ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira College women’s ice hockey program will take the ice this Saturday for a New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) semifinal round matchup against the William Smith College Herons inside the Murray Athletic Center beginning at 3:00 P.M. The contest is a rematch from last year’s NEHC semifinals as Elmira defeated the Herons 4-0.
The Elmira College women (20-5-0, 17-0-0 NEHC) advanced to the NEHC semifinals following a 7-0 shutout against No. 8 seed Salem State University last Saturday inside the Murray Athletic Center. The Soaring Eagles, winners of their last 11 straight contests, earned the league’s overall No. 1 seed in the tournament after completing a second consecutive undefeated regular season. EC is ranked No. 9 in the latest USCHO DIII National Polls and dropped one spot from the previous rankings, while NEHC foe Norwich is ranked No. 11.
William Smith (12-12-1, 9-8-0 NEHC) advanced to the semifinals after defeating Castleton 5-0 on the road last Saturday. The No. 5 seed Herons would get a pair of goals from Julianna Gong and 20 saves from goalkeeper Annie Hauser to secure an upset over No. 4 seed Castleton. The Herons’ two wins this season against the Spartans were the first such in program history as Castleton held a 2-0-1 mark against William Smith.
In the head-to-head matchup between the Soaring Eagles and Herons, Elmira holds a 16-1-1 record and is 5-0-0 against William Smith since joining the NEHC before the start of the 2021-22 season. Former UCHC foes, the two programs first met during the 2014-15 season at the Murray Athletic Center with Elmira skating to a 6-2 victory over the Herons.
Elmira has won both regular season matchups this season against William Smith as the Purple & Gold skated to a 6-0 victory at home on November 11 and notched a 5-0 victory the next day at The Cooler in Geneva.
The Purple & Gold have five different 20-point scorer’s this season and are paced by goal-scorers Morgan Mordini ’22 and Mary McCafferty ’22, who both have 12 goals on the season. Erika Goleniak ’25, who was an NEHC All-Conference selection alongside Mordini and McCafferty, leads the team this season with 19 assists through 25 games. Not to be overlooked on Elmira’s balanced scoring attack this season is NEHC Rookie of the Year, Emma Bradbury ’26. Bradbury scored in last week’s victory against Salem State and has 10 goals and 10 assists for a total of 20 points this season.
TICKET INFORMATION:
Similarly to last season, the Elmira College Department of Athletics will be offering free admission to all New England Hockey Conference tournament games played at the Murray Athletic Center. A donation box will be available at the ticketing table, with proceeds going to help offset all ice hockey postseason travel costs.
NEHC SEMIFINAL SCHEDULE:
#5 William Smith at #1 Elmira – 3:00 p.m.
#3 Southern Maine at #2 Norwich – 3:00 p.m.
NEHC QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
#1 Elmira def. #8 Salem State, 7-0
#2 Norwich def. #7 Johnson and Wales, 5-0
#3 Southern Maine def. #6 UMass Boston, 3-1
#5 William Smith def. #4 Castleton, 5-0
