Score: University of Wisconsin-River Falls 4, Elmira College 3 (OT)
Records: Elmira (22-5-1), UW-River Falls (23-5-2)
Location: Stafford Ice Arena – Plattsburgh, NY
 
Plattsburgh, NY -- Dreams of a second consecutive NCAA Championship appearance came to an end tonight for the Elmira College women's ice hockey team, as the fifth-ranked Soaring Eagles fell in overtime to third-ranked University of Wisconsin-River Falls, 4-3. Elmira will play in tomorrow's third-place game against fourth-ranked Middlebury College at 3:30 p.m., while the Falcons advance to the national title game against top-ranked Plattsburgh State at 7:00 p.m.
 
Elmira's youth shined once again tonight, as all three goals and the accompanying assists were registered by underclassmen. Maddie Evangelous '19 finished with three points on two goals and one assist, while Maddy Jerolman '19 and Louisa Lippiatt Durnell '18 added three points as well. Jerolman finished with one goal and three assists, while Lippiatt Durnell assisted on all three tallies, a career high for the second-year talent.
 
Starting netminder Kyle Nelson '17 had another solid night between the pipes. The Chicago, IL, native turned away 27 shots in 69:36 minutes of action.   
 
The opening minutes of the first period looked fairly similar to Elmira's NCAA First Round game, as both teams came out of the gates flying from end-to-end. Elmira, who has played at a very fast pace throughout the season, took advantage of the speed of tonight's game in the opening five minutes.
 
Lippiatt Durnell carried the puck into the lower left slot on a two-on-one rush, which drew the goalie to her side, as well as the Falcons' last defender. With the play shifting to the left side of the ice, Evangelous made her move to the far post where she received a beautiful pass from Lippiatt Durnell, who threaded it between the two UW-River Falls players. Without hesitation, Evangelous fired it into the vacant side of the net, beating an outstretched Angie Hall for the score at the 5:41 mark. Lippiatt Durnell and Jerolman were credited with assists on the goal.
 
Elmira continued to play quick, but the style of play fed into the hands of the Falcons, whose forecheck kept the Soaring Eagles on their heels for the majority of the opening frame. UW-River Falls' pressure paid off at the 10:31 mark, when a turnover behind the Elmira cage allowed Dani Sibley to find Carly Moran just outside the slot, where she tipped-in the puck for the score.
 
Moran's goal closed out the scoring in the first period, as the teams skated into the first intermission tied at 1-1.
 
The Falcons had a quality scoring opportunity in the first 45 seconds of the second period, as a turnover at center ice saw UW-River Falls go on a one-on-none rush, leaving just Nelson as the lone roadblock from another score. Thankfully, Nelson kicked away a low shot on the blocker side to keep things knotted at 1-1.
 
Elmira also had a quality scoring chance later in the period with just under 13 minutes to play. Jerolman flew into the zone along the right side boards, before snapping a shot on frame. The attempt was saved by Hall, but the rebound leaked out the weak side, where Evangelous wristed it towards the cage. Evangelous' shot looked as though it crossed the red line, but the official was all over the play and waved off the attempt.
 
The near score was a sign of things to come, as Jerolman gave the Soaring Eagles a 2-1 lead on a power-play goal. With the extra skater, Elmira worked the puck around the zone, before finding Lippiatt Durnell along the right side boards. Lippiatt Durnell drew the attention of a pair of UW-River Falls defenders, which allowed her to string a cross-ice pass to Evangelous in the left faceoff circle. Evangelous sent the puck into the slot, where Jerolman tipped it past Hall for the score with 5:45 remaining in the period.
 
EC's one-goal lead was short-lived though, as the Falcons' Sibley evened things up at two apiece just 31 seconds later. Sibley's goal held up through the end of the period, as the contest remained deadlocked at 2-2.
 
Looking to set the tone early, UW-River Falls' upped the pressure on the forecheck to start the final frame; however, the aggressive approach backfired with a tripping penalty in the opening 34 seconds of the period, putting Elmira's power-play unit back on the ice.
 
With the extra skater, Elmira continued to work the puck around the zone as it had done on its previous scoring play. Following a blocked shot in the offensive zone, Karleigh Wolkerstorfer carried the puck into EC zone but would lose it. However, Elmira turned it over in its own zone, which allowed Wolkerstorfer to reclaim the puck and fire a shot from the blue line. The attempt deflected off an EC stick and past Nelson for the goal 1:31 into the period.
 
A minute and a half later, UW-River Falls' Jillayne Gilbert was whistled for a hooking penalty, putting Elmira back on the ice with the extra skater. EC struggled to keep the puck in its offensive zone, which prompted a timeout by Coach Dean Jackson '03 with 42 seconds remaining on the power play.
 
The timeout paid off, as Evangelous netted her second goal of the game just four seconds after the Elmira power play came to a close. The scoring play began with a Jerolman shot that looked destined for the back of the net, but instead a kick-save from Hall kept the puck out. However, it trickled out to the weak side to Evangelous, who buried the shot for the goal. Lippiatt Durnell was also credited with an assist on the scoring play.
 
Evangelous' tally would send tonight's semifinal into overtime, Elmira's second overtime game of the season.
 
It looked as though Elmira was going to reach its second consecutive title game, as a pass from the right faceoff circle caromed off a skate and into the back of the UW-River Falls net around the seven-minute mark. Following a brief meeting of the officials, the goal was disallowed.
 
Chloe Kinsel would play the hero tonight for UW-River Falls by scoring the game-winning goal, unassisted on the power play, 9:36 into overtime to send the Falcons to their first NCAA Championship game.
 
Turning Point
Elmira thought it had the game won seven minutes into the overtime period.  However, the goal was disallowed, which set up the Falcons' game-winner two-and-a-half minutes later.
 
Inside the Box Score

• The Falcons held a 31-to-18 advantage in shots on goal.
• Both teams tallied a power-play goal this evening.
• Elmira went 1-for-6 with the extra skater, while UW-River Falls went 1-for-5.
• Evangelous, Jerolman, and Lippiatt Durnell finished with three points apiece.
• Evangelous scored twice and assisted on one other.
• Jerolman tallied a power-play goal and picked up two assists.
• Lippiatt Durnell assisted on all three Elmira goals.
• Nelson made 27 saves in net for Elmira.

 
News and Notes

• Elmira will play in its third NCAA Third-Place game in program history.
• The last time Elmira played in the Third-Place game was in 2010.
• UW-River Falls advances to its first national title game in school history.
• EC suffered its first loss to UW-River Falls (3-1).
• Lippiatt Durnell takes over as EC's point leader with 27 on the year.
• Evangelous' three-point performance is her fourth of the season, with all four coming in EC's last seven games.
• Evangelous also has four multi-goal games this year.
• Jerolman ties her career-high point total with three.
• Lippiatt Durnell's three points ties her season high, while her three assists are a career best.

 
Up Next
Elmira concludes the 2015-16 season tomorrow with a 3:30 p.m. showdown with fourth-ranked Middlebury College in the NCAA Third-Place game. Tomorrow's contest will take place at the Stafford Ice Arena in Plattsburgh, NY.