NORTHFIELD, Vt. -- A full 60 minutes of regulation play and a five-minute overtime period could not determine a winner this evening, as No. 8 Elmira College women's ice hockey skated to a 2-2 overtime tie with No. 6 Adrian College in the first round of the 10th Annual East-West Hockey Classic, hosted by Norwich University. Adrian advanced to the title game with a 2-1 win in the shootout.
 
The Bulldogs (9-1-2) will face top-ranked Plattsburgh State, who defeated third-ranked Norwich University in the other opening round game, in tomorrow's championship contest, while the Soaring Eagles (7-2-1) will battle the Cadets of Norwich in the consolation game tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.
 
Adrian held a slim 26-24 lead in shots on goal this evening. The Bulldogs also went 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Soaring Eagles were held scoreless with the extra-skater on five opportunities.
 
Eliza Beaudin '22 and Morgan Mordini '22 produced goals for the Purple and Gold, both of which came in the third period. Beaudin scored EC's first of the contest and Mordini registered the game-tying tally. Emma Crocker '21 and Sydney Harris '21 were credited with assists on Mordini's game-tying goal, while Beaudin's was scored unassisted.
 
Between the pipes, Stephanie Martin '22 got the start for Elmira and made 24 saves in 65 minutes of action. Martin's record stands at 3-2-1 on the 2019-20 season. For Adrian, Denisa Jandova made 22 saves to preserve the tie.
 
Adrian opened the contest by scoring the game-opening goal at the 8:50 mark of the first period. After winning a puck battle behind the boards, Brianna Buchanan curled around the left post before firing a shot under the blocker-side arm of Martin for the goal.
 
Elmira had its chances in the opening 20 minutes, as the Bulldogs were whistled for three penalties, putting the Purple and Gold power-play unit on the ice three times. Despite a heavy dose of pressure and shots, Elmira was unable to breakthrough for a goal, as the Soaring Eagles entered the first intermission trailing the Bulldogs, 1-0.
 
In the second period, a pair of penalties proved to be costly for the Purple and Gold, as the Bulldogs doubled their lead with a power-play goal. A slashing penalty on Brianna Haviland '22 at 9:20, followed by a cross-checking infraction by Kiana Melvin '20 at 10:02, gave Adrian a 5-on-3 power-play opportunity. Elmira's PK unit did fairly well to limit quality scoring chances for Adrian, but Jacqueline White was able to bury the puck off of a rebound at 11:02 to pad the Bulldogs' lead.
 
Trailing by two goals, Elmira's offense seemed to find its rhythm later in the period by outshooting Adrian, 6-3. However, Adrian's Jandova came up with clutch saves to keep EC scoreless and send the Soaring Eagles into the final intermission with a two-goal deficit.
 
In the third period, Elmira's surging play was finally rewarded with a pair of goals to tie the game at 2-2.
 
Beaudin began the rally by scoring her ninth goal of the season at 4:09. Beaudin launched a shot deep in the zone from the side boards, which took a favorable hop on its way on net and bounced past Jandova for the goal.
 
Then, at the 11:52 mark, Mordini picked the perfect time to score her first goal of the season and knot the contest at 2-2. Crocker began the scoring play by winning a clean faceoff in the Adrian d-zone. From there, the puck went to Harris at the point, where her shot caromed off of an Adrian defenseman. The rebound leaked out to Mordini, who collected it, wrapped around and snapped a wrist shot under the glove-side arm of Jandova for the game-tying goal. The tally sent today's game into overtime.
 
In the extra five-minute session, Elmira killed a two-minute tripping penalty and held the Bulldogs without a shot on goal to force a penalty shootout to determine which team advanced to the East-West Hockey Classic title game.
 
In the shootout, both goalies made terrific saves to keep it close, but Adrian eventually came out on top by a slim, 2-1, score to advance to tomorrow's title game against top-ranked Plattsburgh State.
 
News and Notes

• Today's contest was a rematch of the 2019 NCAA Quarterfinal matchup.
• Similar to the 2019 NCAA Quarterfinal, EC rallied from a two-goal deficit to force overtime.
• Elmira is 2-2-1 this season in games in which it has not scored a power-play goal.
• Beaudin scored her team-leading ninth goal of the season.
• Crocker logged her team-leading 11th assist and 15th point of the season.
• Mordini produced her first goal of the 2019-20 campaign.
• Martin registered her fourth game with 20-plus saves this season.

Up Next
Elmira will face another top-10 ranked opponent tomorrow, when they Soaring Eagles battle No. 3 Norwich University in the consolation game of the 10th Annual East-West Hockey Classic. The puck is set to drop at 1:00 p.m. in Northfield, Vermont.