UTICA, N.Y. - The Cougars were shutout in their first-round matchup against the No. 2 Utica Pioneers (21-3-2, 16-2-2). Chatham came in as the No. 7 seed and struggled to keep the puck out of their zone. 

The first period was scoreless as the Cougars trailed in shots on goal 4-14. Chatham had a power play opportunity but failed to get a shot off during the two minutes. 

Utica's first score came on a power play at the 11:36 mark. The Cougars had a chance to respond on a breakaway by senior Allie Corser-James and fifth-year Brooke Almond, but netminder Angela Hawthorne made a diving save to nullify the attempt. The Pioneers tacked on another score on an odd-man rush to take a 2-0 lead heading into the third. 

Corser-James looked to make it a one-goal game on a breakaway, but her attempt was broken up. At 6:33, the Pioneers took a 3-0 advantage, effectively putting the game out of reach. Two more Utica scores came toward the end of the period, bringing the final to 5-0. 

The Cougars had 10 shots to the Pioneers 50. Junior Lindsey Batz tied a career-high 45 saves in the loss. 

Chatham finished its season with a 10-11-3 overall record and an 8-10-2 conference record. Multiple players had great individual seasons such as Corser-James passing the century mark in points, Almond playing in her 100th game and senior Lilly Rogers surpassing 1,000 saves.