Score: #3/5 Elmira College 4, #1/2 Plattsburgh State 1
Records: Elmira (10-2-1), Plattsburgh (11-2-0)
Location: Kreitzberg Arena – Northfield, Vt.
NORTHFIELD, Vt. -- A three-goal effort by
Katie Granato '19 and a career-high 33-save performance from
Stephanie Martin '22 was more than enough for the No. 3/5-ranked Elmira College women's ice hockey team to defeat No. 1/2-ranked Plattsburgh State, 4-1, and claim the East-West Hockey Classic Championship. With the win, Elmira collects its third victory over a nationally-ranked team this season and it's second against a No. 1-ranked team.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Elmira's
Ariella Haas '22 and Martin were both selected to the All-Tournament Team, while Granato was voted as the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Although the Soaring Eagles were outshot 10-6 in the opening period, it was the Elmira women who skated into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead. A pair of Plattsburgh penalties put the Purple and Gold's lethal power-play unit on the ice with a 5-on-3 advantage at the 7:16 mark, one that EC cashed in on to take the first lead of the game.
The scoring play began with
Shannon Strawinski '19, who carried the puck to the left faceoff dot, which drew in a defenseman and created a lane in the slot. From there, Strawinski dished the puck to
Kiana Melvin '20 at the point, where she laced a hard-lined shot that was padded away by Plattsburgh's Kassi Abbott. However, Granato was able to collect the rebound and bury the shot from just outside the crease to give the Purple and Gold a 1-0 lead at 8:25.
Following the goal, Elmira's defense was put to the test, as Plattsburgh launched nine of its 10 shots on goal. Thankfully, Martin came up with clutch saves on all nine attempts to keep the Cardinals scoreless through the opening 20 minutes.
In the second stanza, both teams had ample amount of scoring chances, as Plattsburgh held a slim 12-11 advantage in shots on goal.
EC's first quality scoring chance came in the first two minutes when a centered pass from
Maddy Jerolman '19 found
Eliza Beaudin '22 in the slot for a one-timer. However, Beaudin's shot was denied at the doorstep, as EC maintained a one-goal advantage.
Plattsburgh had its best scoring opportunity at the nine-minute mark when an errant pass from behind the EC net leaked out to the Cardinals just outside the crease. The Cardinals were able to lace a pair of shots on goal, but Martin came up with two of her 12 saves in the period to keep Plattsburgh off of the scoreboard.
The Soaring Eagles were able to breakthrough and double their lead with 2:51 remaining in the period, as Haas scored her second goal in as many days. A pass from Strawinski to
Devyn Gilman '21 along the left-side boards created a small passing window in the slot, allowing Gilman to slide the puck to Haas. From there, Haas whipped a wrist-shot over the shoulder of Abbott, bar-down, for the goal.
The tally from Haas sent the Soaring Eagles into the final intermission with a 2-0 lead.
Elmira added another goal at 10:39 in the third frame to increase its lead to 3-0 behind the efforts of Granato, who tallied her second of the game. On the rush, a lead pass from Strawinski to Evangelous set up a 3-on-2 in the Plattsburgh zone. Evangelous dumped the puck on a beautiful behind-the-back pass in the slot to Granato, who wristed it over the glove of Abbott for the insurance goal.
Fast-forward to 14:26 in the period and Elmira was whistled for interference, putting the Cardinals on the power play for the third time in the contest. After coming up empty on its previous chances, Plattsburgh was able to cash in on the opportunity with goal from point-blank range in a scrum, cutting EC's lead to 3-1.
With a two-goal deficit, Plattsburgh pulled Abbott from the goal, leaving an empty-net. The move by the Cardinals nearly paid off, as Plattsburgh had several scoring chances from close-range.
However, a steal by Granato in EC's defensive zone placed the country's leading scorer in front of everyone, allowing her to leisurely skate the puck into the empty-net for the goal and the hat trick. Granato's tally all but sealed the 4-1 victory for the Elmira women.
In His Own Words…
Head Coach
Tim Crowley shares his thoughts on today's tournament-title performance…
"It was good to get that one and gather some momentum for us. Our power play was big in key moments this weekend. They're both [Granato and Martin] such key parts, but our group as a whole was just as valuable. Our d-core was tremendous all weekend and all our forward lines played hard for a full 60 minutes. Anytime you can beat two ranked teams, you're excited. We'll enjoy it today, but still have a tough challenge ahead of us this weekend playing a good Manhattanville team."
News and Notes
- Elmira wins the East-West Hockey Classic title.
- EC wins its first East-West Hockey Classic title since the 2014-15 season.
- Elmira outscored opponents 7-1 over the two-game tournament.
- The Soaring Eagles improved to 3-1-1 against nationally-ranked opponents.
- With today's win, EC leveled the season series against Plattsburgh (1-1-0).
- Granato was named the tournament's MVP after logging her third hat trick of the season.
- Granato moved into sole possession of fourth place in EC history for career goals (64).
- Granato leads the country in scoring with 17 goals and 1.31 goals per game.
- Martin and Haas were selected to the All-Tournament Team.
- Haas scored this evening's game-winning goal.
- Strawinski finished with two assists on the evening.
- Melvin, Gilman and Evangelous all logged one assist.
- Martin turned away a career-high 33 shots en route to her eighth win of the season.
- Elmira went 1-for-5 on the power play, while Plattsburgh was 1-for-3.
- Plattsburgh outshot Elmira 34-20, including a 12-3 advantage in the third period.
East-West Hockey Classic All-Tournament Team
Up Next
The No. 3/5-ranked Soaring Eagles resume their road trip with a United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) weekend series against Manhattanville College. The first of two league games is set for Friday, January 11, at 7:00 p.m.
