Big second period pushes Potsdam women to victory

POTSDAM, N.Y. – The SUNY Potsdam women’s hockey team rebounded from a shaky start Saturday to defeat St. Michael’s (Vt.) 6-3 in non-conference action at Maxcy Hall Ice Arena.

After the teams battled evenly to a 2-2 tie after one period, the Bears (3-7) rallied for three goals in a 10-minute span in the second, taking control of the contest despite a St. Michael’s goal during the run.

“St. Michael’s came out hard and never gave up,” Potsdam coach Jay Green said. “We were sloppy at times and it got us in trouble on more than one occasion. We needed to settle down, get back to the basics of what we were trying to accomplish and pay attention to detail in our own zone.

“We applied a lot of pressure in our offensive zone, so we didn’t have to spend much time in our own zone.”

Juniors Stephanie Simons (Stratford, Ontario) and Annmarie Lewis (Newmarket, Ontario) totaled three points apiece to lead Potsdam, which outshot the Purple Knights (2-8-1) 52-30. Freshman Emma Smetaniuk (Frankford, Ontario) added two goals.

Simons’ goal with 9:42 remaining in the third period gave the Bears insurance and accounted for the final tally.

Potsdam’s junior class, which Green considers to be among the best in the Eastern College Athletic Conference West, accounted for four of the team’s six goals.

“We needed some of our strong junior class to break out a little bit because they had been in a slump, so to speak,” Green said. “Their speed and skill level give them a lot of opportunities to put points on the board.”

Freshman goaltender Dawna Salvarinas (Mississauga, Ontario) tallied 27 saves to pick up her first career win.

The two teams traded goals over a nine-minute stretch in the first period. Smetaniuk opened the scoring just over eight minutes into the game off passes from sophomore Katie Komsa (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) and freshman Jessica Silveira (Brampton, Ontario). Lewis put the Bears ahead 2-1 off assists from Simons and sophomore Nadine Cunningham (Bow, N.H.) before the Purple Knights tied it with 3:05 remaining in the frame.

Junior Breanna Roy (Orleans, Ontario), Smetaniuk and junior Caitlin Manahan (St. Albans, Vt.) each found the back of the net during the second period run. The first two scores came on power play opportunities.

Following the winter break, the Bears return to action on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 7-8, at the Rutland Herald Invitational in Rutland, Vt. Potsdam takes on Plymouth St. on Friday at 4 p.m. and will play Saturday at 1 or 4 p.m. against either host Castleton or Buffalo St., pending Friday’s results.