The Buffalo State women’s hockey team managed just two goals last weekend, losing to Cortland 3-1
Friday and 5-1 Saturday.
The two losses extended Buffalo State’s (5-15-1/2-10) losing streak to seven, which started with a Jan.
9 loss against U-Mass Boston. The woeful stretch is due in large part to their lack of offense.
Since that date, they’ve managed only four goals and have been shut out three times – twice against
fourth-place Oswego and once against second-place Elmira.
Heading into the weekend, head coach Robert Burke stressed the need for more offense and more
attention to detail, switching lines and trying new combinations to create chemistry. It didn’t result in
more success against Cortland (6-13-1/6-8).
Top scorer Courtney Carnes hasn’t scored a goal since Nov. 11 at Chatham, and second-leading scorer
Kara Goodwin has now been held without a point in six straight games.
“When we do get scoring chances, they’re good moments,” Goodwin said of the offensive struggles.
“We sometimes over-handle the puck and don’t shoot when we should, which takes away a lot of
opportunities. But we have so much skill up front that it’s confusing that we can’t score.”
Forward Jeyna Minnick expressed frustration with the lack of productivity.
“We had so many chances but the puck would not go our way,” she said. “We’re too focused on
systems and setting up the puck instead of just getting it to the net.”
Special teams were also a factor in the losses. The Bengals spent a lot of time on the penalty kill,
logging 16 penalty minutes on Friday and 40 on Saturday. The Red Dragons took advantage, going six-
of-17 on the power play in the two games.
“I think the penalties we got lost us the game,” Goodwin said. “I’m not one to believe refs can lose you
a game, but they were letting a lot of stuff go in Cortland’s favor and not so much ours. I think we kind
of let that get in our heads and take away from our game.”
Cortland had two power-play goals Friday, and four Saturday. Maggie Giamo was the difference-
maker for the Red Dragons, finishing the weekend with four goals, all on the man-advantage. Niamh
O’Connor also scored a shorthanded goal on Saturday.
“Cortland got a lot of shots from the outside, which our goalies stopped, but the rebounds were loose,”
Burke said of the penalty kill. “We failed to pick up the loose bodies in front of the net. Some of their
bounces were also very fortuitous (and ours weren’t). The kids are obviously frustrated with that.”
The one bright spot for the Bengals was freshman defenseman Nikki Kirchberger, who the Bengals’
only goals.
“She had a very good weekend,” Minnick said of her teammate’s performance. “She rushed the puck a
lot and helped try to get the team back on our feet. She never gives up.”
The Bengals will look to adapt some of that relentless attitude over the next four games, starting with
their final two home games of the year this weekend against Utica (10-7-2/8-4-2). Utica currently sits
in third place in the ECAC WEST, having tied Plattsburgh 3-3 on Saturday before losing 3-0 to them
on Sunday.
“Utica scores in bunches,” Burke said. “All of their goals against Plattsburgh came in about a 15 or 16-
minute span. We have to work on negating their chances, and maintaining puck possession in our zone
is critical.”
The Bengals face off against the Pioneers at 4 p.m. Saturday. The weekend concludes with their Senior
Day at 2 p.m. Sunday, spotlighting four seniors playing their final game at the Ice Arena.
Angelica Rodriguez can be reached by email at rodriguez.record@live.com