BUFFALO — Erin Gehen (West Seneca/West Seneca West) netted her third career hat trick as Buffalo State knocked off visiting Neumann, 7-1 in an ECAC West contest this evening at the Buffalo State Ice Arena.
Rachel Lenard (Orchard Park/Nardin) added a pair of goals and an assist, while Bri Carroll (Peoria, AZ/AZ Virtual Academy) and Emily DeCock each chipped in a tally of their own in the win. Carroll and Brooke Krantz (Penticton, BC/Penticton) recorded two assists apiece. DeCock got the Bengals on the board first with her first career goal in a Buffalo State uniform. Lenard brought the puck into the Neumann zone before stopping and waiting for her teammates to join her. She then threw a pass from the side boards in front to DeCock who put her shot right on net. She followed her rebound and knocked it home to put Buffalo State up 1-0, 7:19 into the first. The Bengals struck again three minutes later. Christine Harris (Mountain Top, PA/Wyoming Seminary) took a shot from the point, which was stopped in front of the Knight’s net. The puck laid around in the crease for a couple seconds before Lenard got her stick on it to put it into the back of the net to make it 2-0, Buffalo State. With just over four minutes to play in the first, Buffalo State scored again. After a battle for the puck in its own corner, Neumann tried to clear its zone. Gehen stole the clearing pass, cut in front of the net and roofed her backhand to make it 3-0, Bengals.
The two teams remained at 3-0 until two minutes left in the second period. Buffalo State won possession off a faceoff in the Neumann zone that Caroll took into the corner before driving out in front of the net and hammering her shot home to make it 4-0, Buffalo State. The Bengals got another late tally, as Gehen brought the puck up the ice with less than a minute to play in the second. She gave a give-and-go to Harris, who found Gehen in front of the net. Gehen ripped a shot that went just wide and hit off the end boards, deflecting back out in front to the junior forward who shoveled it into the net to extend the Bengal lead to five. Gehen got Buffalo State on the board again a little more than halfway through the third. She brought the puck into the zone, put a move on in the slot to get past two Neumann defenders before going backhand, forehand and in to make it 6-0, Buffalo State.
Buffalo State got its last tally with three minutes left in the game. Krantz brought the puck into the Knights’ zone, and put a shot right on net. Lenard was crashing the net from the opposite side, collecting the rebound and putting it past the goaltender to make it 7-1, Bengals. Justine Silva (Baldwin Park, CA/Arroyo) made 25 stops to pick up her 14th win of the season.
Buffalo State heads to Oswego for an ECAC West season-series Friday and Saturday at the Marano Campus Center Arena. Both games are set to face off at 3 p.m.
from BuffaloStateAthletics.com via IFTTT
