HENNIKER, N.H. – While his first game as head coach might have come later than Josh Funk expected, the new leader of the Plymouth State University women's ice hockey program had to be delighted with the outcome.
 
Junior Siri Brett (Wenatchee, Wash.) and sophomore Chantelle Ross (Ottawa, Ontario) each recorded a goal and an assist as the Panthers topped New England College, 3-1, to earn Funk his first career victory at Lee Clement Arena on Friday night.
 
The pair each tallied first period goals to set an early tone, with Brett's marker coming just ten seconds into the game, as the Panthers outshot NEC by a 45-13 margin on the night.
 
Plymouth State wins its season opener for the first time in program history to improve to 1-0-0, while NEC drops to 0-1-0.
 
The Basics:

• Plymouth State 3, New England College 1
  • Plymouth State (1-0-0)
  • New England College (0-1-0)

Top Performers:

• Plymouth State
  • Chantelle Ross (goal, asst)
  • Siri Brett (goal, asst)
  • Zoe Killisch (goal)

How it Happened:

• The Panthers wasted little time as Ross picked off a pass in the offensive zone and hit Brett for the early lead just ten seconds into the contest.
• Ross doubled the PSU lead with just over five minutes left in the opening stanza when she banged home the rebound of Brett's blast from the left faceoff dot.
• PSU kept pressure on during the second period, but junior goaltender Cianna Weir (Olds, Alberta) turned aside all 15 shots she faced, and the Panthers went into the third with a 2-0 advantage.
• The Pilgrims cut the margin in half when sophomore Tatiana Fedeneva (Pervouralsk, Russia) cashed in during a scrum in front of the Plymouth State goal midway through the third period.
• Junior Zoe Killisch (Vienna, Austria) gave PSU some breathing room with her first tally of the year with 6:29 remaining. Sophomore Sophie Streed's (Surry, N.H.) wrister from the blue line caught the far post, but Killisch was able to whip the loose puck into the open net to ice the win.

By the Numbers:

• Junior Olivia Petito (St. Augustine, Fla.) made 12 saves to pick up the win, while Weir finished the night with 42 stops.
• Plymouth State's offense was overpowering, outshooting the Pilgrims by a 45-13 margin.
• Neither team was able to take advantage of the extra skater as PSU went 0-4 on the power play and NEC was 0-2.
• PSU has dominated the head-to-head matchup of late, going 10-2-1 over the last 13 meetings, including eight straight wins.

Up Next:

• The two teams wrap up the weekend series with the Panthers' home opener tomorrow (Feb. 13) at Hanaway Rink. Puck-drop is set for 11:00 a.m.