ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira College men's & women's ice hockey teams will both take the ice this weekend at the Murray Athletic Center as part of the New England Hockey Conference quarterfinal rounds. The tournament runs over the course of three weekends, with the quarterfinals being this Saturday (Feb. 17) followed by the semifinals and championship rounds hosted by the highest remaining seeds on February 24 and March 2, respectively.
The women, who finished second in the NEHC will host the #7 seed Plymouth State University Panthers at 3:00 PM on Saturday. All-time against Plymouth State, the Soaring Eagles have compiled a 5-0-0 record, with EC winning both regular season matchups this season by a combined score of 13-0. The Soaring Eagles have not allowed the Panthers to score a goal in the previous five meetings, with Elmira outscoring Plymouth State 30-0. This is the third consecutive NEHC Tournament appearance for Elmira, while Plymouth State returns to post-season action after qualifying during the 2021-22 season but missing out last season.
Since joining the NEHC for the 2021-22 campaign, Elmira is 5-1 all-time in the conference tournament with wins against Salem State (x2), William Smith (x2), and Castleton. In the quarterfinal round of the tournament, EC has outscored its opponents 15-0 and has recorded a 27-5 margin of victory through its five tournament games. Elmira has distributed its offense this season, scoring 96 goals in 25 contests with 11 different players scoring at least five goals. The Soaring Eagles currently rank 4
th in NCAA DIII with 144 assists as five different players have contributed double-digit assists. Elmira has been paced by
Erika Goleniak '25, who has 12 goals and 15 assists for a total of 27 points, and
Claire Meeder '23, who has 10 goals and 12 assists for a total of 22 points.
The men, who finished 4th in the NEHC and currently rank #8 in the current USCHO Division III poll will take on #5 seed Babson College at 7:00 PM on Saturday. Despite both finishing with 34 points and Babson having one more win in conference on record, Elmira earned the tiebreaker with 10 regulation victories compared to nine for the Beavers. All-time against Babson, the Soaring Eagles have recorded an 8-9-0 record, which includes a 6-3 record inside the Murray Athletic Center. The Soaring Eagles erased a four-game skid against Babson on January 20 when defeating the opposition 4-1 at the Domes as
Jared Smith '24,
Ryan Reifler '24,
Jordan Gonzalez '24, and
Amedeo Mastrangeli '24 all found the back of the net on four unanswered goals.
The Soaring Eagles have matched up with the Beavers just once in the NEHC Tournament, the semifinal round of the 2021-22 season, where Elmira fell in overtime, 2-3. It was the only time the teams have played into overtime in its history against one another.
Shawn Kennedy '24 scored Elmira's second goal of that contest. Heading into the postseason Kennedy finished T-1st in the conference in assists, 2nd in points, while
Janis Vizbelis '24 finished T-2nd in goals with 16.
TICKET INFORMATION:
Similarly to last season, the Elmira College Department of Athletics will be offering free admission to all New England Hockey Conference tournament games played at the Murray Athletic Center. A donation box will be available at the ticketing table, with proceeds going to help offset all ice hockey postseason travel costs.
GATE TIMES:
As normal, gates will open one (1) hour prior to scheduled game time. For the women's game against Plymouth State, gates will open at 2:00 PM. Following the game, all fans will be asked to exit the ice arena for cleanup, with gates for the men's game opening at 6:00 PM.
NEHC QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE (WOMEN):
#8 Johnson & Wales (5-12-1) at #1 Norwich (15-2-1) - 3:00 PM
#7 Plymouth State (6-12-0) at #2 Elmira (14-3-1) - 3:00 PM
#6 Castleton (9-7-2) at #3 William Smith (11-6-1) - 1:00 PM
#5 Southern Maine (10-6-2) at #4 UMass Boston (10-6-2) - 3:00 PM
NEHC QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE (MEN):
#8 Castleton (4-14-0) at #1 Hobart (16-1-1) – 7:00 PM
#7 Southern Maine (6-9-3) at #2 Norwich (11-4-3) – 7:00 PM
#6 UMass Boston (7-11-0) at #3 Skidmore (11-4-3) – 4:00 PM
#5 Babson (12-5-1) at #4 Elmira (11-6-1) – 7:00 PM
