Canton, NY – The SUNY Canton women's hockey team scored three of the game's first four goals en route to a 3-2 victory against visiting Sacred Heart University Friday evening at the Roos House. The victory is the first for any Roo program against a varsity NCAA Division I opponent.
 
Sophomore Karley Cree (Hogansburg, NY) had a hand in all three goals finishing with a goal and two assists, while freshman Jessica Kistabish (Pikogan, QUE) scored once and added an assist for SUNY Canton (6-10-2).
 
The Roos struck first 12:52 into the opening period on Cree's eighth score of the season. Kistabish skated the puck into the offensive zone and fired an initial shot that was turned aside by Pioneer goaltender Alexius Schutt.
 
Cree followed up with a rebound goal beating Schutt low past her glove side for the 1-0 lead. Sacred Heart had multiple shots strike off the crossbar and post early on but Dominique stopped all 11 shots she faced as SUNY Canton led 1-0 after one.
   
The Roos picked up a penalty at the end of the first as the Pioneers started the second frame with a 5-on-3 power play for 42 seconds. Just 18 seconds into the two-skater advantage Sacred Heart knotted the game at one in a scrum out in front. Roo net minder Shayna Dominique (Mistissini, QUE) was sprawled out after to her left. Casey Stathopoulos netted her team-leading fifth of the season finding the open left side of the net off passes from Natasha Klinoff and Alex Davis.
 
SUNY Canton wasted no time answering back 40 seconds later as Dana Morrison (Wemindji, QUE) netted her fourth goal of the year. Cree fed the puck up to Morrison at mid-ice who skated in on the breakaway beating Schutt to make it 2-1. The Roo penalty kill unit was impressive killing six of seven penalties on the night as SUNY Canton led 2-1 after two.
  The Roos took advantage early in the third period with the extra skater as Kistabish lit the lamp for a team-leading 10th time this season just 12 seconds into the power play. Sacred Heart showed its resiliency responding 33 seconds later when Klinoff recorded her second tally of the season with Stathopoulos setting up the play.
 
After a Pioneer (2-10-5) timeout with 1:41 remaining Sacred Heart pulled the goaltender in favor of the extra skater. The Roos narrowly missed on a pair of empty-netter chances as they held on for the 3-2 victory.
 
The SUNY Canton special teams unit was impressive as the power play went 1-for-2 and the penalty kill was strong killing six of its seven chances. Dominique made 26 stops in her sixth victory of the season. Schutt turned aside 24 shots before being replaced by Amanda Fontaine who made five saves in relief.
 
These two teams will have a rematch Saturday at 12:00 p.m. at the Roos House. Stay up to date with the latest news directly from the SUNY Canton Athletics department by "liking" us on Facebook and "following" our Twitter account.

About SUNY Canton
SUNY Canton is Northern New York's premier College for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and certificate programs. The College delivers quality hands-on programs in engineering technology, health, management, and public service to students in the North Country, New York State, and beyond. Faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to their academic credentials. SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as eight exclusively online bachelor's degrees. The College's 14 athletic teams compete in state-of-the-art facilities as provisional members of the NCAA Division III and the USCAA.