College Hockey Stats Box Score
 
Pine Valley, NY -- A pair of three goal efforts in the first and third periods of tonight's game sealed a 6-2 win for the No. 1 nationally ranked Elmira College women's ice hockey team (20-1-1, 15-1-1 ECACW) against William Smith College (2-19-1, 1-13-1 ECACW).  With the win, Elmira picks up their 300th victory in program history and reaches the 20-win plateau for the fourth straight season.
 
"It's obviously a great milestone for our program, reaching 300 wins" said Head Coach Dean Jackson '03.  "I'm certainly happy for all the players in the locker room, all the alums, and anyone that has been involved with the women's ice hockey program."
 
The nation's leading scorer, Ashton Hogan '15, paced the Soaring Eagles tonight with four points on two goals and two assists.  Classmate Erin Weston '15 was not far behind with three points, all three coming on assists.  Elmira also received multi-point efforts from Ashley Ryan '15, Olivia Nystrom '16, Cassidy Delainey '15, and Brooke Wilgosh '15, who all finished with two points apiece.
 
Elmira opened the scoring just 1:45 into the first period, as Olivia Nystrom '16 netted her sixth goal of the season.  Nystrom's goal was created by a nice move in the slot, as she split two defenders before sending in a wrist shot that beat the William Smith goalie bar-down.  Hogan and Wilgosh were credited with assists on the game's opening goal.
 
Less than three minutes later, Cassidy Delainey '15 gave the Purple and Gold a two-goal lead.  Delainey's goal was setup by good pressure on the forecheck, as Hogan poked the puck away from a William Smith defender, creating a two-on-one situation for the Soaring Eagles.  One the two-on-one, Nystrom fired a pass into the slot to Delainey, where she would redirect it into the back of the net for the score.  Both Hogan and Nystrom picked up assists on the goal. 
 
Delainey, the nation's leading power-play scorer, put the Soaring Eagles ahead 3-0 as she scored her 14th power-play goal of the season with 1:11 remaining in the first period.  Delainey's goal was setup by some sleek in-zone passing by Ryan, Wilgosh, and Weston.  Ryan began the scoring play with a nice cross-ice pass to Weston, who gave it Wilgosh at the point.  From there, Wilgosh fired a slap shot, allowing Delainey to tip it in for the score. Weston and Wilgosh tallied assists on the goal, one that would hold up through the end of the first period.  
 
In the second period, Elmira looked to extend their lead but a pair of William Smith goals in a 35-second span cut the Soaring Eagle lead to 3-2.  Hedi Droste scored the Heron's first goal, as her wrist shot from the left faceoff circle would beat Elmira netminder, Kyle Nelson '17, glove-side.  35 seconds later, Andie Plumeri cleaned up a loose puck in front of the EC net for William Smith's second goal of the contest. 
 
The Heron's nearly evened the game at the 11:55 mark when, Emily Burton had a one-on-one breakaway, with only EC's Nelson standing between her and the goal.  Thankfully for Elmira, Nelson put enough pressure on Burton to force her to lose control of the puck, keeping it a one-goal game entering the final intermission.
 
Elmira took a 4-2 lead just 47 seconds into the third period when, on a power-play opportunity, Hogan redirected a shot by Ryan past the William Smith goalie for the score.  Ryan and Weston picked up assists on the goal.
 
Then, at the 7:28 mark of the period, Elmira reclaimed their three-goal cushion as Ryan tallied her 14th goal of the season.  Weston created the scoring opportunity as she forced a turnover in William Smith's defensive zone, stealing the puck behind the net before sending a quick pass to Ryan in the slot, where she one-timed it into the net for the score.  For Weston, it was her third assist of the evening. 
 
Scoring Elmira's final goal of the night was Hogan as she punched-in her national-leading 28th goal of the year on an empty net.  Phoebe Piku '16 and Meagan Ondrick '18 picked up assists on the goal, and for Ondrick, it was the first assist and point of her collegiate career.
 
Nelson got the start in net for Elmira tonight, as she made five saves en route to her 11th win of the season.  She is now 11-1-1 in the 2014-15 campaign and has tallied eight consecutive wins in as many starts.
 
The Soaring Eagles will look to make it a series sweep tomorrow, as the Elmira women complete the home-and-home series with William Smith at the Geneva Recreation Complex Skating Rink.  Faceoff for tomorrow's contest is set for 8:00 p.m.