No. 2/2 Women's Ice Hockey Wraps Up 2018 Portion of Schedule With 5-0 Win Over Trinity (Conn.)

HARTFORD, Conn. – The No. 2/2 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team closed out the 2018 portion of its schedule with a 5-0 non-conference win over Trinity (Conn.) College Friday evening at Williams Rink in the Koeppel Community Sports Center. Plattsburgh State is ranked at No. 2 in both the USCHO.com Women's Division III Top-10 Poll and the D3hockey.com Women's Top-10 Poll. Senior forward Mackenzie Millen (Anchorage, Alaska/North American Hockey Academy) led the Cardinals with two goals and two assists, while freshman forward Taylor Whitney (Livonia, Mich./Little Caesars) assisted on four goals. The Cardinals outshot the Bantams by a 44-19 margin in addition to going 2-for-4 on the power play. Plattsburgh State sustained a pair of penalties 38 seconds apart midway through the second period—Trinity's lone power-play opportunities of the game—and ended up killing off those chances, including 1:22 of a 5-on-3 power play. Plattsburgh State rises to 10-1-0 overall with the win and has nearly a month off from competition before facing Adrian College on Sunday, Jan. 6, at 5 p.m. to open up Norwich University's East-West Hockey Classic. Adrian topped the Cardinals, 1-0, when they played earlier this season at the Panther/Cardinal Classic. Trinity drops to 2-4-0 overall with the loss and next visits Castleton University on Wednesday, Jan. 2, at 5 p.m. Millen scored on a 5-on-3 power play at 16:11 of the first period to kick off scoring. Freshman defenseman Sierra Benjamin (Palm Coast, Fla./Northwood School) took a shot from the left face-off circle that was turned aside and Whitney attempted a shot that was denied as well before Millen cashed in on the rebound from the bottom of the right circle. Sophomore forward Abby Brush (Mount Prospect, Ill./Chicago Young Americans) was officially credited with the assist on the play. Junior defenseman Hannah Kiraly (Glendale, Ariz./Northern Cyclones) buried her first goal of the season 3:00 into the second period. Sophomore defenseman Emma Killeen (Watertown, Conn./The Gunnery) played the puck down to Whitney behind the goal line, and Whitney passed up to Kiraly on the left point. Kiraly then used a slap shot to beat the Bantam goalie and stake the Cardinals to a 2-0 advantage. Whitney was the lone person to earn an assist on the play. Millen scored 7:26 into the second period to make it a 3-0 game, as she forced a turnover in Trinity's zone and tallied on a wrist shot that beat the goalie low stick side. Whitney was credited with the assist on the goal. Benjamin recorded her first collegiate goal 11:57 into the second on the power play. Whitney's shot was blocked before Millen collected the rebound and passed across the slot to Benjamin in the left circle. Benjamin then unleashed a shot that beat the goalie blocker side to give the Cardinals a 4-0 advantage. Finally, with 12 seconds left in regulation, freshman forward Moe Tsukimoto (Sapporo, Japan/Northwood School) closed out scoring, using assists from Millen and Whitney. Senior goaltender Kassi Abbott (Medford, Mass./Boston Shamrocks Elite) made 19 saves in the shutout win for the Cardinals, while junior goaltender Kai-Lilly Karpman turned aside 39 shots in the loss for the Bantams. Abbott moved back into a tie for the NCAA Division III lead in shutouts with seven now for the season.