PINE VALLEY, N.Y. – In a battle between the top-ranked teams in the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) it would be the third-ranked Elmira College women’s ice hockey program recording a 2-1 victory against eighth-ranked Norwich on Friday night at the Murray Athletic Center.
The victory for Elmira secured its first regular-season title since joining the NEHC and fifth straight after the Soaring Eagles captured four consecutive UCHC regular-season championships from 2017-21.
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: No. 3 Elmira 2, No. 8 Norwich 1
LOCATION: Pine Valley, New York | MAC
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (20-2-1, 16-0-0 NEHC), Norwich (18-6-0, 15-2-0 NEHC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Purple & Gold would strike early in the first period as Erika Goleniak ’25 found the back of the net off a feed from Mary McCafferty ’22. Goleniak’s sixth goal of the season came at the 1:01 mark to give EC early momentum.
Goleniak would have several good scoring opportunities later in the frame but would be unable to beat Norwich netminder Alexa Berg as she tallied four shots on goal for EC. The Cadets ended the opening frame with some momentum as EC netminder Leonie-Louise Kuehberger ’25 turned away 11 shots on frame to keep the score 1-0.
Norwich controlled the pace of play in the second period and would eventually knot the score at the 15:22 mark as Emma O’Neill had a shot find its way through traffic to beat Kuehberger. The scoring opportunity would be set up off the faceoff following an icing against the Soaring Eagles.
The Cadets would close the period with a 13-7 advantage in shots on goal as Elmira generated some offense late to close the gap heading into the third period of action. Both sides would successfully defend a power-play opportunity in the frame with EC denying the Cadets of any shots on goal.
Tense moments in the third period would eventually lead to the Purple & Gold taking their second lead of the night as Emma Crocker ’21 found the back of the net off a rebound. The original shot would come from Jenny Heath ’22 and be stopped by Berg before Crocker found the loose puck for her 10th goal of the season. Eliza Beaudin ’22 added an assist on the play for the Soaring Eagles.
Kuehberger would shine down the stretch for Elmira as she turned away each of the five shots that she faced in the third period, including 28-of-29 overall in the contest. Kuehberger improved to 15-2-1 on the season while crossing the 400-save plateau in net for the Soaring Eagles.
