ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira College women’s ice hockey program will take the ice this Saturday for the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) championship contest against the University of Southern Maine Huskies inside the Murray Athletic Center beginning at 3:00 P.M.
This will be the third consecutive NEHC Championship contest hosted at the Murray Athletic Center after the Soaring Eagles captured the championship trophy during the 2021-22 season before finishing runner-up last season.
The Elmira College women (19-7-1, 14-3-1 NEHC) advanced to the NEHC title matchup following a 4-0 shutout last Saturday at home against the William Smith College Herons. McKenzie Schmidt ’25 opened the scoring for EC with her fifth goal of the tournament less than four minutes into the first period. Claire Meeder ’23 netted two goals for EC, while MK Boyle ’26 also added a goal. Leonie-Louise Kuehberger ’25 stopped all 15 shots that she faced between the pipes as she notched her eighth shutout of the season and the 25th of her career.
Southern Maine (15-10-2, 10-6-2 NEHC) advanced to the program’s first-ever NEHC title contest after defeating top-seeded Norwich University 2-1 in overtime last Saturday. The Huskies snapped a 37-game winless streak against the Cadets along with winning the program’s first contest inside Norwich’s Kreitzberg Arena. Madison Chagnon delivered the OT game-winner for the Huskies at the 3:15 mark of the extra frame. Haley McKim recorded 33 saves on 34 shots between the pipes for the Huskies as she improved to 12-8-2 on the season.
In the head-to-head matchup between the Soaring Eagles and Huskies, EC holds a 5-1-0 overall record since joining the NEHC in 2021-22. The two teams split the season series with EC recording a 4-0 shutout at home on November 11th before the Huskies recorded their first win against the Soaring Eagles with a 1-0 shutout on January 19th.
The first meeting of the season between the Soaring Eagles and the Huskies would favor EC as Madi Morton ’24 netted a pair of first-period power-play goals. Sabrina Shvartsman ’25 tallied a goal in the second period to extend the lead to 3-0, while Holley Riva ’23 added an insurance goal in the third period for the Purple & Gold. Elmira was unable to solve McKim in the second meeting as she stopped all 38 shots that Elmira fired on net, while Olivia Stewart’s tally just over four minutes into the first period would stand as the game-winning goal for the Huskies.
Saturday’s contest will be Elmira’s eighth consecutive conference championship appearance dating back to the 2016-17 season, as EC appeared in one ECAC West title matchup to go along with four UCHC title contests. Overall, Saturday’s contest will mark EC’s 18th conference championship appearance since the inaugural 2001-02 season and 12th in the past 13 seasons.
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 QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
#1 Norwich def. #8 Johnson & Wales, 2-0
#2 Elmira def. #7 Plymouth State, 10-1
#3 William Smith def. #6 Castleton, 4-0
#5 Southern Maine def. #4 UMass Boston, 5-0
NEHC SEMIFINAL SCHEDULE:
#5 Southern Maine def. #1 Norwich, 2-1 (OT)
#2 Elmira def. #3 William Smith, 4-0
NEHC CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE:
#5 Southern Maine at #2 Elmira – 3:00 P.M.
