PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – In a battle between two of the top-tier women’s ice hockey programs in NCAA DIII, fourth-ranked Elmira College had its seven-game winning streak snapped against No. 1 Middlebury College, 3-1, on Saturday night at the Cardinal/Panther Classic.
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 1, Middlebury 3
LOCATION: Plattsburgh, New York | Stafford Ice Arena
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (7-1-0, 6-0-0 NEHC), Middlebury (4-0-0, 0-0-0 NESCAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Middlebury would bring the early pressure in the contest and get a pair of good offensive opportunities just minutes into the action. The Panthers would break the ice first as Britt Nawrocki found the back of the net at the 12:45 mark to make it 1-0. The tally by the Panthers ended Elmira’s shutout streak at six games, which spanned 20 consecutive periods dating back to the season opener against Utica.
Nawrocki netted her second goal of the contest to extend Middlebury’s advantage to 2-0 just four minutes into the second period. The goal would come on the power play for the Panthers as Elmira surrendered its first goal while down a skater this season. The Soaring Eagles would get four power-play opportunities in the frame following the Middlebury goal but would be unable to capitalize and trim the deficit.
The Soaring Eagles would break up the shutout bid for the Panthers just over five minutes into the third period as Mary McCafferty ’22 netted her third goal of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1. Middlebury would answer with its third goal of the contest at the 8:09 mark of the frame to regain its two-goal advantage to make it 3-1.
Leonie-Louise Kuehberger ’25 stood tall between the pipes for the Soaring Eagles despite suffering her first loss of the season. Kuehberger finished with 27 saves for Elmira and turned away 10 shots in the third period. Despite a sluggish start to the contest, the Soaring Eagles would outshoot the Panthers in the second period (11-10) and finished with 24 shots on goal.
Elizabeth LePage ’25 and Holley Riva ’23 each recorded an assist on McCafferty’s goal in the third period for the Purple & Gold, while Claire Meeder ’23 successfully won 12 of Elmira’s 18 faceoffs on the night.
UP NEXT:
The Purple & Gold will take part in the consolation game at the Cardinal-Panther Classic in a rematch of last year’s NCAA DIII Women’s Ice Hockey Third-Place contest against No. 3 Plattsburgh. The contest is scheduled to start at 2:00 P.M. with the championship contest to follow at 5:00 P.M.
