POTSDAM, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam women’s hockey team (4-7-1, 2-7-1 ECAC West) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, but was unable to hold off eighth-ranked Plattsburgh State (9-3-1, 7-0-1 ECAC West), falling 5-2 at home on Friday afternoon. Cardinal junior forward Teal Grove scored two goals and freshman forward Shannon Stewart added a goal and two assists to lead Plattsburgh.

Potsdam struck first on its very first opportunity of the contest. Just 1:49 into the game senior captain Annmarie Lewis took control of the puck at the left side of the net and centered it. Freshman forward Izzy Fayerman tipped the pass and sophomore forward Jenn Crawford slammed it home from the slot. The goal seemed to wake up the Cardinals. After building pressure over the next four minutes sophomore defenseman Allison Era ripped a shot from the point that rang the crossbar on its way in to tie the score at 1-1 at the 6:10 mark. Plattsburgh’s Stewart assisted on the goal. Just 52 seconds later junior forward Jordan Caldwell picked up the puck in the neutral zone, got behind the Potsdam defense and lifted a shot over the right shoulder of Bears junior goalie Jen Conophy for a 2-1 lead. The Cardinals outshot Potsdam 19-8 in the first period.

The second period was played much tighter defensively. Neither team had many shots through the first 10 minutes, but Plattsburgh capitalized on its second power play. Cardinal freshman defenseman Alyssa Parke fired a shot from the point and Grove tipped it past Conophy for a 3-1 lead. Era recorded the second assist on the play. The Bears killed off one other penalty in the period and trailed 3-1 at the break.

Potsdam wasted no time in the third period. At the 1:10 mark, sophomore forward Jessica Silveira fired the puck off the right pad off Plattsburgh junior goalie Sydney Aveson and in, to cut the gap to 3-2. However, two minutes and 18 seconds later, the Cardinals regained the two-goal lead with another power-play marker. Stewart tipped a Parke shot from the point to make it 4-2. Era also recorded an assist. The Bears matched opportunities with Plattsburgh for the remainder of the contest, but didn’t get any closer. With just 42 seconds remaining, Grove buried a rebound off a Stewart shot to close the scoring at 5-2. Freshman forward Morgan MacInnis notched the final assist.

Conophy finished with 44 saves for Potsdam and Aveson stopped 16 to earn the win. Plattsburgh outshot the Bears 49-18 and was 2-4 on the power play. Potsdam was 0-1 on the man advantage.

“I was very pleased with our effort and execution for the most part,” said Bears Head Coach Jay Green. “We had a couple fundamental breakdowns that cost us goals five-on-five. Teams like Plattsburgh capitalize on those types of mistakes. When you’re in the box, talented teams are going to take advantage. But there were times when we were able to put pressure on them and skate with them, so I’m proud of that.”

Potsdam is back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 10, when they travel to Castleton State to take on the Spartans at 4 p.m.