UTICA, NY - The national-ranked No. 14 and second-seeded Utica University women's hockey team defeated the seventh-seeded Chatham Cougars 5-0 in the UCHC Quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday evening. The Pioneers dominated both ends of the ice in the game, controlling the puck much of the game and out-shooting Chatham 50-10 on the night.
Kaci Ryder (Shrewsbury, MA/WC Swans), Erica Sloan (Potsdam, NY/St. Lawrence Steel), Callie McLaughlin (Centerport, NY/New Hampton School), Jordan Kowalski (Chicopee, MA/Plattsburgh State (NCAA DIII)), and Maggie Rylott (Cobourg, Ontario/West Northumberland) each scored one apiece in what was a balanced scoring effort. Ryder, Cortney Staniszewski (Buffalo, NY/Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles), Carolyn Whitney (Raleigh, NC/Millbrook School), Madison Novotny (Wesley Chapel, FL/Northwood School), Kelsey Elliott (Attleboro, MA/East Coast Wizards), and Angelina Garganese (Winter Springs, Fl/Florida Alliance) all provided an assist.
Angela Hawthorne (Santa Clara, CA/Meijer) was excellent in net, making 10 saves in net without allowing a goal.
Lindsey Batz tallied a season high 45 saves for the Cougars but Utica's offensive pressure proved to be too much for the team to handle.
The first period finished scoreless as Chatham's Batz was a brick wall in net, making 14 saves in the opening frame. Utica had several close scoring chances but ultimately couldn't convert.
Utica's puck dominance kept the action away from Hawthorne the majority of the period but the senior made several excellent saves to keep Chatham off the scoreboard. The team fended off a penalty kill in the period with ease, not allowing a shot on net during that stretch.
The Pioneers would jump out to a 2-0 lead in the second with scores from Sloan and Kowalski.
Chatham remained resilient throughout much of the period until an interference call at the 11:30 mark would lead to a Utica power play and shift the game's momentum.
Seconds into the 5-on-4 advantage, Erica Sloan (Potsdam, NY/St. Lawrence Steel) was left with plenty of room to operate after a faceoff and the graduate student capitalized on the Chatham defensive mistake, rifling a top-shelf shot into the back of the net.
Five minutes later, Elliott would intercept a puck in the neutral zone leading to a 2-on-1 breakaway. She dished a perfect pass over to Kowalski, setting her up with nobody to beat but the goalie. Kowalski fired a shot that would deflect off Batz and into the net, extending the Utica lead to two goals.
Utica remained on the attack in the third, coming out firing. Strong goalie play from Chatham continued as Batz made 12 saves to start the frame until McLaughlin snuck a wrist shot by her 13 minutes in.
Immediately following this score with Utica's same line out, Garganese collected a loose puck in Chatham's territory and found Ryder wide open who would snipe another goal top-shelf, extending the lead to 4-0.
In a last ditch effort, the Cougars would pull their goalie to try and muster up some offense. This plan was short lived as Whitney would find herself out in open ice where she dished a pass off to Rylott to score from point blank on the empty net, closing out the game.
Utica (21-3-2, 16-2-2 UCHC) will be back in action Saturday, February 24 at 7 p.m. in a UCHC Semifinal matchup vs the second lowest remaining seed. Utica's opponent will be determined by the end of Wednesday night.
