ADRIAN, Mich. — No. 2-ranked Adrian College scored with one minute remaining in overtime to secure a 5-4 victory over the fifth-ranked Elmira College women’s ice hockey team in an electric NCAA Tournament quarterfinal at the Arrington Ice Arena in Adrian, Michigan.
Elmira trailed by one, 3-2, heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation, but the Soaring Eagles sparked what nearly turned into a miraculous comeback with a pair of goals in the third. EC’s third goal came on a second-chance possession after the initial shot by Kyra McDonald ’18 was turned aside by Adrian goalie Brooke Gibson. After the kick save, the puck was worked back to Rachel Grampp ’18 at the blue line, and she wound up and slapped home the tying goal from the high slot.
The Bulldogs regained the lead four minutes later on a back-hander off the stick of Kristin Lewicki, her second goal of the game. Adrian then looked to add an insurance goal with a power-play opportunity just 1:01 later. The Soaring Eagles had other plans, as Maddy Jerolman ’19 made a tremendous play to haul in a pass from Kristin Chivers ’19 off the boards. With a full head of steam down the right wing, Jerolman raced past Adrian’s Kristi Zink and beat Gibson one-on-one for the shorthanded goal.
After Jerolman knotted the game, Elmira goalie Kelcey Crawford ’18 stood on her head to preserve the tie and force overtime. The junior from Purcellville, Virginia made 17 of her 47 saves in the third period, five of which came inside the final two minutes of regulation. The intensity carried over into the overtime period as well, resulting in a thrilling back-and-forth affair that saw the two teams combine for 24 shots on goal. After 79 minutes of exciting action, however, Adrian broke through for the winner, netted by Kaylyn Schroka.
The Bulldogs drew first blood, and did so in timely fashion. Just over a minute into the contest, Adrian’s Sarah Shureb headmanned the puck to Lewicki, the second-leading goal scorer in the country, and the senior forward buried a breakaway opportunity one-on-one against Crawford.
On the opposite end of the period, the Soaring Eagles leveled the score at 1-all. Grampp started the scoring play by releasing a howitzer of a shot straight down the slot, which was initially saved by Jade Walsh, who started in goal and played the entire first period before being replaced by Gibson. After the initial save, Sarah Hughson ’18 was able to collect the loose puck behind the net, and her attempted centering pass deflected off the skate of a Bulldog defender and into the goal to make it a 1-1 score.
EC took its only lead of the contest, 2-1, 4:42 into the second period on tip-in by Meghan Fonfara ’18. On the power play, the Soaring Eagles won a faceoff in the offensive zone. The puck was swung back to Maddie Evangelous ’19, who, from the same faceoff circle on the left side, fired a shot towards the net to Fonfara, who was camped along the near post for the deflection.
Adrian took advantage of both of its power-play chances in the second period, as the Bulldogs scored twice with the extra-skater advantage to claim a 3-2 lead. The hosts needed very little time to capitalize on their two power plays, scoring in just 10 seconds on the first attempt and 14 seconds on the latter.
Turning Point
To say that both sides had a plethora of prime scoring opportunities in overtime would be an understatement. Adrian and Elmira each had their share of looks at the goal, but both Gibson and Crawford were up to the task. The last of Elmira’s near misses was a shot off the stick of Jessica Prance ’17 from the right wing, which Gibson stopped with her right blocker for her 13th save of the extra session. It was on the ensuing possession that the Bulldogs recorded the game winner.
Inside the Box Score
Adrian outshot Elmira 52-to-49.
Elmira won the faceoff battle, 44-to-38.
EC was whistled for eight infractions and 16 penalty minutes.
Adrian was called for four penalties and served eight penalty minutes.
The Soaring Eagles went 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Bulldogs were 2-for-7.
10 different skaters registered points for the Soaring Eagles.
Chivers led all EC skaters with two points, both on assists.
Hughson, Fonfara, Grampp and Jerolman scored goals for the Purple and Gold.
Fonfara’s tally was on the power play, while Jerolman scored shorthanded.
Evangelous, McDonald, Shannon Strawinski ’19, Johanna Eidensten ’17, and Kiana Melvin ’20 were each credited with an assist.
Crawford made a career-high 47 saves in 79 minutes of action.
Schroka scored the game-winning goal for Adrian with exactly one minute remaining in overtime.
Walsh got the start in net for Adrian, but was pulled after the first 20 minutes.
Walsh finished with nine saves.
Gibson came in for relief duty and stopped 36 shots in a winning effort.
News and Notes
Elmira concludes the 2016-17 season with an 18-6-4 overall record.
EC’s all-time NCAA Tournament record stands at 18-9-0.
Adrian advances to the final four of the NCAA Tournament as the highest remaining seed in the West Region.
The Soaring Eagles lost their first overtime game of the season (1-1-4).
Today’s game was the longest Elmira has played since the 2013 NCAA Semifinals (W, 4-3 against Gustavus Adolphus 19:22 into overtime).
Crawford’s 47 saves are a career high and the first time in her career she has amassed 40 or more.
Crawford’s 47-save total is the highest by an EC netminder since Lisa Marshall ’14 set a program record with 56 stops against Plattsburgh in 2014.
Evangelous ends the year as EC’s point leader, after earning an assist (10g-18a-28p).
