PLYMOUTH, N.H. – In a matchup with significant postseason implications, freshman
Lisi Palmer (Brunswick, Maine) and senior
Katie Porrello (Milford, Conn.) combined for three goals and two assists as Plymouth State University rolled past New England College, 6-2, in a Little East Conference (LEC) women's ice hockey contest at Hanaway Rink on Friday evening.
With the win, Plymouth State moved into a tie with the Pilgrims for the final playoff spot in the league standings with 13 points. The teams complete the weekend series at Hanaway Rink on Saturday (Feb. 7) at 4 p.m.
Freshman
Mylee Serkis (Pittsburgh, Pa.) potted the lone goal of the opening period as the Panthers took a 1-0 lead. Action picked up in the middle period as PSU scored twice in a span of 44 seconds to seize control, 3-0, with Porrello picking up an assist before scoring on a breakaway.
NEC broke through on the power play, but Palmer answered less than a minute later with her first of the game, and the Panthers maintained a 4-1 lead into the third period.
Senior
Jacqueline Martin (Smithfield, R.I.) potted a short-handed tally early in the third, and Palmer put the game away with her second of the night. NEC added a second goal midway through the third, but Plymouth State held on for the crucial win.
Plymouth State improved to 10-10-0 (4-9-0 LEC), while the Pilgrims fell to 5-16-0 (4-11-0 LEC).
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 6, NEC 2
- Plymouth State (10-10-0, 4-9-0 LEC)
- NEC (5-16-0, 4-11-0 LEC)
How it Happened:
- NEC opened the game with heavy zone pressure and nearly took a lead in the opening minute, but a shot rang off the near-side post.
- Junior Karlee Lehner (Prince Albert, Saskatchewan) came up big with a pair of saves later in the frame, and Plymouth State rode the momentum as Serkis skated up the right side, fought off a defender, and snuck a shot through the NEC goalie for a 1-0 lead at the 8:48 mark of the period.
- Plymouth State maintained the one-goal advantage into intermission.
- PSU pushed the lead to 3-0 with a pair of goals just 44 seconds apart during 4-on-4 play early in the second period. Junior Emily Gerrie (Littleton, Colo.) scored on a rebound at 6:12, and classmate Lilli Warnock (Bernardsville, N.J.) sent a long pass through the neutral zone to Porrello for a breakaway goal less than a minute later.
- NEC got on the board at 9:36 of the period when a shot from the left side slipped through Lehner, but PSU responded 43 seconds later to restore the three-goal cushion as Palmer redirected a shot from the point to make it 4-1 after two periods.
- Martin extended the lead to 5-1 with a short-handed tally 1:45 into the third when she whipped a wrister into a wide-open net off a rebound.
- Palmer potted her second of the night when she tipped in Martin's shot from the right circle at 8:02 of the frame.
- The Pilgrims scored on a breakaway just over a minute later to account for the final score.
By the Numbers:
- Palmer's two goals were a career high.
- Porrello finished with three points on a goal and two assists while winning 13-of-17 faceoffs. She sits one goal shy of second all-time and needs just three points to tie the program mark for career points.
- Gerrie and Martin each finished with a goal and an assist.
- Gerrie's helper gave her 29 career assists, tied for second all-time.
- Lehner made 22 saves to earn the win.
- The Panthers held a 40-24 shot advantage.
- PSU went 0-for-2 on the power play, while NEC was 1-for-5.
- Plymouth State leads the series, 19-14-3, and has won eight of the last nine meetings. The Panthers haven't lost at home to NEC since November 2015.
Up Next:
- The teams return to Hanaway Rink on Saturday (Feb. 7) for a 4 p.m. puck drop. The contest, which serves as PSU's Morgan's Message game, will be preceded by a Skate for the 22 Foundation game at 1 p.m. to raise awareness of the statistically significant rate of suicides among military veterans.
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