RIVER FALLS, WIS. – The Elmira College women’s ice hockey team would see late-game heroics from Claire Meeder ’23 with under five minutes remaining in regulation on Friday afternoon, as a phenomenal pass from Holley Riva ’23 in front of the net before the finish would prove to be the difference in Elmira’s 1-0 victory over Middlebury in the NCAA Semifinals.
With the victory, the Soaring Eagles move on to the National Championship for the eighth time, while today marked the program’s 31st game of the season which set a new single-season program record.
Chloe Beaubien ’23 would finish the contest with 31 saves in net, while the Soaring Eagle penalty kill held Middlebury to an 0-for-6 effort in their advantages.
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: No. 14 Elmira 1, No. 6 Middlebury 0
LOCATION: River Falls, Wisconsin | Hunt Arena
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (23-7-1, 14-3-1 NEHC), Middlebury (18-7-4, 10-3-3 NESCAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Soaring Eagles would spend the large majority of the beginning of the game in its own defensive zone, as Beaubien fended off shot after shot to keep the contest tied at 0-0. Through the first ten minutes of the contest, Beaubien would be forced to make eight saves, compared to just Panther netminder Sophia Will who made just three.
- Just over five minutes into the period, Emma Bradbury ’26 would be sent to the penalty box following a roughing call, which would end up being the lone advantage for either side in the first period of play, during which Beaubien would be tested four times between the pipes.
- From the 7:02 to 4:24 mark, the Soaring Eagles would begin to find the puck in its offensive zone, working quick shots at Will, who would also stand strong in the opening frame making seven saves.
- In the second, the Panthers would hold the shot advantage once again, this time just 5-4 and 21-11 through two periods.
- In the frame, the Soaring Eagles would earn a power-play at the 13:34 mark after Cece Ziegler was sent for two minutes on interference. During the advantage, the Soaring Eagles would produce four shots, none of which would end up on net.
- From there, Alayna Toole ’26 and McKenzie Schmidt ’25 would both be sent off at the 8:25 and 5:18 marks, respectively, both on tripping calls, but the Soaring Eagles would stand tall, fending off both man-down scenarios.
- During Schmidt’s penalty, the puck would spend the entirety of Panther’s advantage in its offensive zone, where they would produce five shots, which included a pair of saves from Beaubien and blocks from Anna Lugge ’27 and Meeder. At the end of the second, the contest remained tied 0-0.
- In the third, the Soaring Eagles would be sent to the penalty box on a trio of occasions, but prior to, Meeder would be found by Riva in front of the net with 4:26 remaining before burying the puck into the back of the net to put Elmira ahead 1-0.
- The final four plus minutes of regulation would prove to be high-energy and high intensity. The Panthers gained a 6-on-4 advantage after Payton Nicksic ’26 was sent to the box with 2:46 remaining on a body checking call, plus pulling Will from the net. The Panthers would put a handful of shots on Beaubien, who stood strong in the final moments of the contest to send Elmira onto Sunday’s National Championship contest.
UP NEXT:
The Purple & Gold will take on the winner of the other semifinal game this evening between UW River-Falls and Adrian College at 7:00 PM. The winner will take on Elmira in the National Championship game on Sunday at 3:00 PM CST and 4:00 EST.
