NCAA TOURNAMENT: Endicott Falls, 3-2, In Overtime To Plattsburgh State

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Endicott women's ice hockey team fell to Plattsburgh State in overtime, 3-2, on Wednesday evening in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Tournament at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. Tonight's contest marked the Gulls' first-ever NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Tournament postseason appearance in program history.

Endicott struck first at the 4:37 mark of the opening period when Jillian Gibbs (Burlington, Vt.) sent a hard shot from the left faceoff circle high glove side into the far top corner of the net to give the Gulls an early 1-0 lead. 

Courtney Sullivan (North Yarmouth, Maine) then netted her 11th goal of the season just over 12 minutes later to give Endicott the 2-0 advantage. Lauren Ferraiuolo (North Haven, Conn.) took a shot from the blue line and Sullivan deflected the puck up and over the Plattsburgh netminder for the tally.

The Cardinals cut the deficit to one goal on a tally from Courtney Moriarty (Estero, Fla.) at 4:22 of the second. With time winding down in the third period, Annie Katonka (Pittsburgh, Pa.) found the equalizer to tie the game 2-2. 

Both teams continued to pressure offensively but neither team found the go-ahead goal so the contest went into overtime. Ultimately, Moriarty scored the game-winner 45 seconds into the extra frame to send the Cardinals to the next round of the tournament.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Vendela Jonsson (Linkoping, Sweden) tied her career high in saves with 48 stops throughout the game.
• Kassi Abbott (Medford, Mass.) improved to 26-2-0 in goal behind eight saves.  
• Ashlie Jones (Billerica, Mass.), Alexa Pretkelis (Crystal Lake, Ill.), Ferraiuolo, and Gibbs were each credited with an assist.
• Plattsburgh State now leads the all-time series, 1-0-0. 
• This was only the fourth contest that the Cardinals have trailed in during the season (2-2 record in those contests).
• The Cardinals have won four out of the last five NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Championship titles. 

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (19-5-4) finishes a historic season which saw the Gulls capture their first Colonial Hockey Conference Championship title and make their first NCAA Tournament appearance. Plattsburgh State (26-2-0) will face either Elmira or Norwich in the quarterfinal round of the 2019 NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Championship on Saturday, March 9, at the highest remaining seed.

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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)