PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Senior
Siri Brett (East Wenatchee, Wash.) and junior
Chantelle Ross (Ottawa, Ontario) each tallied a goal and an assist, but ninth-seeded Salem State University scored a short-handed breakaway goal 9:44 into overtime to upset eight-seeded Plymouth State University in the first round of the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) women's ice hockey tournament at Hanaway Rink on Wednesday night.
It was a fast-paced, back-and-forth contest all night with three goals coming in the first ten minutes of action. Plymouth State rallied from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 to pull ahead midway through the second period, but the Vikings answered late in the frame and neither team could light the lamp in the third period to send the contest to overtime.
The Panthers dominated the offensive zone during the extra frame and were on the doorstep several times, but Salem State sophomore goaltender Kaia Hollingsworth (Methuen, Mass.) made several key stops to keep the game deadlocked at 3-3. PSU looked poised to advance midway through the overtime period when a Salem State penalty gave Plymouth State a power play chance, but the Vikings caught a break when a pass from the blue line was deflected by junior Alexis Thomas (Barnstable, Mass.), who skated down the puck all alone and slipped in the game-winner.
Salem State (6-19-0) advances to face top-seeded and #3 nationally ranked Elmira College in the quarterfinal round on Saturday. The Panthers end their season with a 7-17-1 mark.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 3, Salem State 4 (OT)
- Plymouth State (7-17-1)
- Salem State (6-19-0)
How it Happened:
- Salem State opened the scoring at the 4:31 mark of the first period when freshman Tea Miles' (Northfield, Vt.) wrist shot from the point deflected off the far side post and in during the game's first power play opportunity.
- The Panthers answered back almost immediately as junior Addie Swanson (Eagle River, Alaska) banged home the rebound of a deep shot from classmate Abigale McGee (Bozeman, Mont.) just over a minute later.
- Sophomore Amelia Julian (Apple Valley, Minn.) came up with a huge save going post-to-post during another Vikings' power play nine minutes in.
- Later in the same power play, Miles struck again when her shot from just inside the blue line deflected off a PSU skater and over Julian's shoulder to make it 2-1 at 10:01.
- Plymouth State pulled even 7:28 into the middle period when Brett stole a puck in the offensive zone. Sophomore Carsen Moffett (Kamloops, British Columbia) poked it to Ross, who beat Hollingsworth low to the stick side.
- Brett gave the Panthers their first lead six minutes later when she slipped behind the Salem State goal and stuffed in a wraparound bid to make it 3-2.
- Salem State came back to square the game at 3-3 when senior MacKenzie Mallett (York, Maine) snuck a wrister over the glove of Julian from the nearside faceoff dot with 1:56 left in the second period.
- Freshman Libby Carter (Franklin, Mass.) had a prime chance to put the Panthers back in the lead midway through the third when she skated down the near side on a breakaway, but a Vikings' defender dove across the ice to block the shot and the game would head into overtime.
- Plymouth State had incredible zone pressure to open the extra frame, but Hollingsworth made several incredible stops to preserve the tie.
- Thomas deflected a PSU pass at the blue line and skated in alone, slipping a shot over the blocker of Julian to end the contest 9:44 into overtime.
By the Numbers:
- In addition to Brett and Ross, McGee also notched a two-point game with a pair of assists.
- The Panthers held a 40-27 advantage in shots.
- Julian finished with 23 saves in the contest.
- Junior Meghan Hamilton (Walpole, Mass.) dominated the faceoff circle for the Panthers, winning 16-of-19.
- Salem State capitalized on 2-of-5 power play chances, while the Panthers were scoreless in five opportunities.
- Swanson and Hamilton each tallied five goals on the season to pace the team, while the duo along with Ross shared the team lead with nine points.
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