ELMIRA, N.Y. -- No. 4/5-ranked Elmira College women's ice hockey will travel to the Bay State for the second consecutive week to compete in a non-conference showdown on Tuesday, January 24th, at 7:00 p.m. against No. 8/10 Amherst College.

LAST TIME OUT
On Saturday, January 21st, the Purple and Gold completed a two-game series sweep of the William Smith College Herons with a 4-1 victory at "The Cooler" in Geneva, New York. Four different Soaring Eagles scored a goal, including reigning All-American blueliner Kristin Chivers '19, who began the scoring with an unassisted power-play goal with just 54 seconds left in the first period. Shannon Strawinski '19 followed with the eventual game-winner in the second period to double the lead to 2-0. Both sides traded power-play goals in the third, with EC's coming off of the stick off Sarah Hughson '18 at the 13:14 mark. Anna Tude '17 added an insurance tally a minute-and-a-half later, also unassisted, to solidify the victory and up Elmira's ECAC West record to an unblemished 10-0-0.

DOMINATE DEFENSE
Heading into Tuesday's non-conference game with Amherst, the Soaring Eagles are ranked among the nation's best defensive teams, sitting at No. 3 in scoring defense with 17 goals allowed in 16 games. If that figure is rounded to the hundredths place, it ties the previous program record set during the 2002-03 season at 1.06 goals per game. However, if the Soaring Eagles maintain their current average throughout the rest of the year, it would set a new school program record by six-thousandths of a point, 1.063 as compared to the previous record of 1.069. Backstopping the stingy EC defense is the goaltending duo of Kyle Nelson '17 and Kelcey Crawford '18, the latter of whom is on the verge of a record-setting season of her own. The third-year netminder owns the nation's lowest goals-against average (0.49), which would go down as the second-best ever by a D-III goalie if the season ended today. In addition, her save percentage (.9705) is not only the best in the country, but just fractions of a percent shy of a national record (.9710).

AMHERST AT A GLANCE
After dropping a 3-1 decision to then-No. 6 Middlebury on January 6th, Amherst has gone unbeaten in its last six games and has won five in a row to improve to 9-4-2 on the season. During its recent five-game win streak, which was extended with 5-0 and 5-1 wins over Colby last weekend, the Purple and White have outscored their opposition by a combined 21-4. Sparking the turnaround after the loss to the Panthers has been Amherst's leading scorer, Alex Toupal. Since being held without a point in that loss, she's tallied eight goals and six assists for 14 of her season's 20 points (13g, 7a). The junior forward has scored at least one goal in each of the five consecutive wins, including a hat trick in a 4-0 defeat of Bowdoin on January 15th and a pair of goals in the most recent triumph over Colby. Sharing time in goal for the Purple and White is the nation's second-best netminder, Bailey Plaman. Plaman trails only EC's Crawford in goals-against average (0.57) and save percentage (.970), and boasts a 5-1-1 record.

LOOKING AHEAD
Following the one-game break from ECAC West Conference play, the No. 4/5 Soaring Eagles will take on Utica College in a home-and-home series, beginning with a 2:30 p.m. contest in Utica on Saturday, January 28th. The two teams will conclude the series at the Murray Athletic Center at 3:00 p.m. the following afternoon.