Panthers fall in tournament's third-place game

            RUTLAND, Vt. – Senior goaltender Amanda Hoy (Brockport, N.Y.) turned away 33 shots, including 19 in the second period, to lead Castleton State College to a 3-0 win over Plymouth State University Saturday afternoon in the third-place game of the Rutland Herald Invitational (RHI) women's ice hockey tournament at Spartan Arena.

            The Spartans stopped a four-game losing streak and upped their record to 4-6-1 overall behind Hoy's third career shutout and first of the season. The Panthers fell to 0-12-1.

            Plymouth State nearly got on the board first, but Hoy robbed Panther junior Bri Davis (Framingham, Mass.) of a breakaway goal at 9:27 with a beautiful glove save after Davis exited the penalty box and gained possession of a loose puck near center ice.

            Freshman Stephanie Bardell (Erwinna, Pa.) opened the scoring for Castleton late in the first period with her third goal of the season. The Spartans went ahead 2-0 midway through the second frame when Laura Szwed (White Lake, Michigan) scored on a rebound for her second goal of the season. Hoy stood tall in net in the second period, fending off four penalty kill situations including three penalties that were called during a span of 2:28.

            Szwed put the game on ice for Castleton at 6:27 of the third period, stuffing home a puck in the crease for a 3-0 advantage.

            Freshman Ali Ponte (Richmond Hill, Ontario) had another busy day in goal for the Panthers and finished with 32 saves.

            PSU returns home to play a pair of ECAC Women's East games next weekend at Hanaway Rink, hosting UMass Boston Friday and Saint Anselm College on Saturday, both games at 7:00 p.m. 

(Courtesy of Castleton Sports Information) 

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