PLYMOUTH, N.H.—The William Smith College ice hockey team defeated Plymouth State 4-1 in a New England Hockey Conference contest at Hannaway Rink this afternoon. With the win, the Herons completed the season sweep of the Panthers.
 
Mia LaPlante (1g, 1a), Julianna Gong (1g, 1a) and Emily Rourke finished with multi-point games in the victory for William Smith (7-14-1, 5-9-1). Amanda Aalto started in goal and made 11 saves as she earned the win.
 
Meghan Hamilton scored the goal for Plymouth State (6-14-1, 4-11-0). Olivia Petito played 58:42 in goal and made 27 saves.
 
The Herons opened the scoring at the 1:12 mark of the first period on the first shot of the game. Gong ripped a shot from the left faceoff circle past Petito. Her fourth goal of the season was assisted by Rourke and LaPlante. The Herons continued to apply pressure in the opening 10 minutes of the frame but were unable to sneak a shot across the goal line. The Panthers tied the game 10 minutes later. Meghan Hamilton slipped a shot past Aalto. Her fourth goal of the season was assisted by Libby Carter and Lauren McNeil. Alisa Canney scored what would prove to be the game-winning goal with just under three minutes left in the first period. She picked up her own rebound and chipped a shot past Petito for her third goal of the season. Kayla Ketchabaw was credited with an assist on the goal. The Panthers' Chantelle Ross fired a shot off of the goal post in the closing seconds of the period.
 
William Smith extended its lead to 3-1 just over four minutes into the second period. Emma Faso one-timed a shot past Petito for her third goal of the season. Annabel Ziskin and Taylor Ettore were credited with assists on the goal. In the middle portion of the period, the Herons had a sustained sequence in the offensive end but were unable to get a shot on goal. The Panthers blocked four shots during the sequence.
 
LaPlante put the game out of reach at the 7:53 mark of the third period. She picked up a rebound in front of the cage and tucked a shot across the goal line. Her team-leading seventh goal of the season was assisted by Rourke and Gong.
 
William Smith finished the game with a 31-12 advantage in shots on goal. Neither team scored a power-play goal. The Panthers were 0-for-3 on the power-play and William Smith was 0-for-1 with the extra attacker.
 
The Herons wrap up their regular season next weekend, Feb. 11-12, when they take on New England College and Norwich at The Cooler. Faceoff on Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m.