Women’s Hockey Looks to Capture ECAC wins

The Plymouth State Women’s Hockey team lost two tough games to Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) opponents last weekend, falling to the University of New England (2-0) and Norwich University (4-0). These losses drop the Panthers’ overall record to 1-4-1, and brings their ECAC East record to 1-3.

UNE was able to find the back of the net two times over the first 11:06 of the game, and was able to give them momentum for the game. PSU was able to out-shoot the Nor’easters in the first 13-8, but weren’t able to find the back of the net.

In the second frame, the Panthers came out trying to cut the deficit in half, and appeared to have a great opportunity when they were on a powerplay just under four minutes into the period. Emily Auby (Stoughton, WI) and Courtney Evans (Fairbanks, AL) were able to each get a shot off during the two minute span, but were unable to find the back of the net. PSU was unable to score in the second, but junior goalie Alyssa Altschuler (Cheshire, CT) stopped all nine shots.

Going into the third, PSU committed two penalties early in the period, and were ultimately unable to get the offense going. Despite Altschuler stopping 15 shots in the last 20 minutes of the contest, PSU fell in the game 2-0. Kelsey Lynch (Collegeville, PA) led the team with eight shots in the game.

Norwich, ranked third in the country, traveled over to Hanaway Rink on Saturday (Nov. 15) afternoon with the anticipation of rolling over PSU, but the Panthers put up a hell of a fight. The Cadets found the back of the net 4:42 into the contest, but were only able to score once in the first 20 minutes of the game. Altschuler stopped 10 of the 11 shots she faced in the period. 

The defense of PSU was able to contain Norwich in the early part of the second frame, but Altschuler wasn’t able to stop a shot 8:55 into the period. PSU had a number of chances to cut the score to 2-1 with shots from Lauren Connelly (Braintree, MA), Marisa Zamrock (Lewiston, ME) and Carolyn Simonis (Victoria, British Columbia), but they weren’t able to capitalize on these chances. Another Norwich goal put the game at 3-0, but PSU was able to get off four of the last six shots of the period.

Just under three minutes into the third, the Cadets were able to get the score to 4-0, and were able to put PSU away.

“One thing I can take from the weekend is that we are relentless,” said Head Coach Ashley Kilstein. Despite missing arguably the team’s best player in senior Kelsey Cosby (Walpole, MA), the Panthers were able to grind both games out to the very end. “Every person took their game to another level and battled,” said Kilstein.

Prior to next week’s Thanksgiving break, PSU has two games this weekend, both against ECAC East opponents. Holy Cross will travel up I-93 to face the Panthers in Plymouth on Friday, while PSU will take the trip over to Henniker, New Hampshire to take on New England College.

Kilstein feels confident about her team’s chances, stating that she is “ready for this group to understand it’s true potential and fire on all cylinders.” One player that the Panthers will “get” is Alivia Bates (Pennsauken, N.J.), as she is now able to join the team upon completing her field hockey season. Bates brings a lot of talent and emotion to this team, and should be an asset to the team.

Despite the 1-4-1 start, this team is different from ones of previous seasons, as they simply do not give up on themselves, or each other. They are also not intimidated by some of their opponents who have had success over the past few seasons, and believe that they can make some noise this season. “Every game for us is winnable so long as we play our game and stick to it.” Kilstein added.

Watch for this team to be competitive with an opportunity to win. “This weekend, look for our very best. This is a team on the rise, relentless and talented,” were Kilstein’s final words she echoed.