ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira College women’s ice hockey program will skate this Saturday for a chance to capture its second New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) title with a matchup against the Norwich University Cadets inside the Murray Athletic Center beginning at 3:00 P.M. The contest features the top two seeded programs in the conference with both being ranked in the latest USCHO.com DIII Women’s Poll.
The Elmira College women (21-5-0, 17-0-0 NEHC) advanced to the NEHC championship game following a come-from-behind 4-3 victory against No. 5 seed William Smith College last Saturday inside the Murray Athletic Center. The Soaring Eagles, winners of their last 12 straight contests, earned the league’s overall No. 1 seed in the tournament and are playing in their second straight NEHC championship game. EC is ranked No. 9 in the latest USCHO DIII National Polls and held its spot from the previous rankings, while Norwich is ranked No. 11 for a second consecutive week.
Norwich (18-7-2, 14-2-2 NEHC) advanced to the championship after defeating Southern Maine 2-1 in come-from-behind fashion last Saturday at home. The No. 2 seed Cadets scored a pair of third-period goals after trailing 1-0 against the Huskies through 40 minutes of action. Norwich will be in search of its 11th league championship this weekend as the Cadets won four straight league titles from 2017 through 2020. The Cadets also won four consecutive league titles from 2012 through 2015.
In the head-to-head matchup between the Soaring Eagles and Cadets, Elmira holds a 15-8-4 record and is 4-1-0 against Norwich since joining the NEHC before the start of the 2021-22 season. This will be the 28th all-time meeting between the two programs as Elmira and Norwich first played each other on January 4, 2008, with EC skating to a 4-0 victory against the Cadets.
Norwich won the first meeting of the 2022-23 season with a 6-0 shutout of the Soaring Eagles in the consolation game of the East-West Hockey Classic, which was hosted by the Cadets. Elmira responded by winning both NEHC contests during the regular season against Norwich as the Soaring Eagles recorded a 3-2 victory at home with Emma Bradbury ’26 netting the game-winning goal in the third period. EC then closed the season with a 3-1 victory on the road as the Purple & Gold erased a 1-0 deficit with Morgan Mordini ’22 netting a pair of goals.
The NEHC championship contest features the league’s Player of the Year (Ann-Frederique Guay) and Rookie of the Year (Emma Bradbury) along with a total of 16 All-NEHC selections. Norwich had a total of seven All-NEHC skaters while the Soaring Eagles had nine All-NEHC selections.
Norwich features five skaters that have tallied at least 20 points this season, with Guay leading the way for the Cadets (19 G, 27 A). Mikah Baptiste has a team-best 22 goals for Norwich to go along with 10 assists for a total of 32 points. Between the pipes for the Cadets, Leocadia Clark has started 21 games and is 12-7-2 on the season with a 1.74 goals-against average and seven shutouts.
The Soaring Eagles feature six different skaters who have tallied at least 20 points on the season with Mordini leading the charge (13 G, 18 A). Erika Goleniak ’25 paces the Purple & Gold with 20 assists to go along with her eight goals for a total of 28 points, while Mary McCafferty ’22 has tallied 27 points (12 G, 15 A). Holley Riva ’23, Emma Bradbury ’26, and Claire Meeder ’23 have also crossed the 20-point mark this season for the Soaring Eagles. Between the pipes for the Soaring Eagles, Leonie-Louise Kuehberger ’25 has started 23 games and is 19-4-0 on the season with a 1.36 goals-against average and eight shutouts.
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 RESULTS:
#1 Elmira def. #5 William Smith, 4-3
#2 Norwich def. #3 Southern Maine, 2-1
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
