PINE VALLEY, N.Y. – Ryan Reifler ’24 sent the home crowd at the Murray Athletic Center into a frenzy with a game-tying goal late in the third period on Senior Day before No. 5 Norwich University rallied for a 3-2 victory just over two minutes into overtime on Saturday in NEHC action.
The Soaring Eagles secured the No. 4 overall seed in the upcoming NEHC Tournament and will host a quarterfinal matchup against the No. 5 overall seed Skidmore College on Saturday, February 18 at the Murray Athletic Center beginning at 7:00 P.M.
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 2, No. 5 Norwich 3 (OT)
LOCATION: Pine Valley, New York | Murray Athletic Center
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (13-11-1, 10-7-1 NEHC), Norwich (18-5-2, 14-2-2 NEHC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Elmira controlled the puck and pace of play early in the opening frame against the Cadets before the momentum would shift midway through the first period. Norwich would get several good scoring opportunities on its first power play of the contest before eventually finding the back of the net at the 13:51 mark.
Norwich wouldn’t wait long to extend its lead early in the second period with a goal at the 1:41 mark following a turnover by the Soaring Eagles in their defensive zone to make it 2-0. Elmira looked for something to help shift the momentum back into its own favor and that would come in the form of a power play at the 2:10 mark.
The Soaring Eagles would convert with the extra skater on the ice as Daniel Dimon ’24 rang a shot off the right post from the blue line to trim the deficit to 2-1 at the 3:31 mark of the second period. Bailey Krawczyk ’24 and Janis Vizbelis ’24 both added assists on the power-play strike for the Purple & Gold. The 2-1 score would hold in the contest despite both programs having power-play opportunities in the third period.
Reifler changed the outlook of the contest at the 16:55 mark of the third period for Elmira as he found himself with the puck on his stick high in the slot and beat the goalkeeper glove-side to knot the score 2-2. Brendan Schultz ’23 and Amedeo Mastrangeli ’24 each helped to set up the game-tying strike for the Purple & Gold.
Norwich would get a rush in the 3-on-3 overtime session as Joe Nagle brought the puck up the boards and would beat Elmira goalkeeper Jeffrey Zero ’23 at the 2:17 mark to secure the 3-2 victory for the Cadets. Despite suffering the loss, Zero made 36 saves in net for Elmira and turned away 15 shots in the first period.
UP NEXT:
The Purple & Gold host Skidmore College, who is the No. 5 seed in the NEHC Tournament at the Murray Athletic Center on February 18 at 7:00 P.M. The highest remaining seed in the semifinal round will host the lowest remaining seed on Saturday, February 25 at a time to be determined.
