The Utica College women's hockey team, making its ninth consecutive appearance in the ECAC Women's West Conference Tournament, lost to host and top seeded Plattsburgh State 5-2 in the semi-final game of the conference tournament Saturday.
The Pioneers season comes to a close with a 13-12-2 overall record. Plattsburgh, 23-1-2, advances to the finals of the conference tournament Sunday at 3 p.m. against the either RIT or Elmira.
After falling behind 2-0 the Pioneers netted two straight goals in a span of eight minutes to tie the score at 2-2 midway through the second period.
Tiffany Bichrest (Harpswell, ME/Hebron Academy) and
Jodie Galluzzi (Buffalo, NY/National Sports Academy) netted the Pioneers' goals.
Meagan Sudik (West Bend, WI/Wisconsin Wild) and
Lynny Gonzales (Rochester, NY/New Hampton Prep) each registered assists for Utica.
Plattsburgh, the No. 1 team in the nation, went on to score three unanswered goals to earn the victory. ECAC Women's West Conference Player of the Year Stephanie Moberg totaled three points for the Cardinals on three goals and one assist, while Brittany Meade and Steph Moon each added two assists.
Utica senior all-conference goalie Jill Doherty capped her senior season with 46 saves marking the fifth time in her career that she has totaled 40 or more saves in a single game. Mandy Mackrell totaled 28 stops in net for Plattsburgh.
The Pioneers took seven penalties on the afternoon but allowed just one power-play goal. Plattsburgh out shot UC 51-30 on the day.
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