PINE VALLEY, N.Y. – Emma Crocker '21 scored a pair of goals and Jenny Heath '22 closed the scoring as the third-ranked Elmira College women's ice hockey program defeated New England College, 5-0, on Saturday afternoon in a New England Hockey Conference matchup at the Murray Athletic Center.

The Soaring Eagles finished the regular season with a perfect 17-0 mark in the NEHC and have won each of their last 11 contests dating back to a 7-2 victory against Norwich on Jan. 8, 2022.
 
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: No. 3 Elmira 5, New England College 0
LOCATION: Pine Valley, New York | MAC
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (21-2-1, 17-0-0 NEHC), New England College (3-19-1, 0-16-0 NEHC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Elmira would control the puck for a majority of the first period while trying to find the back of the net against NEC's netminder Sean D'urso. The Soaring Eagles looked to take an early lead as the Pilgrims would be called for a penalty at the 3:11 mark. EC recorded five shots with the extra skater but would be unable to beat D'urso.

Crocker helped to give Elmira a 1-0 lead at the 17:08 mark of the opening frame as she beat D'urso off assists from Morgan Mordini '22 and Eliza Beaudin '22. The goal was Crocker's 60th of her career for the Purple & Gold.

Following a pair of penalties taken by the Pilgrims at the 1:58 mark of the second period, Crocker would make it 2-0 with her second goal of the contest as Madi Morton '24 and Beaudin were credited with assists. Elmira added to its advantage at the 6:09 mark as McKenzie Schmidt '25 would sneak a shot past NEC's netminder to make it 3-0.

Just over a minute after Schmidt's tally, Erika Goleniak '25 notched her second goal in as many days for the Purple & Gold to make it 4-0 at the 7:21 mark. Goleniak's seventh goal of the season would come unassisted for EC.

Elmira would close things down defensively in the third period and keep the Pilgrims off the scoreboard until the final buzzer. With less than a minute left to play in the contest, the Soaring Eagles would get a late power-play opportunity. Heath made the most of the extra skater situation as she scored her fifth goal of the season and 13th of her career for the Purple & Gold.

Leonie-Louise Kuehberger '25 improved to 16-2-1 on the season after playing the opening 26:41. Kuehberger would be replaced by Alayna Breivogel '25 in the second period after the Soaring Eagles extended their lead to 4-0. Breivogel turned away all 14 shots that she faced down the stretch for Elmira.

UP NEXT:
The Purple & Gold will shift their focus to the NEHC Tournament this upcoming weekend as Elmira secured the No. 1 overall seed and will face the lowest remaining seed at the MAC on Saturday, February 19 at 3:00 p.m.