Courtesy of the Plattsburgh State College Sports Information Department 

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - The top-ranked Plattsburgh State Cardinals defeated No. 10 Manhattanville, 3-2, to claim the 2008 NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Championship, at Stafford Ice Arena on Saturday night.  The title is the second consecutive for the Cardinals, who defeated three-time winner Middlebury at Stafford last season.  BOXSCORE

Plattsburgh (25-3-1) joins Middlebury (3) and Elmira (2) as the only teams to win multiple Division-III Women's Ice Hockey Championships. 

The Cardinals got on the scoreboard first midway through first period as Laurie Bowler slapped her own rebound in mid-air past Valiant net minder Karine Turmel.  Claire O'Connor and senior first-team All-American Julie Devereux assisted on the power-play goal.

Manhattanville (24-7-0) struck back quickly as Amanda Nonis scored her third goal of the weekend and 19th of the season 11 minutes into the first.  Sarah Fullerton and Erin Brawley tallied assists on Nonis' man-advantage score.

Danielle Blanchard, also a first-team All-American and Laura Hurd winner as the Division III Player of the Year, put Plattsburgh up 2-1 as she scored her 28th goal of the season, on a one-timer from Stephanie Moberg.  Sophomore Amber Ellis scored the eventual game-winner just 49 seconds later, freshmen Kate Fairfield and Brittany Meade assisted on the goal.

Manhattanville's Natalie Zitek scored her 12th goal of the season 11:36 into the second period, the power play score was assisted by first-team All-American Danielle Nagymarosi and Monique Rafferty.  The Valiants nearly tied the game late in the third period but a goal was disallowed as an official's whistle had already blown the play dead for a delayed penalty on Plattsburgh.  The Cardinals were then faced with a 5-3 disadvantage for 1:38, which they were able to kill off.

Plattsburgh out shot the Valiants, 20-9, in the first period, Turmel made 17 saves, setting a Division-III Women's Championship Game record for saves in a period.  Turmel finished the contest with 33 saves and Cardinal goalie Danielle Beattie stopped 22 shots en route to her 21st victory of the year.

NCAA All-Tournament Team :  F Danielle Blanchard (Plattsburgh), F Stephanie Moberg (Plattsburgh), F Amanda Nonis (Manhattanville), D Julie Devereux (Plattsburgh), D Sharis Smith (Plattsburgh), G Danielle Beattie (Plattsburgh).

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME PRESS CONFERENCE
Manhattanville Coach Lauren McAuliffe Opening Statement
"I think you guys (the media) all saw a great hockey game today. I'm extremely proud of my team, and how these girls played.  It's tough for them to play so hard and not come out on top.  That's how it goes sometimes...unfortunate.  But, I think we showed that we're a good team.  It hurts."

Coach McAuliffe on Trying to Come Back Against a Quality Team Like Plattsburgh
"It's a character test.  We have that, and showed that ability a lot this season.  It's a tough team to score goals against.  I don't think we ever thought that we were out of it, even though we trailed 3-1 at the end of the first period.  It could have been easy to think the game was over, especially in they're barn.  But I'm proud that we battled back to win the second, and even the third, I thought."

Plattsburgh State Coach Kevin Houle on Becoming Third School with Multiple NCAA Titles
"It's nice to have those two together and a great accomplishment."

Coach Houle on the Fast Start
"I thought we really came out flying and we wanted to make that statement in the first period.  We wanted to hopefully get the lead early on.  After Manhattanville didn't score on a 5-on-3 power play, I thought they played an excellent game and give them all the credit in the world for coming back.  They pushed us to the limit."

Plattsburgh Senior Defenseman Julie Devereux Comments
"We wanted it so bad.  Every player on the ice wanted to make a play.  That's how we won.  It's amazing to win two national championships.  I'm a senior so that's exactly how I wanted to go out and end my career.  Winning it last year was our first time, so you can't beat that feeling.  It's gratifying to see the freshmen win one."

Plattsburgh Junior Center Danielle Blanchard Comments
"I think we approached this year differently because we had a different team makeup.  I think we worked really hard to attain our goal of a national championship.  The freshmen energized us to want to win, and it's exciting for them."

Plattsburgh Junior Forward Shay Bywater Comments
"Winning the NCAA championship is just as exciting as the year before.  We worked hard the first day we arrived for classes in the fall.  Our step-by-step goal was to take each game at a time, but, as a team, we knew we wanted to repeat as national champions.  The dedication and sacrifices the team made paid off."

Plattsburgh Junior Goalie Danielle Beattie Comments
"I sat last year on the bench and I wanted to win a championship for myself, so this is an amazing feeling.  Pregame rituals help me focus on the game.  The adrenaline of a big game got me going.  I knew what I had to do today, and I'm glad that I was able to contribute."