ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The No. 3/3-ranked Elmira College women's ice hockey team ends the 2017-18 regular season with a home two-game set against Neumann University at the Murray Athletic Center. The series opener is slated to begin on Friday, February 16, at 7:00 p.m., while the finale will start at 3:00 p.m. the following day. On Saturday, the Soaring Eagles will recognize the seniors on the team as part of Class of 2018 Recognition Day.
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LAST TIME OUT
Elmira defeated United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) foe Manhattanville College by a 6-0 final score on Saturday, February 10, at the Murray Athletic Center. It was an all-around team effort in the win, as six different Soaring Eagles scored a goal in the contest.
Shannon Strawinski '19 and
Sarah Hughson '18 paced all skaters with three points on one goal and two assists apiece.
Katie Granato '19 also posted a multi-point game, with the game-winning tally and an assist.
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TOP-SEEDED SOARING EAGLES
With the victory on Saturday, the Purple and Gold clinched the top seed in the first-ever UCHC Championship Tournament. With the first overall seed, Elmira will receive a first-round bye and will host both the semifinal and final games at the Murray Athletic Center. Heading into Friday's tilt, the Soaring Eagles are unbeaten in conference play with a 13-0-1 record. It marks the first time since the 2014-15 campaign that EC earned the top seed in a conference tournament.
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SINGLE-SEASON RECORD WATCH
One Elmira player that stands to post a couple of single-season records this year is senior goalie
Kelcey Crawford '18. The Purcellville, Virginia, native is on pace to post a program-record .953 save percentage. Crawford is tied for the second-most wins in a single season by a Soaring Eagle with 16, five shy of the record held by Allison Cubberley '09 (21). Her 469 saves this year are the fourth most on Elmira's all-time leaderboard.
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SERIES HISTORY
This weekend's bouts will mark the 37th and 38th all-time meetings between the Soaring Eagles and Knights. In those previous encounters, Elmira owns an unbeaten record of 35-0-1. In 2016-17, EC opened the year with a sweep of Neumann at the Knights' IceWorks Skating Complex in Aston, Pennsylvania, on November 4-5, 2016.
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SCOUTING NEUMANN
The Knights skate into today's bout as the fourth seed in the UCHC standings with a 9-4-1 record in conference play (12-8-2 overall). This will bring extra significance to this weekend's contests, as two losses by Neumann and two wins by Utica College against King's College (Pa.) would drop the Knights into fifth place in the standings, meaning they would lose the right to host a first-round matchup. Neumann has hit a little bit of a skid of late, as it has lost three straight after coming off of a seven-game win streak. Leading the Knights this season has been senior forward Bek Lucas, who paces the conference in both points (38) and goals (26). In fact, Lucas' 1.30 goals-per-game average is the highest of any player in all of Division III. In net, the Knights have employed a dual-threat approach. Senior Julia Fair paces Neumann in saves (386), save percentage (.928) and wins (7), while also being tied for the team lead in goals-against average (2.54). Sophomore Helen Cooney has started 10 contests and has posted 301 saves with a .920 save percentage and a 2.45 goals-against average.
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UP NEXT
The Soaring Eagles will have a first-round bye before hosting a UCHC semifinal matchup at the Murray Athletic Center on Saturday, March 3. The opponent and time will be determined at a later date.
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