Plattsburg, NY – The EC Women's Hockey Team edged out the Middlebury Panthers in a shootout 2-1 to move onto the Cardinal-Panther Classic Tournament Final at the Stafford Ice Arena. The Soaring Eagles improve to 5-1-1 on the season and the Panthers improve to 2-0-1 on the season.

The first two periods saw both teams up and down the ice. Middlebury held a slight 8-7 edge in shots after the first period, while Elmira had a 14-12 advantage after two. The Soaring Eagles stepped it up in the final period with 15 shots on goal while holding the Panthers to just three. Neither team was able to get a shot on net in the overtime period.

While the game lacked standout scoring opportunities, both goaltenders gave strong performance to preserve the shutout on each end. Lauren Sullivan '13 (Toronto, ONT -- Markham-Stouffville) recorded 15 stops and Middlebury's Annabelle Jones finished the night with 29 saves.

Maggie Melberg's shot went wide to the right of Sullivan for the Panther's first attempt in the shootout. Middlebury's second shooter, Hannah Bielawski, was the only Panther to score while Sullivan made a big save on the Panthers' final shooter, Sara Ugalde.

On the Elmira side, Maddy Charbonneau '14 (Greeley, CO -- Colorado Select) shot sailed high in the first round of the shootout. Tori Charron '14 (Goodwood, ONT -- Aurora Panthers) and Tanis Lamoureux '14 (Canton, MI -- Victory Honda) both found the back of the net on their attempts to secure Elmira's spot in Sunday's championship game.

The Soaring Eagles will play in the Cardinal-Panther Championship game against tough Amherst College.