Turning the calendar to 2015 was something that the Plymouth State Women’s hockey team could not do any quicker, and 2015 has gotten off to a much better start then 2014 ended.
Despite a 3-15-2 overall record, PSU has had a number of opportunities to improve their record, especially over the past seven games. Within each of these games, the Panthers have had a great opportunity to win all seven contests, but have only come away with two wins.
While going 2-4-1 may not seem all that impressive, consider the fact that both wins came against two of the better teams within the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC).
Against Castleton State College, the Panthers were able to jump out to a 1-0 lead after Kate Banys (Newburyport, MA) set up Marisa Zamrock (Lewiston, ME) for the goal. Despite Castleton scoring three of the next four goals, Kelsey Cosby (Walpole, MA) and Courtney Evans (Fairbanks, AK) both found the back of the net to ultimately give PSU the 4-3 come-from-behind win. In this game, Alyssa Altschuler (Cheshire, CT) and Mariah Trupp (Topeka, KS) combined to stop 43 of 46 shots that the Spartans fired on them.
The two points that PSU was able to receive from this game gave them some momentum as they were heading into the 2nd half of January.
In the Panthers’ next road game against Manhattanville, Plymouth got off to a great start, as captain Courtney Sollows (West Barnstable, MA) and Zamrock found the back of the net in the first five minutes of the game. Manhattanville was able to tie the game up at two apiece in the second period, but Frederike Brazeau Lalonde (Thetford Mines, Quebec) found the back of the net midway through the second to give Plymouth the lead back at 3-2. In the third, Manhattanville was able to tie the game back up at three.
With the game still tied at the end of three, Plymouth went into overtime not being content with coming away with only one point. Courtney Evans was able to block two shots in the period, and PSU was eventually able to score the game-winning goal with :53 left in overtime when Kelsey Lynch (Collegeville, PA) hit Olivia Leon (Natick, MA) for the game-winner.
In the team’s two most recent games, the Panthers fell to Norwich 2-1 in a game that PSU showed that they could contend with one of the best teams in the country. Plymouth followed that game up the next day with a 1-1 tie against the University of New England. In the UNE game, Leon was able to tie the game up at one with a powerplay goal with 15:30 left in the second period.
“They’re refusing to settle for mediocrity, and you can see that in both practice and games,” Head Coach Ashley Kilstein explained. “It’s definitely creating a level of intensity to everything we do.”
The mentality of this team is different from years past, as this team knows that they are capable of being a great team. With efforts that have been being put up over the past few weeks, this team looks to truly gain momentum heading into the last few weeks of the regular season. A big contributor to this effort is due to the time, and hard work that the Panthers have put into the team. “They have been putting in such hard work on and off the ice that we finally saw all of it come to fruition,” Kilstein added.
Winter Break allowed a number of the players to focus on arguably the biggest reason they came to Plymouth, and that is hockey. When the time is put in, getting those few bounces go in your direction gives you confidence, which is something that the team has developed. The Panthers have scored in eight of their past nine games, which may not sound like a big deal, but when you see that they scored in only two of their prior seven games, that attention to detail makes all the difference.
“It’s certainly nice to see them finding the back of the net, and there’s been contributions from every single line. We are deep now,” Kilstein said.
With five games (or ten potential points) remaining in the regular season, the Panthers will look to add as many points to their total as they can. Being only three points out of 8th place in the ECAC standings, it will be crucial for PSU to defeat teams that they should, and for Plymouth to continue to grind against some of the teams that are typically better within their conference.
The next home game for the Panthers will take place on Saturday (Feb. 7) night at 6:30 P.M., and PSU will look to capture another win against Castleton State.