The Buffalo State women’s hockey team dropped a 5-2 non-conference decision to Chatham
University on Saturday.
Chatham University defeated the Buffalo State women’s hockey team 5-2 in a non-conference matchup
Saturday, redeeming two losses to the Bengals last weekend.
The Cougars (2-5, 1-4 ECAC) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal by Casey Morfeld.
However, Bengals’ captain Lauren Mallo, back in the lineup after missing a game due to injury,
quickly tied the game on an unorthodox play.
“I saw Rio (Flynn) was by herself in the middle and I was already joining the rush. She saw me and
tapped a pass to me in the middle,” Mallo said. “I wanted (there to be) a rebound, and I hadn’t even
gotten to the blue line, so I shot it and it went in. I was surprised it did, but happy at the same time.”
Of the four more goals the Cougars scored, three were on the power play. Marie Soukup scored to
make it 2-1 before the first period ended and Gina Abrego added to the lead in the second.
Nikki Kirchberger capitalized on a Chatham turnover to score her second of the season and cut the lead
to 3-2 before the end of the middle frame. Buffalo State carried momentum into the final period and got
plenty of chances, out-shooting the Cougars 31-22 overall, but according to head coach Robert Burke,
they “couldn’t buy a goal.”
Bengals’ goaltender Jordan Lee (15 saves) was pulled after the Cougars’ fourth goal midway through
the third. Sarah Quigley made two saves on three shots in relief of Lee. An offensive zone penalty by
Emily Cornett led to another Cougars power-play goal, this time by Katrina Hawkins, and sealed the
loss for Buffalo State.
Burke noted that many of the Cougars’ goals were the result of fluke plays.
“On any other night, at least three of those goals wouldn’t have gone in,” he said. “The puck just
bounced their way all night. None of the goals were (Lee’s) fault. Somehow, the pucks just found a
way past her.”
Rio Flynn, who tallied an assist on Mallo’s goal, acknowledged that seeing Chatham get so many
breaks was discouraging, but attributed the loss to a lack of effort.
“I think we were really complacent coming into this weekend,” she said. “We thought we weren’t going
to have to work to get the win.”
Burke credited the Cougars with bringing a lot of energy, but agreed that complacency was an issue on
the Bengals’ end.
“We didn’t play our own game for 60 minutes,” he said. “There was too much individualistic hockey by
our players. It didn’t feel like quality hockey from our perspective.”
The Bengals will need to shape up quickly. Their next opponent is a formidable one in Plattsburgh.
The Cardinals (5-0-1, 3-0-0 ECAC) have yet to lose this season and were projected to finish first in the
ECAC West during the preseason.
Mallo said she believes keeping it simple is the key.
“Plattsburgh is the type of team that focuses more on individual skill than on the whole, so if we just
practice as hard as we can and push each other on and off the ice, I think we will succeed,” she said.
Burke said the team must limit its own mistakes and capitalize on Plattsburgh’s to give them the best
chance at winning.
“We need to keep them off of the scoreboard for as long as possible,” he said. “We’re not looking for a
shootout with them. We need to be more offensively skilled, but we don’t want to play a run-and-gun
type of game. We need to be patient and opportunistic – when they make a mistake, we need to try and
make them pay.”
The Bengals host Plattsburgh at 3 p.m. on Dec. 1 and at 2 p.m. on Dec. 2.
Angelica Rodriguez can be reached by email at rodriguez.record@live.com.