By COURTNEY LEWIS
PLATTSBURGH — Cortland's goal late in Friday's first period may have been the turning point of the game — in Plattsburgh State's favor.
Plattsburgh State coach Kevin Houle said the goal, which tied the game, probably helped his team. The Cardinals responded with two quick scores and another early in the second period as they skated away with an 8-1 win at Stafford Ice Arena.
Laurie Bowler, Jordan Caldwell and Megan DiJulio all scored twice and Steph Moon had five points as Plattsburgh State extended its unbeaten streak to 10 games.
The ECAC West series continues today.
Danielle Scharf knotted the score at 1-1 with a power-play marker at 15:26 of the first. Bowler answered for Plattsburgh State 15 seconds later, and Brittany Meade made it 3-1 with just under three minutes left in the period.
The Cardinals (16-1-1, 13-0-1 ECACW) were outshooting the Red Dragons 9-1 before Scharf's goal, but Houle said his team wasn't playing with much intensity.
"I thought we got that first goal fairly early and thought it would probably be easy," Houle said. "So we didn't have that extra drive, I thought, in the first period.
"I think the goal they scored woke us up a little bit. So I think that was maybe a blessing that they could get that goal. Because we were just kind of sleeping our way through most of that period."
Moon carried over the scoring spurt 1:39 into the second, and Erika Shaubel earned her second assist of the game.
Bowler gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead 1:34 into the game. Caldwell netted her goals in a three-minute span in the second, and DiJulio scored both of hers in the third.
Moon had four assists, Bowler and Kara Buehler finished with two and DiJulio added one. Mandy Mackrell had 10 stops in Plattsburgh State's nets.
Katie Double took the loss for Cortland (4-14-1, 3-8-1), making 22 saves on 28 shots before being replaced in the second period.
Houle said the Cardinals improved their play out front in the last two periods, and they need to continue that today.
"We just needed to do a better job getting to the net and getting some second and third shots," he said. "Sometimes we can get too cute out there and try to make too many passes and don't have people in front of the net. So we need to work on that.
"If you have someone in front of the net, you're going to occupy one of their players and tie someone up and have an opportunity to score. If everybody's in the corner or on the perimeter, you're not going to score."
—
Plattsburgh State 8, Cortland 1
Cortland100—1
Plattsburgh State332—8
First period- 1, PS, Bowler (Moon, Shaubel), 1:34. 2, C, Scharf (Giamo, Osborne), 15:26 (pp). 3, PS, Bowler (DiJulio, Moon), 15:41. 4, PS, Meade (Moberg, Buehler), 17:07 (pp).
Second period- 5, PS, Moon (Shaubel), 1:39. 6, PS, Caldwell (Gove, Giroux), 10:43. 7, PS, Caldwell (Bond, Buehler), 13:45 (pp).
Third period- 8, PS, DiJulio (Moon, Bowler), 1:35. 9, PS, DiJulio (Moon, Bowler), 15:07.
Shots on goal:
Cortland335—11
Plattsburgh State131716—46
Goaltenders (shots-saves): Double, C, 28-22. Sitcov, C, 18-16. Mackrell, PS, 11-10.
Power plays (goals-opportunities): Cortland 1-4; Plattsburgh State 2-5.
Attendance: 294.
E-mail Courtney Lewis at: clewis@pressrepublican.com
