PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A historic road victory to open the 2026-27 season has earned three Little East Conference (LEC) weekly honors for the Norwich University women's ice hockey team, with sophomore forward Geena Cookinham (Gilmanton, N.H.), senior defenseman Dani Ammons (Centennial, Colo.), and senior goaltender Payton Sutherland (Brighton, Colo.) receiving recognition from the league office on Monday.

Cookinham was selected as LEC Forward of the Week, Ammons earned Defender of the Week honors, and Sutherland was named Goaltender of the Week after No. 2 Norwich blanked No. 11 Plattsburgh State University, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon at Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.

The victory gave Norwich its first road win over Plattsburgh since 2017 and marked the Cadets' first shutout of the Cardinals in the history of the series.

Cookinham supplied two of Norwich's three goals, striking in two different special-teams situations during the sophomore's first multi-goal performance of the season.

Her first came on Norwich's only power-play opportunity of the afternoon.  With the Cadets on the man advantage midway through the opening period, Cookinham converted at 14:05 to give Norwich a 1-0 lead.

She returned to the scoresheet in the closing minute of regulation.

With Norwich protecting a 2-0 advantage while skating shorthanded, Cookinham helped put the result beyond doubt, scoring with 58 seconds remaining to complete the 3-0 victory.

The sophomore finished with two goals on three shots on goal while also contributing a blocked shot.

The Forward of the Week selection is Cookinham's first under the LEC's newly separated forward and defender award structure.  She earned four weekly honors during her freshman campaign in 2025-26, collecting Rookie of the Week three times and Player of the Week once.

Ammons delivered a two-way performance from the blue line, finishing with two assists and two blocked shots while playing a key role in a Norwich defensive effort that kept Plattsburgh off the scoreboard.

Her first assist came on Breanna Ricker (Laconia, N.H.)'s second-period goal, which doubled Norwich's advantage to 2-0 with 2:56 remaining in the frame.

Ammons added her second helper on Cookinham's shorthanded goal in the final minute, while also contributing defensively to a penalty kill that erased all five Plattsburgh power-play opportunities.

That work became especially important late in the third period, when Norwich was forced to defend another Cardinal power play while protecting its two-goal lead. Ammons blocked an attempt with 1:11 remaining before helping spring the sequence that resulted in Cookinham's shorthanded insurance goal moments later.

The Defender of the Week award is the first weekly conference honor of Ammons' career.

Sutherland completed the trio after authoring a shutout in her first start of the season.

The senior stopped all 24 shots she faced, making 10 saves in the opening period before turning aside seven shots in both the second and third.

Her work was especially important early, as Plattsburgh held a 10-4 advantage in shots on goal during the first period while attempting to establish pressure on home ice.

Sutherland never allowed the Cardinals to break through.  She also anchored Norwich's penalty-killing effort throughout the afternoon.  Plattsburgh received five power-play opportunities totaling 10 minutes, but managed only two shots on goal during those chances as the Cadets finished a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.

Plattsburgh ultimately finished with a 24-20 advantage in shots on goal and generated 55 total shot attempts, but Sutherland and the Norwich defense held firm throughout all three periods.

The Goaltender of the Week selection is the first weekly conference honor of Sutherland's career.

The three awards arrive as Norwich begins its second season in the Little East Conference, which first sponsored men's and women's ice hockey during the 2025-26 campaign.

Norwich will open LEC play at Kreitzberg Arena this weekend, hosting Keene State College on Friday, Nov. 6, at 6:00 p.m. before welcoming Western Connecticut State University on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 3:00 p.m.  The matchup with WestConn will mark the first meeting between the two programs.