ELMIRA, N.Y. – The third-ranked Elmira College women's ice hockey program returned to First Arena on Saturday afternoon and remained unbeaten in New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) action with a 3-2 victory against Johnson & Wales. Eliza Beaudin '22 finished with a goal and two assists for the Purple & Gold as EC improved to 4-0 all-time in games played at First Arena.
 
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: No. 3 Elmira 3, Johnson & Wales 2
LOCATION: Elmira, NY | First Arena
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (17-2-1, 13-0-0 NEHC), Johnson & Wales (8-10-1, 5-7-0 NEHC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Facing the Wildcats for the second time this season, the Soaring Eagles would open the scoring at the 14:15 mark of the first period as Mary McCafferty '22 found the back of the net on the power-play. McCafferty would light the lamp after taking a feed from Beaudin to beat Johnson & Wales goalkeeper Sofia Tamayo.

The Wildcats knotted the score early in the second period after getting things going offensively with a flurry of shots. Paige Henault beat Elmira netminder Alayna Breivogel '25 at the 2:47 mark of the frame with assists coming from Hailey Wiltshire and Logan Arseneau.

Elmira continued to pressure the Wildcats and Tamayo before heading to the power-play midway through the frame. Morgan Mordini '22 cashed in with the extra skater on the ice for the Purple & Gold to give EC a 2-1 lead at the 10:31 mark. Beaudin and Kelly Millins '23 assisted on Mordini's power-play tally.

The Soaring Eagles added to their lead less than five minutes into the third period as Beaudin netted her lone goal of the contest to make it 3-1. Beaudin's tally would be assisted by Mordini and eventually serve as the game-winning goal for the Soaring Eagles. Tamayo continued to stand tall between the pipes for the Wildcats and give her team a chance to claw back with less than a minute remaining.

Johnson & Wales cut the deficit to 3-2 with 45 seconds left in the contest as Hailey Boyle floated a shot over the shoulder of Breivogel to give the Wildcats late life. The Purple & Gold would fight off another late opportunity from the Wildcats to secure the 3-2 victory.

Breivogel made 12 saves on 14 shots in net for Elmira to improve to 3-0 on the season. Elmira held a 53-14 advantage in shots on goal as Tamayo turned away 50 shots between the pipes for the Wildcats.

UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles return to the ice for a pair of road contests next weekend as Elmira travels to Plymouth State on Friday and Castleton on Saturday.