Women's Hockey | 1/22/2011 6:43:00 PM
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ROCHESTER, NY – Goaltenders #
Laura Chamberlain (Norco, CA/LA Selects)# of RIT and Mandy Mackrell of SUNY Plattsburgh combined to stop all 59 shots they faced, as the No. 1 Tigers (17-0-2, 11-0-2 ECAC West) and No. 4 Cardinals (12-2-3, 8-1-2 ECAC West) played to a scoreless draw in front of 1,383 fans at Ritter Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Chamberlain, who was named the game's second star, stopped all 25 shots she faced for her fifth shutout of the season. She made 13 of her 25 saves in the third period, when Plattsburgh out-shot the Tigers 13-6.
Mackrell was tremendous for the Cardinals, stopping all 34 shots she faced to earn first star honors for the second straight game. She had to stop five RIT shots on a power-play in overtime, including two shots by #
Sarah Dagg (St. George, Ontario/Hamilton Hawks)# that were marked for the top corner. Last night, she made 40 saves in a 2-2 tie.
RIT was 0-for-4 with the man-advantage, while Plattsburgh was 0-for-6. The Tigers out-shot Plattsburgh, 34-26.
The Tigers extended their season-long unbeaten streak to 19 games. RIT's penalty-killing unit has now killed off 37 straight power-play attempts over seven consecutive games.
In the overtime, RIT received a power-play with 3:35 remaining, and had several good chances, but Mackrell stood her ground. #
Kolbee McCrea (Wawa, Ontario/Burlington Barracudas)# tipped a shot in close that just went wide. Dagg fired two shots that Mackrell gloved.
Right after, the Cardinals received a power-play with just over a minute left, but could not convert. Chamberlain had to make one big save on Steph Moon from the right face-off circle through traffic to preserve the tie.
RIT holds a two-point edge over Elmira for first place in the ECAC West standings. Plattsburgh is four points back, but holds a game in hand on both teams. RIT will play twice at Elmira within 15 days in February.
It is the first time that RIT has been shutout since Jan. 5, 2008, when Middlebury defeated RIT 3-0. The last time RIT played to scoreless tie was Jan. 18, 2003 at Southern Maine. The last time RIT was shutout at Ritter Arena was on Jan. 26, 2005, when Elmira blanked the Tigers 4-0.
RIT Head Coach
Scott McDonald thought that his team played very well in both games, but was not rewarded with two wins.
“I thought we controlled the tempo and better of the scoring chances for the majority of the weekend,” said McDonald, who is two wins shy of 100 for his career. “Both goalies were outstanding today. Laura (Chamberlain) made some huge saves for us, while their goaltender came up big for them. We still control our destiny to host the ECAC West playoffs, so we want to make sure we continue to play well and be able to host.”
In the third period, #
Katie Stack (Batavia, NY/Rochester Edge)# had RIT's best chance to break the deadlock, early on a power-play, as she tipped a shot by #
Traci Galbraith (Oakville, Ontario/Burlington Jr. Barracudas)# past Mackrell, but off the right goal post.
Moments later, Megan DiJulio had Plattsburgh's best chance, weaving through a sea of Tiger defenders, before putting a backhandThe Tigers played a strong second period, generating several chances, out-shooting the Cardinals, 10-4, but once again were unable to solve Mackrell.
The line of McCrea, Dagg, and #
Kim Schlattman (Stratford, Ontario/Cambridge Fury)# had two shifts late in the middle period where they looked to break through, but once again, Mackrell stood her ground.
RIT out-shot Plattsburgh 13-7 in what was an evenly played period, with both teams generating good chances.
Plattsburgh had two breakaways early on. Brittany Meade came in all alone on Chamberlain, but was unable to get a clean shot off before the Tiger goaltender made an easy save. Moments later, Moon came in all alone, went to the forehand and was denied by Chamberlain.
RIT thought they had the game's first goal late in the opening frame, as #
Ariane Yokoyama (Van Nuys, CA/LA Selects)# appeared to put the puck past Mackrell while flat on her back, but the goal was correctly waved off because Yokoyama swatted the puck in with her hand. #
Kourtney Kunichika (Fullerton, CA/LA Selects)# centered a pass from behind the Cardinals net that bounced off Mackrell and hovered on the goal line. Yokoyama swatted at the puck and appeared to have an open net, but the attempt was tipped by Plattsburgh's Allison Era off the goal post. Yokoyama was knocked down from behind, fell to the ice and put the puck in with her open hand.
Plattsburgh now leads the all-time series between the two schools, 8-2-2.
Last night, Dagg scored with 55.6 seconds left in regulation to propel the Tigers to a 2-2 tie, which snapped their 17-game winning streak. Mackrell made 40 saves for the Cardinals.
Today's crowd of 1,383 was the second highest in RIT women's hockey history, and one of the highest all-time for a Division III women's hockey contest. Friday's game was played in front of a capacity crowd of 2,100 fans, a Division III record crowd for a regular season game.
The Tigers, along with Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority partnered with Geneva General Cardiology Associates to help “Black Out Heart Disease”. RIT wore special black jerseys for both weekend games. These jerseys were auctioned off online, with the 22 jerseys fetching an impressive total of $6,927, all of which will be donated to Geneva General Cardiology Associates. With added donations and special t-shirt sales, the grand total is expected to be around $9,500.
“Our fans did a great job of supporting us this weekend, and we raised a lot of money for a great cause in heart disease awareness,” said McDonald. “The crowd support we received all weekend was truly amazing. To get a capacity crowd last night, then come back and get support today was tremendous. It was a great experience for our players.”
The Tigers return to action next weekend, as they play a pair of games at ECAC West rival Buffalo State. Both Friday and Saturday's games get underway at 4 p.m.
