Score: No. 1/3 Elmira College 5, Utica College 0
Records: Elmira (10-2-0, 7-0-0 UCHC), Utica (7-6-0, 3-2-0 UCHC)
Location: Pine Valley, N.Y. -- Murray Athletic Center

PINE VALLEY, N.Y. -- The No. 1/3 nationally-ranked Elmira College women's ice hockey team rode a hat-trick performance from standout senior Sarah Hughson '18 to a 5-0  victory over the visiting Pioneers of Utica College at the Murray Athletic Center on Friday night.

Four days after being blanked for the first time this season by then-No. 2/3 Plattsburgh State at the ultra-competitive East-West Hockey Classic, Hughson rejuvenated the EC offense with her second hat trick of the year. The East Haddam, Connecticut, native netted the game's first goal – the eventual game-winner – late in the opening period with a snipe of the upper right corner on a rush from the right-wing side.

Following a power-play strike from Katie Granato '19 in the middle period that doubled Elmira's advantage, Hughson needed just 23 seconds into the third stanza to make it a 3-0 score. The quick strike, which was assisted by fellow senior Louisa Lippiatt Durnell '18 and rookie Tristen Tolan '21, beat Utica goalie Bria Reilly in the exact same location over the shoulder on her glove side. Hughson then concluded her three-goal night at the 6:59 mark with her seventh power-play goal of the season, a figure that has the fourth-year forward tied for first in all of Division III.

EC's fifth and final score of the night came off of the stick of Meghan Fonfara '18 approximately two minutes later. The Elma, New York, product skated by her defender down the left wing, and although it looked as though Reilly had made the stop, the puck trickled through the netminder's padding and just across the goal line.

Eight Soaring Eagles logged at least one point and four secured multiple points in the lopsided United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) victory. In addition to Hughson, Granato finished with a game-high-tying three points on one goal and two assists. Fonfara (1g-1a) and Durnell (2a) added two points apiece, while Tolan, Kristin Chivers '19, Meg Lahey '19 and Maddie Evangelous '19 all registered one helper. As a team, the Purple and Gold outshot the Pioneers by a wide margin, 38-to-13, and scored twice on five power-play chances. On the other end of the ice, goalie Kelcey Crawford '18 needed only 13 saves to earn her 10th win of the season.

In Their Own Words…
Head Coach Tim Crowley on Elmira's bounce-back effort in the offensive zone following the shutout loss earlier in the week against nationally-ranked Plattsburgh State…
"We had a better start. We started slow against Plattsburgh on Monday and that ended up kind of hurting us the most because after that I thought we had a pretty good-two period stretch. Tonight special teams were much better, too. We were able to capitalize on the power play and that's a huge part of it. The biggest part was that I thought the whole team competed hard and we had a good work ethic. I was excited about that."

Coach Crowley when asked about Sarah Hughson and her hat-trick heroics…
"We actually talked with 'Hughie' the other day. She's been getting chances but it just wasn't dropping for her. I think today just goes to show what type of player she's been for us this year. Not only was she producing on the offensive side of things, but she was producing in her own end and made some really clean breakout passes. For her, it's an attest to the type of year she's having and how important of a piece she's become for our program."

Coach Crowley on returning home to the MAC and earning another victory against UCHC competition…
"Every league game is important. We have our own goals, in regards to where we want to be in the league at the end of the year. Certainly, today helps us get there. They were, I thought, a really well-coached team today and they challenged us in certain aspects of the game. We'll look forward to tomorrow and try to get two points out of it to sweep the weekend."

News and Notes

• No. 1/3 Elmira improved to 10-2-0 and 7-0-0 in UCHC play with tonight's win.
• The Soaring Eagles are 35-5-2 all-time against the Pioneers heading into Saturday series finale in Utica, New York.
• EC has scored five-or-more goals in eight of the 12 games so far this year.
• For the fifth time in 2017-18, the Soaring Eagles netted multiple power-play goals.
• Hughson's hat trick was the second of her career; the other came in EC's season-opening win at Oswego State in November.
• Hughson and Granato paced Elmira with 14 goals and are tied for fifth in the nation in goals per game (1.00).
• Hughson is also tied for first place in all of Division III with seven power-play goals after picking one up against Utica.
• Fonfara tied her season best with two points.
• Crawford notched her fourth shutout of the year and is tied for third place nationally in that category.

Up Next
The No. 1/3 Soaring Eagles will conclude their home-and-home series against Utica on Saturday, January 13, when EC travels to the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium for a 3:00 p.m. matchup with the Pioneers.