PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Freshman
Mylee Serkis (Pittsburgh, Pa.) scored twice and added two assists, and classmate
Jorja Moore (Penticton, British Columbia) made a career high 42 saves as Plymouth State University held off the University of Southern Maine, 5-4, to secure a spot in the upcoming Little East Conference (LEC) Women's Ice Hockey Tournament at Hanaway Rink on Friday evening.
The Panthers entered last weekend on the outside of the LEC playoff picture but have now won four straight games to clinch a tournament berth. PSU currently sits fifth in the league standings, just two points behind Southern Maine and three behind VTSU Castleton. The top four seeds earn home playoff games.
Plymouth State seized control from the opening faceoff, scoring twice in the first 3:19. Serkis potted her second power-play goal eight minutes later to stake the Panthers to a 3-0 advantage, though the Huskies rallied, using a power-play goal in the final seconds of the period to pull within 3-2.
Junior
Lilli Warnock (Bernardsville, N.J.) restored the two-goal margin just 22 seconds into the second, but Southern Maine answered at the seven-minute mark. Serkis picked up her fourth point of the night with an assist on a snipe from freshman
Sofia Cuozzo (Guilford, Conn.) with 7:50 left in the middle stanza to make it 5-3 heading into the third.
Southern Maine cut the deficit to 5-4 midway through the frame, but Moore and PSU's penalty kill unit came up big to preserve the win.
Plymouth State improves to 12-10-0 (6-9-0 LEC), while the Huskies slip to 8-13-1 (7-7-1 LEC).
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 5, Southern Maine 4
- Plymouth State (12-10-0, 6-9-0 LEC)
- Southern Maine (8-13-1, 7-7-1 LEC)
How it Happened:
- Plymouth State got out to a fortunate start as freshman Cera Luciani (Ruskin, Fla.) flipped a shot from the right circle that deflected off a Southern Maine skater and into the net for a 1-0 lead just 1:29 into the game.
- The Panthers doubled the margin with a power-play goal less than two minutes later when Serkis rifled a shot to the top-left corner from the left dot to make it 2-0.
- PSU converted another power-play chance at 11:48 of the frame when Serkis knocked in the rebound of Luciani's shot from the point to make it 3-0.
- The Huskies responded less than 40 seconds later when a slapshot from just over the blue line ricocheted off a defender's leg and inside the far post to make it 3-1.
- Southern Maine made it 3-2 in the closing seconds of the period on a power-play redirection.
- Senior Katie Porrello (Milford, Conn.) skated down the left side early in the second period. Her shot was kicked aside, but Warnock cleaned up the rebound for a 4-2 advantage just 22 seconds into the frame.
- USM answered at 7:09 with a shot from the left circle to cut the deficit to 4-3.
- Cuozzo restored the two-goal margin with a snipe inside the right post from the point at 12:10 of the period.
- The Huskies had a strong chance to claw back after a late major penalty gave them an extended power play, but Moore made several clutch stops to preserve the lead.
- Plymouth State killed off two more penalties in the first half of the final stanza, but USM pulled within one, 5-4, with 8:28 left to play. The visitors had a prime opportunity to tie the game less than a minute later on a clean breakaway, but Moore was up to the task.
- The Huskies generated heavy zone time over the final few minutes, but Moore continued to come up big as the Panthers held on for the win.
By the Numbers:
- Serkis recorded her first multi-goal and multi-point game, finishing with two goals and two assists.
- Luciani and Warnock each tallied a goal and an assist.
- Porrello notched an assist and is now just one point shy of matching the career points record.
- Moore's 42 saves marked a career high.
- The Huskies held a 46-25 shot advantage.
- Plymouth State converted 2-of-4 power play chances, while USM went 1-of-7.
- Southern Maine leads the all-time series 27-9-1.
- PSU's last home win against the Huskies came in November 2017.
Up Next:
- The teams return to Hanaway Rink to complete the weekend series on Saturday (Feb. 14). Plymouth State will celebrate its senior class prior to the 2 p.m. puck drop.
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