ECAC West Release
DANBURY, Conn. -- Katie Granato '19 and
Kelcey Crawford '18 of the Elmira College women's ice hockey team were honored by the ECAC West Conference for their standout performances last week. Granato was tabbed as the conference's Player of the Week, while Crawford took home the league's Goalie of the Week accolade.
Granato fueled Elmira's offense in a 2-0-1 week, finishing with a team-leading six points on a team-high four goals and two assists. She opened the week with a two-goal, one-assist outing in EC's 4-0 road victory over No. 8/10 Amherst, Elmira's first win over a nationally-ranked program this season. Granato scored the game-opening and eventual game-winning tally against Amherst, which went down as her third game-winning goal of the season.
The sophomore forward then had another three-point performance (2g, 1a) in a 5-2 Soaring Eagle victory over Utica College at the Murray Athletic Center on Sunday afternoon. Once again, Granato scored the game-opening goal for the Soaring Eagles, this one coming just 1:15 into regulation, the third-quickest goal of the season by an EC skater.
With this weekend's performance, Granato upped her season's point total to 21 on 12 goals, a mark that ranks fifth in the ECAC West, and nine assists. She has logged seven multi-point performances during the 2016-17 campaign, including four three-point outings, two of which were registered this past week.
Crawford got the start in all three of Elmira's games this past week and was unbeaten with a 2-0-1 record. She began the week with a career-high 32-save performance in a 4-0 shutout victory over nationally-ranked Amherst in a non-league away matchup. It also marked the first time in her Elmira career that she has made 30-or-more saves in a single game.
She followed up her record-setting performance with a pair of 24-save outings in back-to-back games against Utica. Crawford's 24 saves in both games resulted in a 2-2 overtime tie in Utica, New York, and a 5-2 victory on EC's home ice at the Murray Athletic Center.
Crawford's steady play has helped her stay amongst the national leaders in several statistical categories. The Purcellville, Virginia, native continues to lead in the nation in goals-against average (0.76) and is second in the country in save percentage (.962). Crawford also ranks seventh in the land in shutouts (4) and 10th in winning percentage (.833).
Crawford, Granato, and the rest of the nationally-ranked Soaring Eagles are back in action this weekend for a two-game series against No. 9/8 Oswego State. Both games will take place at the Murray Athletic Center, starting with a Friday, February 3rd, showdown at 7:00 p.m. The second game is set for Saturday, February 4th, at 3:00 p.m.
