HENRIETTA, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam women’s hockey team (12-10-3) stayed even with the nation’s top team for two periods, but the RIT Tigers (24-1-1) broke loose in the third for a 6-1 victory in the ECAC West Semifinals. Junior goalie Jen Conophy made 43 saves and sophomore forward Jenn Crawford scored for the Bears.

Potsdam continued its strong defensive play in the first period. The Bears blocked shots and didn’t allow many second chance opportunities. Conophy was on her game with 14 saves in the opening 20 minutes. Potsdam’s penalty kill was sharp early, killing off two Tiger power play opportunities. The Tigers finally broke through at the 14:20 mark. Conophy stopped the initial shot and a rebound, but with the puck loose in front of the net Kourtney Kunichika batted it into the open net to put RIT up 1-0. The Bears were awarded a power play late in the period and created some offensive chances, but didn’t score.

Tiger penalties allowed the Potsdam offense to gain confidence in the second period. The Bears put great pressure on RIT freshman goalie Ali Binnington on a five-on-three power play, but Binnington made several goal-saving plays. The Tigers successfully killed the power plays, but it was a turnover that allowed the Bears to tie the game. At 8:38, Crawford poked the puck away from a RIT defenseman, carried the puck into the Tiger zone and roofed a shot over Binnington. Moments later Erin Zach split Potsdam’s defense for a breakaway. Conophy got a piece of the shot and the puck ricocheted harmlessly off the crossbar. The Tigers regained momentum with a late power play, but were unable to score despite intense pressure.

RIT took control of the contest in the third period. Just 28 seconds into the final 20 minutes, Kim Schlattmann picked up the puck in the neutral zone, raced the length of the ice ripped a shot over Conophy’s left shoulder. Four minutes later Potsdam was back on the power play with a chance to tie. However, the Tigers broke out of their zone and Schlattmann struck for a short-handed goal and a 3-1 advantage at the 5:18 mark. RIT continued to build momentum and tacked on three more for the 6-1 victory.

Binnington finished with 20 saves to earn the win in goal. The Bears finished 0-8 on the play and RIT was 1-10.

The loss brought a close to the careers of seniors Annmarie Lewis, Brandi Atwell, Breanna Roy and Caitlin Manahan.

It was a record setting season for the women’s hockey program. The Bears set a new school record with 12 overall and seven conference victories. They posted their first winning season, first playoff victory, first victory over a ranked opponent, and first appearance in the conference semifinals.