Score: No. 2/3 Elmira College 8 – Oswego State 1
Records: Elmira (20-3-1, 15-2-0 ECACW), Oswego State (11-9-4, 6-8-3 ECACW)
Location: Marano Campus Center Arena – Oswego, NY
 
Oswego, NY -- The Elmira College women's ice hockey team continued its offensive surge on Friday night, sprinting past Oswego State 8-1 at Marano Campus Center Arena. Elmira scored eight unanswered goals in the victory, which sealed the team a first-round bye in the upcoming ECAC West Tournament.
 
It was a fast start for the hosts, as the Lakers jumped to an early 1-0 lead 4:22 into the contest. Bailee Gooden took a feed from Laura Thacker and wired a wrister past Elmira net-minder Kelcey Crawford '18 to give Oswego State a quick lead.
 
The Soaring Eagles leaned on their special teams units to mount a response. Elmira tallied a power-play goal and a shorthanded goal to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
 
Oswego State looked poised to take firm control of the first period. Already leading 1-0, the Lakers sent their power-play unit to the ice, as Lousia Lippiatt Durnell '18 was sent to the box for tripping at 5:45 of the first. However, instead of doubling the lead, the game was actually leveled at 1-1. With time winding down on the advantage, Olivia Nystrom '16 picked off a pass in the neutral zone and streaked in on Laker goaltender Tori Trovato and whipped a wrist shot into the twine to equalize the game at 1-1 at 7:42 of the period.
 
It was the Elmira power-play unit that would lift the visitors to a lead it would not relinquish. Lippiatt Durnell started the sequence sending a pass from the right circle to Maddie Evangelous '19 at the opposite dot. She whipped a puck towards cage, which Katie Granato '19 punched in past Trovato to make the game 2-1 at 11:40 of the period.
 
Oswego State was able to contain the Purple and Gold through the opening 12 minutes of the second, but the Soaring Eagles broke through to double the lead at 12:49 of the period. Meg Lahey '19 passed a puck to Evangelous, who quickly fired it tape-to-tape to Lippiatt Durnell. The East Sussex, England, native fired the rubber top shelf into the twine to make it 3-1.
 
The Soaring Eagles put the game out of reach in the opening 10 minutes of the third period. EC didn't wait long to grab a strangle hold on the game, as Johanna Eidensten '17 continued her strong finish with a goal 1:19 into the final period. Granato started the play sending a pass to the point to Phoebe Piku '16. The senior blue-liner fired a puck towards the face of goal, where Eidensten sent it home.
 
Evangelous joined the scoring barrage at 4:38 of the period, collecting her third point of the night with a goal. Maddy Jerolman '19 whistled her the puck on the wing and Evangelous buried a shot high over the pad.
 
Nystrom added her second of the game just under five minutes later. The senior forward took a pass from Kristin Chivers '19 and fired the rubber into the netting to make it 6-1.
 
The Soaring Eagles tallied two goals over a 10 second span just over two minutes later. Eidensten pumped in her second of the period at 11:55, while Jerolman became Elmira's sixth goal scorer of the night right off the ensuing faceoff.
 
In His Own Words...
Head Coach Dean Jackson '03 on tonight's game...
"We got off to a bit of a sluggish start, but you have to give Oswego State a lot of credit jumping on us early and often during the first period. We certainly settled in mid-way through the second period. We are happy how the team rebounded and finished the game strong."

Jackson on the explosive third period...
"We played to our expectation in the third. We were engaged on the play and created space and opportunities. A drastic difference from the first period where we were sitting back and waiting for plays to develop."

Jackson on securing the first-round bye...
"It is a good feeling securing second place. We still have a big game tomorrow, so the job is not complete. Oswego State will definitely bring their 'A' game as it is their Senior Night."

Turning Point
The opening minutes of tonight's contest were dominated by the hosts, as the Lakers jumped out to an early 1-0 lead and generated a second opportunity with the man-advantage. However, Elmira flipped the momentum on Nystrom's shorthanded tally. Granato netted a power-play goal just under four minutes later which was the eventual game-winner.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Elmira outshot Oswego State 28-to-18 in the contest.
• Chivers led the Soaring Eagles with five shots on goal.
• The Soaring Eagles dominated the faceoff circle, going 30-for-49 on the night. Lippiatt Durnell (12-for-17), Anna Tude '17 (6-for-8) and Eidensten (7-for-11) all had strong nights.
• EC went 1-for-3 on the power-play, while Oswego State went 0-for-3 with the man-advantage.
• The Soaring Eagles netted a shorthanded goal in addition to going 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
• Evangelous led all players with three points on a goal and two assists.
• Jerolman (1g-1a), Lippiatt Durnell (1g-1a), Nystrom (2g), Eidensten (2g) and Granato (1g-1a) each netted two points apiece.
• Chivers, Lahey, Piku, Rachel Grampp '18 and McKenna Farole '16 each added one assist apiece.
• Crawford finished with 17 saves on the night.

News and Notes

• With the victory, Elmira is now 19-0-1 all-time against Oswego State.
• With the win, EC locked down the second seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming ECAC West Tournament.
• The offensive onslaught continued for the Soaring Eagles, who equaled a season high with eight goals. Elmira has now scored 15 goals over the last two games.
• EC set a new season high with five goals in the third period. Elmira's previous season high for goals in a period was four.
• Evangelous stayed red-hot, posting her third consecutive three-point outing.
• Elmira had 11 players post at least one point.
• The Soaring Eagles had a season high six players post multi-point games.

 
Up Next
Elmira concludes the regular season when it plays the second half of the back-to-back series with Oswego State. Opening faceoff is slated for 3:00 p.m.