No. 2/3 Elmira College (17-3-1, 12-2-0 ECACW) vs. William Smith College (8-11-2, 3-9-2 ECACW)
 
Saturday, February 13, 2016 | 3:00 P.M. | Murray Athletic Center Ice Arena – Pine Valley, NY
Live Coverage | Twitter: @ECSoaringEagles | Game Notes
 
Sunday, February 14, 2016 | 4:00 P.M. | The Cooler – Geneva, NY
Live Coverage | Game Notes
 
Elmira, NY -- The No. 2/3 Elmira College women's ice hockey team will recognize its graduating Class of 2016 on Saturday, February 13^th, when the Soaring Eagles play their final home game of the regular season at 3:00 p.m. against the William Smith College. The teams will resume the home-and-home series at 4:00 p.m. the following afternoon at The Cooler in Geneva, NY.
 
Last Time Out
The Elmira women bounced back in a big way this past weekend, sweeping a two-game set against Buffalo State in a crucial series to remain in position for a first-round bye in the ECAC West Tournament. The Soaring Eagles opened the two-game set in Buffalo, NY, on Friday. After falling behind by a goal, Katie Granato '19 turned the tide with a shorthanded goal near the end of the first period. Erin Kishoni '18 netted the eventual game-winner early in the second period, while McKenna Farole '16 sealed the game with an empty-net goal with 1:00 remaining. EC dominated the Bengals the following day at the MAC Ice Arena, as five different players found the back of the net in a 5-0 shutout.
 
ECAC West Tournament Rundown

• Elmira can clinch a first-round bye in the ECAC West Tournament with a sweep of the two-game series with William Smith this weekend, coupled with a Plattsburgh State sweep in its series with Utica College. EC holds head-to-head tiebreakers over both Utica and Buffalo State for the second seed in the tournament.
• Elmira can stay alive for hosting rights for the conference tournament with two victories and at least one loss by Plattsburgh State.

 
Crawford Earns ECAC West Weekly Accolade
Goaltender Kelcey Crawford '18 had a strong weekend between the pipes for the Soaring Eagles in their two-game sweep of the Bengals. She stopped 21-of-22 shots in Elmira's 3-1 victory in Buffalo, NY, on Friday. Less than 24 hours later, she turned away all 18 Bengal shots in the 5-0 rout. The shutout was her third of the season, lowering her goals-against average to 1.51, the third-best mark in the ECAC West this season. For her efforts, Crawford was named ECAC West Goaltender of the Week, the second time she has earned the honor this season.
 
Granato Gaining Confidence
Forward Katie Granato '19 has really come into her own down the back stretch of the season. The EC rookie has garnered increased ice time over recent games and has certainly made the most of the opportunity. She terrorized Buffalo State over this past weekend, netting a momentum changing shorthanded goal on Friday, while she put the finishing touches on Saturday's 5-0 rout with a power-play tally. The weekend showing stretched her point streak to four consecutive games, while she has netted a goal in three straight. Although she did not really play a factor in faceoffs until recently, she has come up big in this area as well, winning draws at a 63.8-percent (30-for-47) over her last four games. Granato is tied for sixth in scoring among ECAC West rookies with a 7g-3a-10pts line on the year.
 
Strawinski Heating Up
Shannon Strawinski '19 has heated up in a big way in recent weeks. The first-year forward was at it again on Saturday against the Bengals, netting the opening goal, which went down as the eventual game-winner, while also adding a primary assist on Elmira's second goal of the game. She has now tallied points in six of her last eight games, posting two goals and seven assists over the stretch. Strawinski is fourth in the conference in rookie scoring with a 3g-9a-12pts line this season.
 
Chivers Continues to Rank High
Freshman blue-liner Kristin Chivers '19 continues to rank among the nation's best in terms of both rookie and defenseman scoring. She pushed her point total on the year to 21, adding two assists on Saturday. The Antioch, IL, native sits in sixth nationally among freshmen in point scoring, while her 21 points are tied for third among all defenders in the country.
 
All-Time Series
The series between Elmira and William Smith is a fledgling one to say the least, as the Herons are only in their second season as a varsity NCAA Division III program. EC swept the home-and-home series between the two schools during William Smith's inaugural season in 2014-15. The Soaring Eagles won the matchup at the Murray Athletic Center by a 6-2 final, while they edged the Herons by a 4-2 count the following day at "The Cooler" in Geneva, NY.
 
Scouting William Smith
The Herons got off to a difficult start to the season, but have been playing much better of late and seem to be hitting their stride coming into the home-and-home series with Elmira. After starting the year with two victories over UMass-Boston, the Herons went 2-10-2 over their next 14 contests, which included a 1-8-2 start to ECAC West play. However, William Smith is on its best roll of the season with wins in four of the last five, which included victories over Buffalo State and Oswego State. Scoring has been a premium for the Herons, as the team averages just 2.1 goals per game. Second-year talent Krista Federow is the team's leading scorer with a 10g-9a-19pts line coming into the weekend. Classmate Rebecca Begley has been a nice complimentary option for the Herons with eight goals and six assists on the year. Maggie Salmon and Laurel Brown have split the majority of the minutes in the William Smith cage this season. Salmon has seen more time of the two, entering the weekend with solid marks of a 2.66 goals against average and a .926 save percentage. Brown has also been solid in her eight appearances this year, posting a 3.01 goals-against average and .925 save percentage.
 
Looking Ahead
Elmira concludes the regular season next weekend when it heads to Oswego State for a two-game series with the Lakers on Friday, February 19^th, and Saturday, February 20^th. Friday's contest will begin at 7:00 p.m., while opening faceoff is slated for 3:00 p.m. the following day.