Plattsburgh State women’s hockey finishes third

BY BEN WATSON

Press-Republican Sports

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — It wasn’t in the game that she or the Cardinals wanted to be playing, but Annie Katonka ended her Plattsburgh State career, March 19, doing what she has often done: scoring the game winner.

With just over five minutes left in the NCAA Division III women’s hockey tournament third place game, the Cardinals first line of Katonka, Ivy Boric and Sara Krauseneck set to work in the Elmira zone, eventually scoring when Boric dropped a pass back to Katonka who wired a wrist shot over the Soaring Eagles’ goalie from the slot.

“We didn’t win the tournament, but the second best thing was beating Elmira, all things considered,” Katonka said with a laugh. “I was just trying to shoot the puck, and it ended up going in; I didn’t really see anything except the light going off.”

THE GAME

After falling to Gustavus Adolphus 5-1 on Friday, Plattsburgh State trailed early in the tilt with Elmira as well, with Claire Elfring opening the scoring 6:56 into the game.

But the Cards held them to that goal, getting to the first intermission down 1-0 and looking far better than their start against the Gusties.

“We were ready to play yesterday, we just played against a buzzsaw of a team that plays a different style,” Plattsburgh coach Kevin Houle said. “Elmira plays a different style (than Gustavus), more like we play and it was kind of a back and forth game, but it was certainly more our style today.”

That strong play continued into the second, with Cardinal goals from Nicole Unsworth and Boric sandwiching a Soaring Eagle goal from Kelly Millins.

The 2-2 tie appeared to have been broken a bit earlier than Katonka’s winner when Boric finished a play with 8:02 left in the third period, but the goal was called off due to goaltender interference from Katonka as she battled with an Elmira defender in front.

Houle was pleased to see the game not need extra time when Katonka’s goal came around.

“I didn’t want to go to OT; we just really wanted to get out of here, and it was a great play by Sara, Ivy and Annie, again,” Houle said. “No one really wants to play (the consolation) game, but when you get out there and you lace them up, you want to be out there to win.”

DEPARTURES

Katonka, her co-captain Erin McArdle and Kaitlyn Drew-Meade all came back for a fifth year at the college and with the team when an extra year of NCAA eligibility was allowed following the cancellation of various seasons during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s yet to be seen if this year’s seniors like Krauseneck, Unsworth, Taylor Whitney, Sierra Benjamin and Emma Killeen will follow a similar path.

Regardless, the Plattsburgh State squad will be losing massive pieces up front in Katonka and Drew-Meade, and on the blue line in McArdle, a fact not lost on Boric.

“First and foremost, I’m going to miss them off the ice; they’re amazing friends and a great time,” Boric said. “On the ice, we have some big shoes to fill, and step up and put the puck in the net because big AK’s not going to be here anymore.”

While she would have much rather been facing Middlebury on Saturday to end things, Katonka is leaving knowing that she gave her best.

“Getting a second chance at everything was great,” Katonka said. “We wish we would have ended playing at 7 p.m., but, at the end of the day, I can say I gave it my all for all five years, and I left everything out there.”

GABE DICkENS/P-R Photo

Plattsburgh State’s Sara krauseneck lets loose a point-blank shot against Elmira goaltender Leonie-Louise kuehberger in the first period of Saturday’s matchup with the Soaring Eagles. The Cardinals went on to win that 2022 NCAA Division III Women’s Hockey Tournament third-place game, 3-2. Middlebury defeated Gustavus Adolphus in overtime later that night to win the national championship.

EXPERIENCE

Though Boric was a junior this year, it was her, and many members of the team’s, first appearance in the final four.

Her freshman year, the 201920 season, was cut short not long after the Cardinals won that year’s NEWHL championship before the next season was wiped out entirely.

The sky-high expectations that a team like Plattsburgh State always has weren’t quite met in 2021-22, but the trip to the tournament will look to be a big building block for the younger members of the team who are sticking around.

“It was definitely a great experience to get under our belts,” Boric said. “It’s not the outcome we wanted, but, going into next year, it’s something to push for to get back here and find a way to win.”

— Plattsburgh State 3, Elmira 2

ELM 1 1 0 — 2 PSU 0 2 1 — 3 First period- 1, ELM, Elfring, 6:56. Second period- 2, PSU, Unsworth (Boric, Katonka), 4:34. 3, ELM, Millins (McArdle, Haviland), 8:56. 4, PSU, Boric (Benjamin, Krauseneck), 19:35. Third period- 5, PSU, Katonka (Boric, Krauseneck), 14:54. Shots- Plattsburgh State, 33-20. Saves- Nease, PSU, 18. Kuehberger, ELM, 30. Email Ben Watson bwatson@pressrepublican.com Twitter: @BenWatsonPR

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