MIDDLEBURY — In a Saturday duel of top NCAA Division III women’s college hockey teams, visiting No. 2 Plattsburgh edged No. 3 Middlebury, 4-3, denying Panther coach Bill Mandigo his 500th career victory in the process.
Mandigo’s team will look for that milestone victory this Saturday at 3 p.m. in a NESCAC quarterfinal at Chip Kenyon Arena, when the top-seeded Panthers (18-3-3, 13-1-2 NESCAC) host No. 8 Hamilton (10-10-4, 4-9-3 NESCAC).
If the Panthers win, they will host the NESCAC final four the following weekend.
On this past Saturday, Plattsburgh improved to 21-2-2 with the victory. The Cardinals took the lead at 2:06 of the first when Morgan MacInnis stole the puck behind the Panther net and fed Katelyn Turk in front.
Katie Mandigo’s power-play goal tied the score a little less than eight minutes later; she tipped a pass home after passes from Katie Sullivan and Kate Moreau.
A minute later a Middlebury goal was disallowed when a Panther skated into the crease just before the puck crossed the line, and the period finished at 1-1.
PSU scored twice in the second, on a long rush by Bridget Balisy and a late tally by Shannon Stewart after Jordan Lipson fed her from behind the net.
In the final period, Sullivan wristed a shot from the left point past Cardinal goalie Camille Leonard to make it 3-2. With a little more than seven minutes left in regulation, Cardinal Giovanna Senese scored what proved to be the game-winner from the left point.
The Panthers pulled goalie Madeleine Marsh early for an extra skater and pulled to within one at 17:31. Sullivan poked a loose puck into the net following attempts by Janka Hlinka and Jessica Young on the doorstep. The Panthers had a pair of shots in the final minute, but Plattsburgh held on.
Marsh stopped 27 shots, while Leonard was credited with 21 saves for the Cardinals.