Women's Hockey | 3/4/2012 4:30:00 PM

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ROCHESTER, NY – The No. 1 RIT women's hockey team (25-1-1) won its second straight ECAC West Tournament Championship hanging on to defeat No. 5 SUNY Plattsburgh (18-6-3) 2-1 at Ritter Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers receive an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament and will find out who and where they play in the first round on Monday at 10 a.m. It will be the third trip to the NCAA Tournament for the Tigers. You can watch the selection show here.

Sophomore forward #Kourtney Kunichika (Fullerton, CA/LA Selects)# scored with one second left in the second period on the power-play to break a 1-1 tie. RIT used a strong defensive effort, blocking several shots, including a diving block by #Ariane Yokoyama (Van Nuys, CA/LA Selects)# in the final seconds to keep Plattsburgh off the board in the third period and claim the conference title.

RIT enters the NCAA Tournament riding an 11-game winning streak.

Junior forward #Kim Schlattman (Stratford, Ontario/Cambridge Fury)# was named the ECAC West Tournament Most Outstanding Player. She recorded two assists in today's game and added three points in yesterday's semifinal win over Potsdam. Kunichika, #Kolbee McCrea (Wawa, Ontario/Burlington Barracudas)#, #Danielle Read (Brantford, Ontario/Hamilton Hawks)#, and goaltender #Laura Chamberlain (Norco, CA/LA Selects)# were named to the ECAC West All-Tournament Team from RIT. Plattsburgh's Jenny Kistner and Allison Era were also named to the All-Tournament Team.

McCrea scored RIT's first goal, while Chamberlain made 26 saves to improve to 14-1-1 this season.

Emma Rutherford scored the lone goal for Plattsburgh, while Sydney Aveson made 19 saves.

Plattsburgh out-shot RIT, 27-21. The Tigers were 2-for-4 with the man-advantage, while the nation's top penalty-killing unit held Plattsburgh scoreless on six power-play attempts.

"That was a real gutsy effort, a champioship effort by our team today," said RIT Head Coach Scott McDonald. "Our team did all of the little things needed to win this title against a very talented Plattsburgh team. Our team is playing very well right now and we are excited to get back to the NCAA Tournament."

The Tigers scored the only goal in an evenly played first period in which both teams had momentum at various times and the shots were even at 9-9.

McCrea got the Tigers on the board just 2:10 in off a face-off on the power-play. Kuncihika won a faceoff to Schlattman, who fed Yokoyama at the right point, who then fired a shot that McCrea tipped past Aveson in front for her team-best 21st goal of the year.

The Tigers continued to press after, but the Plattsburgh defense and Aveson kept it a one-goal game. Plattsburgh received a power-play with five minutes left in the period and controlled the puck in the RIT zone the entire time, but big shot blocks by #Morgan Scoyne (Drumbo, Ontario/Stoney Creek Sabres) and Lindsay Grigg (Oakville, Ontario/Oakville Hornets)# kept the Cardinals off the board.

Chamberlain had to make a big glove save on Emma Rutherford late in the period to keep it 1-0.

Plattsburgh held the distinct territorial advantage in the second period, holding RIT to a season-low two shots, but RIT held the 2-1 lead.

Plattsburgh got on the board at the 11:54 mark, as an innocent point shot by Mia Favretto deflected off of Rutherford in the slot and dipped past Chamberlain to tie the game at 1-1.

RIT had to kill off 37 seconds of a Plattsburgh two-man advantage later in the period, with Chamberlain making a handful of big saves.

RIT beat the buzzer to take the lead, as a pass from Schlattman deflected off Kunichika's skate past Aveson with one second left in the period, on the power-play to re-take its 2-1 lead. #Kristina Moss (Webster, NY/Buffalo Bisons)# fired a shot off the back boards that Schlattman gloved down behind the net. Schlattman circled and tried to hit Kunichika, but the pass deflected off her skate and slowly trickled past Aveson just before time expired. The goal was Kunichika's 19th of the season and national-best 11th power-play tally.

Plattsburgh now leads the all-time series between the two schools, 9-4-3. The Tigers are 1-1-1 against Plattsburgh this season after tying 1-1 on Jan. 13 and losing 3-1 in Plattsburgh on Jan. 14.

It is the second straight year that the Tigers and Cardinals will meet for the ECAC West title. Last season, RIT rallied from a 1-0 third period deficit with two late power-play goals to defeat Plattsburgh, 2-1.

Yesterday, RIT defeated Potsdam 6-1 in the first semifinal, while Plattsburgh defeated Oswego 1-0 in the second semifinal.

RIT advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2007 and in 2011, where they advanced to the National Championship game.

ECAC West All-Tournament Team
G - Laura Chamberlain (Norco, CA/LA Selects), RIT
D - Danielle Read (Brantford, Ontario/Hamilton Hawks) - RIT
D - Allison Era, Plattsburgh
F - Jenny Kistner, Plattsburgh
F - Kolbee McCrea (Wawa, Ontario/Burlington Barracudas), RIT
F - Kourtney Kunichika (Fullerton, CA/LA Selects), RIT

Most Outstanding Player - Kim Schlattman (Stratford, Ontario/Cambridge Fury), RIT