Riva’s Third Period Goal Sends Soaring Eagles To NCAA DIII Semifinals

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Holley Riva ’23 scored with 2:17 remaining in the third period to break a 1-1 deadlock as the third-ranked Elmira College women’s ice hockey program defeated sixth-ranked Nazareth College, 2-1, on Saturday in the NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Quarterfinals.  

Elmira advances to face top-ranked Middlebury College on Friday, March 18 at 7:00 p.m. in the semifinal round. The contest will be played at Chip Kenyon Arena in Middlebury, Vermont. The Panthers defeated No. 8 Endicott College on Saturday, 4-0.
 
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: No. 3 Elmira 2, No. 6 Nazareth 1
LOCATION: Rochester, New York | Bill Gray’s Iceplex
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (25-2-1), Nazareth (27-2-0)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
It would be Nazareth that controlled the pace of play from the drop of the puck in the first period as Leonie-Louise Kuehberger ’25 would make several key stops in net for Elmira. The Soaring Eagles settled in and got things going offensively midway through the frame as Adrianna Brehm denied EC of numerous good looks on frame.

Elmira would break the scoreless draw in the contest as Erika Goleniak ’25 would sneak a shot past Brehm at the 5:08 mark of the second period. Riva was credited with the assist on Goleniak’s go-ahead tally for the Purple & Gold.

Both sides had a pair of power-play opportunities in the frame as Elmira would play with an extra skater at the 6:18 mark after a cross-checking call against the Golden Flyers. Nazareth followed with a pair of power-play chances midway through the period as the Purple & Gold penalty kill would stand tall to keep the score 1-0. EC would be unable to score on its second power-play chance later in the frame.

The Golden Flyers stayed on the offensive attack in the third period while looking for the game-tying goal. A battle in front of Kuehberger would eventually turn into a goal for the Golden Flyers as Ally Watrous pushed the puck across the line to knot the score 1-1 at the 12:27 mark.

Time would wind down in the back-and-forth contest with the Soaring Eagles making a couple of pushes offensively against Nazareth. The Purple & Gold would get bodies in front of Brehm with just over two minutes left to play as Riva lifted a puck that would find its way into the back of the net. Riva’s eventual game-winning goal would be assisted by Mary McCafferty ’22.

Kuehberger finished with 26 saves in the contest for the Purple & Gold as she improved to 20-2-1 on the season. The goal allowed by Kuehberger broke a consecutive streak of four-plus games where she notched a shutout for EC dating back to February 12 against New England College at home.

UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles return to the ice for the semifinals of the NCAA DIII Women’s Ice Hockey Championship on Friday night against No. 1 Middlebury at Chip Kenyon Arena.