NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Soaring Eagles opened up the East-West Hockey Classic on Saturday night against the Golden Flyers of Nazareth University. After a scoreless first period, goals by Sabrina Shvartsman ’25 and Emma Bradbury ’26 were enough to get Elmira the 2-1 victory in the first game of the tournament against No. 14 Nazareth.
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: No. 11 Elmira 2, No. 14 Nazareth 1
LOCATION: Northfield, Vermont | Kreitzberg Arena
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (8-2-0, 5-1-0 NEHC), Nazareth (5-3-1, 5-0-1 UCHC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Despite outshooting the Golden Flyers 17-6 in the first period, neither side could find the back of the net for the opening goal in the first 20 minutes of action, and both teams entered the break in a scoreless draw.
- Elmira struck first on a Shvartsman goal at the 6:19 mark of the second period after Shvartsman collected a blocked Piper Andrews ’26 shot before circling behind the goal and sneaking the puck inside the post for the game’s first score.
- There was no other scoring in the period, and Elmira held a 1-0 lead entering the final 20 minutes of game time. However, EC wasted little time, as just 40 seconds into the third period, the Soaring Eagles doubled their lead thanks to a Bradbury goal. Erika Goleniak ’25 and Madi Morton ’24 picked up assists on the goal.
- Nazareth got one back just past the halfway point in the period on the power-play, bringing Elmira’s lead down to one with just under ten minutes to play.
- The Soaring Eagles kept hold of their lead for the remainder of the game and picked up the victory by a final of 2-1.
- Leonie-Louise Kuehberger ’25 started the game for Elmira between the posts, recording 16 saves during the contest.
- Elmira outshot the Golden Flyers 30-17 during the game.
UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles play the hosting Norwich University on Sunday, December 10, at 4:00 p.m. in the East-West Hockey Classic Championship Game.
