Utica, NY – Kat McNeilly (Scarborough, ON) scored her first collegiate goal as the SUNY Canton women's hockey team dropped a 4-1 road decision to Utica College on Saturday evening in the season opener for both teams.

The power play played a huge outcome in the contest as the Pioneers went 3-for-4 with the skater advantage, while the Roos were 0-for-5.

Utica opened the scoring just 1:29 into the game when Carlie Smith lit the lamp off a pass from Taylor Dion. Gabrielle Schnepp scored what proved to be the eventual game-winner at 7:32 on the power play. The Pioneers added their third goal of the opening frame at 15:29 on Schnepp's second straight goal as they led 3-0 after one.

McNielly got the Roos on the board at 7:03 of the middle period off the set up from Rhea Coad (Wheatfield, NY). SUNY Canton trailed 3-1 after 40 minutes of play.

Morgan Reed added an insurance goal with the skater advantage 3:27 into the third period leading to the 4-1 final.

Freshmen Tess Adams (Calgary, AB) and Jessica Pele (Estevan, SK) led the Roos with four shots on goal apiece. McNeilly went 11-for-19 in the faceoff circle, while Anna Lagzdina (Ozolnieki, Latvia) was extremely effective winning eight of her 11 face-offs.

Freshman goaltender Illie Berisha (Lake Ariel, PA) made 32 saves for the Roos, while Keira Goin turned aside 25 shots for Utica.

The women's hockey team will have a rematch with Utica College on Sunday. Puck drop is set for 3:30 p.m. Stay up to date with the latest news directly from the SUNY Canton Athletics department by "liking" us on Facebook and "following" our Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts.

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. Faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses, as well as 10 exclusively online bachelor's degrees. The college's 14 athletic teams compete as provisional members of the NCAA Division III and the USCAA.