PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Suffolk women's hockey secured its first victory of the season Friday night as the Rams defeated Plymouth State, 3-2, at Hanaway Rink in the rivals New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) debut.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | Plymouth State 2
RECORDS: Suffolk (1-2-0, 1-0-0 NEHC) | Plymouth State (0-2-0, 0-2-0 NEHC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Plymouth State punched through the scoring at the 13:37 minute mark when Caitlin Connor worked along the end boards and slid a pass to Julie Nagel. Nagel flipped a wrister top shelf past Kristen Caporusso to give the hosts the early edge.
Less than four minutes later, Maddy Burton took advantage of a scrum in front of the net to level the playing field at one apiece. Payton Dockus and Shana Cote helped on the game-tying goal.
With four seconds left on the clock before the first intermission Grace Scholz put the blue-and-gold in front. The sophomore skate through the middle of the ice and beat Becca Bridge blocker side to push the Rams ahead, 2-1.
The Rams padded their lead 48 seconds into the second stanza as Cassidy Gruning got space in transition and deked to her backhand for the insurance strike.
Suffolk held onto the two-goal cushion until the 6:56 mark of the third when Zoe Killisch potted a powerplay goal to trim the margin to one with plenty of time remaining in regulation.
Caporssuo scooped up the Panthers final three attempts on target to keep the advantage and seal up the victory for Suffolk.
NETMINDER NOTES
- Caporusso registered a 14-save effort in net.
- Bridget recorded 39 saves in the setback.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Burton and Cote had two-point outings. Burton scored one goal and set-up another, while Cote handed out a pair of assists.
- Gruning and Scholz each scored one goal.
- Dockus dished out one helper.
- Suffolk held a commanding lead in shots, 42-16.
- The Panthers won the face-off dot, 31-28.
NOTEWORTHY
- Suffolk opened NEHC action on the road and against Plymouth State for the first time.
- The Rams remain unbeaten in its first conference contest of the year in program history, 2-0-0.
- Suffolk moved to 2-1-0 versus Plymouth State.
- Burton tallied her first points in a Suffolk sweater.
- Gruning scored her first collegiate goal.
- Cote is on a two-game point streak. Over that stretch the sophomore has two goals and two assists.
POST-GAME PIC
WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk heads to the friendly confines of the Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink for its home debut against Castleton tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 9. Puck drop is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.