PINE VALLEY, N.Y. – The Elmira College women's ice hockey program opened the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) playoffs with a dominant 8-0 victory against Salem State on Saturday afternoon at the Murray Athletic Center. Morgan Mordini '22 finished with two goals and three assists for the Purple & Gold.

The victory for Elmira was its first in postseason action since joining the NEHC before the start of the season. The Soaring Eagles advance to the semifinal round where EC will face William Smith following the Herons' 2-1 victory in double-overtime against Southern Maine.
 
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: No. 3 Elmira 8, Salem State 0
LOCATION: Pine Valley, New York | MAC
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (22-2-1), Salem State (6-20-0)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Elmira needed just 24 seconds to break the ice against the Vikings as Mordini took a feed from Emma Crocker '21 to put the Soaring Eagles on top 1-0. The Soaring Eagles continued to control the pace of play in the first period and would add to their lead at the 8:13 mark as Crocker tallied her first goal of the contest to make it 2-0.

The Soaring Eagles would take advantage of a late power-play opportunity in the first period as Eliza Beaudin '22 found the back of the net at the 15:27 mark. Madi Morton '24 and Mordini would be credited with assists on Beaudin's tally.

EC's power-play unit would strike again in the second period as Crocker netted her second goal of the contest at the 2:13 mark to make it 4-0. Mordini and Morton would again tandem to set up the goal for the Purple & Gold. Mordini added her second goal to give Elmira a 5-0 advantage at the 7:42 mark with Beaudin and Elizabeth LePage '25 getting credit for the assists.

Claire Elfring '25 added Elmira's third power-play goal of the contest at the 9:35 mark after taking a feed from Sabrina Shvartsman '25 and Jenny Heath '22 to make it 6-0. The Purple & Gold added a pair of goals late in the period as Beaudin notched her second of the contest while Erika Goleniak '25 scored with four seconds remaining to make it 8-0.

There would be no scoring from either side in the third period as Kaia Hollingsworth stopped all 14 shots that she faced in net for Salem State after taking over for starter Hannah Aveni. Elmira netminder Leonie-Louise Kuehberger '25 turned away all nine shots that she faced in the contest to record her seventh shutout of the season.

Elmira had 11 different players record a point in the contest as Mordini paced the Purple & Gold with a five-point outing. Beaudin finished with two goals and two assists, while Heath and Morton each finished with three assists. Crocker finished with two goals and one assist while going 15-of-19 in the faceoff circle for Elmira.

UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles return to the rink on Saturday, February 26 for an NEHC semifinal round matchup against William Smith beginning at 3:00 p.m. inside the Murray Athletic Center. Admission to the contest will be free for all while fans are asked to consider donating to help the program offset costs related to hosting the tournament.