RYE, N.Y. -- The No. 4-ranked Elmira College women's ice hockey team rode the efforts of its special teams to secure an all-important 4-1 road victory against Manhattanville College in United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) action on Friday evening. The Soaring Eagles (14-2-2, 9-1-0 UCHC North) solidified their seventh consecutive victory and extended their unbeaten streak to 11 straight games. The Valiants of Manhattanville (10-6-3, 8-1-1 UCHC South) suffered their first conference defeat of the season and saw their five-game unbeaten streak snapped.
 
Emma Crocker '21 continued to produce on the offensive side of the puck, as the junior forward paced Elmira with two points. Crocker scored the opening goal and assisted on the eventual game-winning tally. Crocker was one of nine skaters to produce points for the Elmira women, but was the only one with multiple points.
 
Devyn Gilman '21, Amanda Zenstein '22 and Jess Adams '21 added goals for the Soaring Eagles. Gilman and Zenstein both scored on the power play, while Adams tallied on an empty net.
 
Bella Hanson '21, Morgan Mordini '22, Tristen Tolan '21, Kiana Melvin '20 and Eliza Beaudin' 22 were all credited with assists this evening.
 
In net, Elizabeth Hanson '21 turned in another strong performance en route to the win. Hanson made 13 saves in 60 minutes of action to improve to 9-0-1 this season. With the win, the junior netminder moved into sole possession of 10th place in EC history for career wins (16).
 
After a scoreless first period, Elmira's offense stepped up in a big way in the second stanza by scoring a trio of goals in a 5:28 span.
 
Crocker began the scoring frenzy at 3:27 in the period to give the Purple and Gold a 1-0 advantage. A pass from behind the net found Beaudin in the slot, where she fired a shot that caromed low off of the pads of Manhattanville's Taylor Elias. Crocker found the rebound and buried it from close range to give Elmira an early lead.
 
Just about three minutes later, Gilman converted on a 5-on-4 power play to double the Soaring Eagle lead. A pass from Crocker found Melvin at the left faceoff circle, and from there the senior blueliner slid a cross-ice pass to Gilman, who then whipped a wrist shot through traffic to beat Elias for the goal at 6:30.
 
Then again at 8:55, Elmira's power-play unit connected to pad the Purple and Gold's lead at 3-0. After failing to clear the zone, the puck trickled out to the blue line to Hanson, who tip-toed her way to the high point. Hanson drew in a pair of defensemen, before sliding the puck over to Zenstein at the left faceoff circle, where she rocketed a one-timer into the back of the cage for the tally.
 
Elmira carried its three-goal advantage into the final intermission.
 
In the third period, Manhattanville trimmed the Elmira lead to 3-1 with an even-strength goal from Ali Howard at 4:43. The Valiants had a prime opportunity to pull within one midway through the period, as they went on the power play at 11:16. However, Elmira's PK unit denied the Valiants for a seventh time this evening to maintain a two-goal advantage.
 
In an effort to rally back, Manhattanville pulled its goalie late in the third period, which allowed EC's Adams to net her 13th goal of the 2019-20 campaign. Tolan was credited with the assist on the goal at 19:36, which all but sealed a 4-1 victory for the Elmira women.
 
News and Notes

• Elmira collected its seventh consecutive victory.
• EC handed Manhattanville its lone UCHC defeat.
• Manhattanville was the last team in the UCHC without a loss on its record.
• Elmira held a 25-14 advantage in shots on goal.
• The Soaring Eagles went 2-for-4 on the power play.
• The Valiants were 0-for-7 on the power play.
• Hanson moved into 10th place on EC's all-time wins list (16).
• Crocker produced her eighth multi-point performance of the season.
• Crocker logged her team-leading 17th assist of the season.
• Gilman scored her third power-play goal of the year, which is tied for second-most on the team.
• Adams scored her 13th goal of the year, which is second on the team.
• Adams has scored seven of her 13 goals in EC's last five games.
• Melvin has produced an assist in five of EC's last six games.
• Mordini has logged at least one point in six of EC's last seven games.

 
Up Next
The Elmira women returns to the ice tomorrow afternoon, as they take on the Knights of Neumann University in a 2:00 p.m. UCHC bout.