PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Junior Addie Swanson (Eagle River, Alaska) scored twice and Plymouth State University scored four unanswered goals as the Panthers skated past Rivier University, 5-1, in non-conference women's ice hockey action at Hanaway Rink on Friday night.
 
The two teams traded goals through the first half of the opening period, but Swanson gave PSU the lead for good when she batted in a rebound late in the first. Swanson tallied her second of the night midway through the second after a perfect feed from classmate Chantelle Ross (Ottawa, Ontario) and the Panthers tacked on a pair of third-period tallies to put the game away.
 
With the win Plymouth State improves to 2-1-0, while Rivier falls to 0-3-0.
 
The Basics:

• Plymouth State 5, Rivier 1
  • Plymouth State (2-1-0)
  • Rivier (0-3-0)

Top Performers:

• Addie Swanson (2 goals)
• Robyn Grant (1 goal, 1 asst)
• Georgia McLellan (1 goal, 4 shots)

How it Happened:

• Plymouth State's zone pressure paid off at the 4:12 mark of the first period when sophomore Robyn Grant (Airdrie, Alberta) flipped a centering feed from behind the net off the skate of a Raiders' skater and the puck ricocheted into the goal.
• Rivier came back to tie the score with the program's first goal when freshman Briana Paxson (Eagle River, Alaska) poked in the puck from in front of the crease at 6:26.
• The Panthers jumped back in front with 3:19 left in the opening period when Swanson banged home a rebound of Grant's shot from close range.
• Swanson struck again at 7:48 of the second when Ross intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and found Swanson streaking in alone down the middle. Swanson made a quick move to deke the goalie before slipping the puck inside the left post.
• Senior Georgia McLellan (Kamloops, British Columbia) picked off a pass in the offensive zone before turning and firing a wrister to the glove side as the Panthers increased the lead to 4-1 at the 5:55 mark of the third period.
• The hosts extended the margin to 5-1 ten minutes later when sophomore Lauren McNeil (Ottawa, Ontario) gained the zone, skated behind the net and sent the puck back to junior Abigale McGee (Bozeman, Mont.) just inside the blue line. McGee's wrist shot went through traffic into the top right corner.

By the Numbers:

• Grant and McGee both scored their first career goals, while Swanson picked up the first two-goal game of her career.
• Junior Taylor Thomas (Prior Lake, Minn.) and sophomores Isabella Borbridge (Calgary, Alberta) and Lauren McNeil (Ottawa, Ontario) also recorded assists for the Panthers.
• PSU held a 40-7 advantage in shots, but the Raiders' defense was helped by 20 blocked shots.
• Plymouth State successfully killed both of Rivier's power play chances.
• Rivier's goal was the first-ever for the new varsity program.

Up Next:

• Plymouth State visits Anna Maria College tomorrow (Nov. 6) for a 3:00 p.m. non-conference clash with the AMCATS.