PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Plattsburgh State scored four unanswered goals to rally from a 2-0 deficit and down the Norwich University women's ice hockey team 4-2 on Sunday afternoon in non-conference action at the Stafford Ice Arena.
Plattsburgh junior forward Ali Vakos scored what proved to be the game-winning goal at the 13:31 mark of the third period to give the Cardinals their first lead of the game that they would never relinquish.
Vakos scooped up the puck beside the Norwich bench, catching the Cadets in the middle of a defensive line change and skated in alone on Fisk from the right wing. She got the puck on her forehand and then roofed a shot just inside the right post, beating Fisk high to the glove side to make it 3-2 Plattsburgh.
Just 51 seconds later Mia Favretto added the backbreaker insurance tally with a blast from the blue line that found its way through traffic and into the upper right corner of the net with Fisk screened. Andrea Ziesmann and Vakos picked up assists on the goal.
Norwich (6-2-3, 6-1-0 ECAC East) capitalized on an early power play opportunity when junior defenseman Kayla Parsons (Fairbanks, Alaska) blasted a howitzer from the blue line that rocketed over Plattsburgh goalie Sydney Aveson's right shoulder to give the Cadets a 1-0 lead 5:46 into the game. The goal was Parsons' sixth of the season and junior forward Tori Charron (Tecumseh, Ontario) picked up the assist on the goal.
After not recording a shot for the first 10 minutes of the game, Plattsburgh (11-0-1, 5-0-0 ECAC West) turned up the intensity on the second half of the period. The Cardinals registered six shots on net with a flurry of chances that Norwich junior goaltender Kelly Fisk (Hannibal, N.Y.) was able to fend off to keep the Cadets up by one heading into the first intermission.
Just over midway through the second period, Charron increased the Norwich lead to 2-0 with a nifty toe-drag to create space around a defender and then she snapped a wrist shot top shelf over Aveson's glove into the right corner of the net. The goal was Charron's team-leading 11th of the season and freshman forward Alison Greene (Massena, N.Y.) picked up the assist on the tally.
Fisk stymied the powerful Plattsburgh offense for nearly a full 40 minutes, but with 11.1 seconds left in the second period the Cardinals finally solved the NU goalie. With Fisk sprawled out on the ice frantically trying to cover the puck without her glove on, Shannon Stewart flipped a shot on her backhand under the cross bar off a scramble in front of the net to get the Cardinals on the board and cut the deficit to 2-1 heading into the second intermission.
The Cardinals used the late goal and continued to gain momentum right from the start of the third period with Teal Gove scoring her 10th goal of the season just 1:46 into the period.
Gove planted herself at the top of the crease and redirected a pass from behind the net from Morgan MacInnis that squirted under Fisk and just trickled over the line inside the left post to tie the game up at 2-2. Stewart also picked up an assist on the goal.
Plattsburgh outshot Norwich 30-18, including a staggering 14-6 margin in the third period. Fisk made 26 saves for the Cadets, while Aveson turned aside 16 shots to pick up the win for the Cardinals. Both teams were 1-for-2 on the power play.
Sunday's game marked the second time this season Plattsburgh rallied from a 2-0 deficit against Norwich. The Cardinals also scored two third period goals in the two team's first meeting this season at the East/West Hockey Classic on Oct. 28 at Kreitzberg Arena.
Norwich continues a busy week which features four games in a span of seven days on Wednesday when they host in-state ECAC East foe St. Michael's at 5:30 p.m. at Kreitzberg Arena. The Cadets then hit the road to face St. Michael's on Friday night and then travel to Salve Regina on Saturday.
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