also reached double figures with 10 points (2g, 8a) on the season. Freshman forward Coralie Paradis (Montreal, Quebec/Bourget College) is the Bears' second leading scorer with five goals, four in SUNYAC play. Offensive contributions from the blueline are led by junior defenseman Jessika Bullock (Norfolk, N.Y./Adirondack 46ers) with nine points (1g, 8a) and senior defenseman Elise Clifford with six points (2g, 4a). Clifford netted the playoff-clinching goal against Cortland. 

Bullock, Clifford, senior captain Rachelle Cain (Skaneateles, N.Y./Syracuse Valley Eagles), and senior assistant captain Victoria Proulx (Rockland, Ontario/Post University) anchor the Bears' defense, with a combined 127 shots blocked. The defensemen, along with senior goaltender Magalie Parent (Trois-Rivières, Quebec/Les Diablos – Cégep de Trois-Rivières), and sophomore goaltender Maddie Ferguson (Medicine Hat, Alberta/South Alberta Hockey Academy) allowed 57 goals on the season for a goals-against-average of 2.25, and a save percentage of .928.  Parent, who co-captains the Bears, has impressed in net all season, tying the program single-season wins record with 10, breaking the single-season shutouts record with four, and was named conference goaltender of the week three times. She currently boasts a 10-9-2 record, a 1.97 G.A.A, a .937 save percentage, and leads the conference in saves made (624). The goalie is 1-0-2 in her last three matchups with Cortland, making 117 saves and allowing one goal. 

The Bears shut out the Red Dragons in both their regular-season matchups. Potsdam held Cortland to a scoreless tie at Alumni Arena on November 21. On Saturday, the Bears claimed a 1-0 win at Maxcy Ice Arena, ending a 13-game winless streak against the Red Dragons. 

Cortland is outscoring opponents 2.8 goals-per-game to 1.8 this season. Katie Mahoney leads the Red Dragons and the conference with 26 points on 11 goals and 15 assists, including two game winners. Kira Cook leads Cortland with 13 goals and has 16 points. Four other Red Dragons have double-figure points: Fanny Aneborn (19), Carlen Bertrand (18), Ainsley Delacourt (15), and Grace Karakas (12). Eline Gillodes has posted a .929 save percentage, a 1.69 G.A.A, and a 13-7-4 record between the pipes this season. 

In the semifinals last year, Cortland fell to Plattsburgh 2-0. 

The Bears have reached the postseason eight times since the women's hockey program was restarted for the 2008-09 season. They met Cortland in the 2019 NEWHL Semifinals, losing 3-2. 

For fans looking to attend Wednesday night's contest, all general public ticket sales can be found at https://fan.hudl.com/tickets/VGlja2V0ZWRFdmVudDY5OWIzNGNjN2UzODlkMTlkYjJlZjAyMg==. Tickets can be purchased online only, and are $5 for adults, $3 for ages 5-17. Children ages 4 and under get in free. Admission is free for SUNYAC students with ID. 

For those who can't make it to Cortland, live stats can be found here: https://www.cortlandreddragons.com/sidearmstats/whockey/summary 
The game will be streamed live here: https://www.cortlandreddragons.com/sports/2019/8/15/BlueFramePage.aspx