Score: #5 Elmira College 4 – William Smith College 1
Records: Elmira (12-2-2, 10-0-0 ECAC West), William Smith (4-11-2, 1-8-1 ECAC West)
Location: The Cooler – Geneva, N.Y.
 
GENEVA, N.Y. -- No. 5 Elmira College women's ice hockey continued its surging play this evening, as the Soaring Eagles powered past William Smith for a 4-1 road victory. With the win, Elmira remained perfect in ECAC West Conference play at 10-0-0 and earned its fifth consecutive win, four of which have come against conference opposition.
 
It took 19:06 of the first period for Elmira to find the back of the cage and take its first lead of the night. Second-year blueliner Kristin Chivers '19 tallied for the Soaring Eagles on the power play, unassisted, for her second goal of the season.
 
Chivers goal helped put Elmira ahead by one goal, until Shannon Strawinski '19 made it a two-goal lead 4:31 into the second stanza. Strawinski's goal, which was her fifth of the season and fourth in EC's last four games, was assisted by Rachel Grampp '18 and Louisa Lippiatt Durnell '18.
 
The Strawinski tally held up through the end of the second period, as Elmira entered the final 20 minutes of regulation with a 2-0 lead.
 
At 10:10 of the third period, Elmira's Lippiatt Durnell was whistled for a tripping penalty, putting the Herons on the power play for the fourth time this evening. EC had done a good job on the penalty kill on William Smith's previous chances, but the Herons would break through for their first score of the night on a power-play goal by Jordan Roetzer. Gina Scibetta was credited with an assist on the goal, which cut the Elmira lead to 2-1 with 8:42 remaining on the clock.
 
It would only take the Soaring Eagles 2:02 to reclaim their two-goal lead, as Sarah Hughson '18 cashed in on another Elmira power play at the 13:14 mark. Hughson scored her second goal in as many games, and also registered her second power-play goal of the year. Earning assists on the tally were Meg Lahey '19, who extended her consecutive point streak to five games, and Lippiatt Durnell, who logged her fifth multi-point game of the season.
 
Senior Anna Tude '17 put today's game out of reach 1:22 later by scoring her first goal of the season, unassisted, to solidify Elmira's 10th ECAC West Conference win of the season and extend EC's win streak to five games.
 
In Their Own Words…
Head Coach Tim Crowley on Elmira's weekend sweep of William Smith...
"It was a good weekend for us and we were able to come away with two points on the road. Tonight we came up a bit flat in the first period but, once we settled in, we were able to establish some possessions in their end and capitalize on some chances."
  
Coach Crowley's on the strong play from the goalkeeper duo of Kyle Nelson and Kelcey Crawford …
"I thought that Nelson made some saves for us tonight when we needed them. As for Crawford, she was able to come in tonight and give us some saves right away."
 
Coach Crowley on Louisa Lippiatt Durnell's two-assist outing...
"Lippiatt Durnell had a great weekend. She has been playing a complete game for us of late and her line has been generating offense in key moments for us."
 
Coach Crowley on taking this weekend's momentum into Tuesday's meeting with No. 8/10 Amherst College
"We certainly want to keep the momentum going and we're doing some good things in regards to our system. Tuesday will be a great test for us against a ranked opponent."
 
Turning Point
Both teams battled at the start of the game, as the score remain scoreless after the first 19 minutes of action. The Soaring Eagles, however, were able to break that scoring drought at the 19:06 mark with a Chivers power-play goal. Then just over four-and-a-half minutes into the second period, Strawinski gave EC a 2-0 cushion with her fifth goal of the season. From there, the game was in Elmira's hands, as the Herons struggled to generate any offense against the stifling EC defense. The strong play from the duo of Kyle Nelson '17 and Kelcey Crawford '18 between the pipes made sure that the Soaring Eagles left today's contest with their 10th consecutive conference victory.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Elmira held a 16-shot advantage in shots on goal, 40-24.
• Both teams went on the power play five times each.
• Elmira connected on 2-of-5 extra-skater chances, while William Smith went 1-for-5.
• Lippiatt Durnell led the way with two points on two assists.
• Chivers and Hughson both tallied power-play scores for Elmira.
• Strawinski scored today's game-winning goal at the 4:31 mark of the second period.
• Tude scored EC's fourth and final goal late in the third period.
• Grampp and Lahey also picked up assists for the Soaring Eagles.
• Roetzer scored William Smith's lone goal on an assist from Scibetta.
• Nelson made 20 saves en route to her seventh win of the season.
• Crawford came in for relief duty for the final 8:48 and stopped three shots.
• Maggie Salmon of William Smith made 36 saves between the pipes.

 
News and Notes

• The Soaring Eagles improved their overall record to 12-2-2.
• Elmira remained perfect in ECAC West play at 10-0-0.
• EC has won five consecutive games, four of which have been against conference opponents.
• The Soaring Eagles improved to 6-0-0 all-time against William Smith.
• Tude's goal was the first of her senior campaign.
• After today's match, Lippiatt Durnell has 19 points on the season, the most by any Soaring Eagle.
• Lippiatt Durnell has also recorded a point in each of Elmira's the last four games.
• Today's contest was Lippiatt Durnell's fifth multi-point game of the season.
• Lahey and Hughson extended their point streaks to five consecutive games.

 
Up Next
The Soaring Eagles will have a few days of rest before their next contest, a Tuesday, January 24th, showdown with No. 8/10 Amherst College. Tuesday's contest is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. in Amherst, Massachusetts.