The Plattsburgh State women’s hockey team scored one goal in each period en route to a tight 3-1 win over Oswego State on Wednesday night.

Taylor Whitney scored at 5:52 of the opening period after some commotion in front to originally tie the game at one. Annie Katonka scored on the power play with 43 seconds left in the second period after tipping a shot over the shoulder of Rachael Farmer.

But, Nicole Unsworth’s third-period goal at 11:11 came after some “incidental contact” where the whistle should have been blowing, associate head coach Mark Digby mentioned. He also said the officials “stayed out of the way making calls, and that’s all you can ask for.”

“It’s tough. The referees, they’ve got a hard job, too. It looked like the one player was just shoveling the puck and it was pushing Farmer out of the way,” Digby said. “In a game like that, you’re going to get some plays like that. It happens 100 times a game, you just hope it doesn’t cost you. But that one did.”

Megan Teachout was the lone Laker to score, only 5:20 into the. game after skating into the offensive zone, getting past a Plattsburgh State defender and hitting the top of the net past Ashley Davis. Teachout had three shots, and Eryn Stewart had a couple breakaway opportunities but only registered one shot.

The freshman now has sole possession of the team lead in goals with seven. Classmate Morgan Shines is next on the list with six. Digby highlighted her shot, adding “she can release her shot pretty quick” and it was a “high-level shot that she scored on.”

“On the goal, I think she just showed what she’s capable of doing. She keeps pucks wide, drags her feet. She’s a big kid and tough to defend when she’s moving that quickly,” Digby said. “If we can get her to consistently play like a power forward, then she’s going to have a heck of a career here. She’s got a great skillset. If we can get her to commit to driving pucks deep, she’s going to be hard to contain.”

The Lakers did not get many opportunities on the man-advantage, only throwing three shots on net during their four chances. They did allow two short-handed shots from the Cardinals.

Oswego State committed seven penalties, killing six of them outside of Katonka’s goal late in the second. Digby mentioned that Emily Gustafson blocked several shots and was strong on the penalty killing unit.

“Emily blocked one on her right leg, one on her left leg. I think she took one in the shoulder. She probably would’ve blocked one with her face if she could’ve,” Digby said. “When you’re getting performances like that, it’s easy to keep building energy. We’ve just to keep moving in that direction.”

Farmer was one of the better penalty killers as well, especially in net. She made 34 saves on 37 shots, including some sprawling and diving saves throughout the entire game.

Digby said “it was the best game she’s played all year,” despite the final score.

“She probably made all the saves she should’ve made, and then a couple which she shouldn’t have. That’s all you can ask for from your goalie,” Digby said. “We were happy for her. She’s been working extremely hard. She deserves to have games like that. She was awesome tonight.”

Oswego State (9-4-1, 6-3-1 NEWHL) has suffered all of its conference losses to Plattsburgh State, who has not lost a league game since the 2017-2018 season, when the Lakers tied the Cardinals 2-2 at the Marano Campus Center.

The Lakers now have a week before they travel to SUNY Cortland (10-3-1, 4-3-1 NEWHL) for the third and final matchup against the Red Dragons for the regular season. Oswego State holds a 1-0-1 record over SUNY Cortland so far this season, with a 3-3 tie on Nov. 16 and a 3-2 win on Dec. 4.

Digby added that the team has “a lot of growing left to do.”

“Just get back to work and get better. I don’t think we’re a finished product by any means,” Digby said. “Thus far, they have been so committed to working on things and not being satisfied with where they’re at. Tonight’s a step in the right direction.”

Photo by Ben Grieco | The Oswegonian