PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Keene State College women's ice hockey team opened their inaugural season by splitting a home-and-home series with Plymouth State University. The Owls traveled to take on the Panthers on Tuesday afternoon, looking to take the season series, but they fell short, as only one goal was scored and KSC fell, 1-0.

Records

• Keene State: 13-10-0
• Plymouth State: 13-6-1

How it Happened


Five minutes into the contest, PSU had their first power play opportunity, but the Owls killed it off with ease, as the Panthers only recorded a single shot, that Ellie Patrick blocked for the Owls. Neither team recorded a shot on goal until 8:02 into the first, when Ai Chung saved a shot in net for the Owls. The second half of the opening period, neither team found the back of the net, as Chung made seven saves in net, and Teagan Wilson saved six shots for the Panthers between the pipes.
 
Just 28 seconds after Emily DeSimone won the opening faceoff of the second period, PSU got on the board as Laura Castronova fired a shot from the blue line past Chung. The Panthers looked to score another goal on a power play, 4:31 into the period, but the Owls did not allow a shot for entire two minutes as they once again, easily killed it off. PSU then recorded four shots on goal, that Chung saved over the next two minutes, before the Owls tried their chance on a power play opportunity. To start the Owls' extra-skater advantage, it looked as if PSU had the extra-skater advantage, as they possessed the puck in the offensive zone for the Owls and recorded three shots on goal that Chung saved over a 15 second span. The Panthers ended up killing the rest of the penalty off after Wilson made a save in net and Paige Henault's shot hit the post as the period reached the halfway point. After both netminders made another pair of saves over the next few minutes, KSC had another power play opportunity with 4:28 left in the period. KSC recorded just two shots on net that Wilson saved, over the two minutes, along with two more after the penalty was over as she held on to the one-goal advantage heading into the final period.
 
KSC started the third period down a skater due to the team being seven second late to the ice prior to the period, but it did not hurt them in the end, as Chung saved the two shots that she faced on the penalty kill. Over the next 12 minutes, KSC recorded only one shot, which went wide, while PSU had seven shots that Chung was forced to save in goal. With 5:27 remaining on the clock, PSU had another power play opportunity, but KSC killed it off with two saves by Chung, while with 14 second still on the penalty, PSU was called for a penalty of their own. In the 14 second of 4-on-4 and remaining 1:46 of an extra-skater advantage, KSC only recorded a pair of shots, with one being on goal, that Wilson saved. In the closing two minutes of the game, KSC was unable to get anything going, as they were on the defensive side for most of it, with Chung being forced to make three saves as she was unable to leave for the extra skater for the Owls attack. In the final 14 seconds, PSU was called for another penalty, but with very little time remaining, the Owls were unable to capitalize on the 6-on-4 advantage, as they fell in the end, 1-0.
 
Inside the Crease

• Chung made 33 saves in net for the Owls, for the second straight game, while Wilson only needed to make 14 saves, including one single save in the third period.
• KSC went 26-for-49 (53.1%) on faceoffs, with Iantosca leading the way, going 12-for-18 (66.6%).
• The Owls defense recorded nine blocked shots, with Rory Owens and Maddie DeSouza leading the way with two apiece.
• Both teams went a combined 0-for-8 on power plays, with each team averaging one shot on goal per power play. 

Up Next
The Owls next play on Saturday, February 8 at 2:00 PM at the University of New England.
Plymouth State travels to take on the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts for their next contest, on Friday, February 7, at 6:00 PM.