PINE VALLEY, N.Y. — The No. 3/4 nationally-ranked Elmira College women’s ice hockey team continued its dominance to start the 2017-18 season with another lopsided win this evening, a 7-0 shutout victory over visiting Stevenson University in United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) action. A total of 13 skaters produced points for the Purple and Gold in tonight’s win, as the Soaring Eagles ended the opening portion of its conference schedule with a perfect 4-0-0 record.
Elmira’s special teams shined once again today, as the penalty-kill unit went a perfect 7-for-7 and EC’s power-play unit cashed in on 1-of-4 chances. The Soaring Eagles have yet to allow a power-play goal this season and have scored at least one power-play goal in each game thus far.
Sarah Hughson ’18 led the Soaring Eagle offense with a game-high three points on one goal and a pair of assists. It was the third time this season she has finished with three points. Hughson was one of seven skaters with multiple points, as six others finished with two. Of those six two-point producers, four finished with goals and two ended the contest with a pair of assists. Those multi-point scorers consisted of Maddie Evangelous ’19 (0g-2a), Devyn Gilman ’21 (0g-2a), Kiana Melvin ’20 (1g-1a), Tiia Hertto ’20 (1g-1a), Louisa Lippiatt Durnell ’18 (1g-1a) and Meg Lahey ’19 (1g-1a).
Elmira’s single-point getters included Rachel Grampp ’18 (0g-1a), Ari Smith ’18 (0g-1a), Shannon Strawinski ’19 (0g-1a), Emma Crocker ’21 (0g-1a), Maddy Jerolman ’19 (1g-0a) and Meghan Fonfara ’18 (1g-0a).
In goal, Elmira’s Kelcey Crawford ’18 was a brick wall for the entire 60 minutes, as the Purcellville, Virginia, native made a season-high 28 saves. After making just four stops in the first period, Crawford went on to make nine and 15 saves in the second and third periods, respectively. Her 15-save effort in the third was highlighted by a flurry of saves during a long penalty kill that saw the Soaring Eagles deny the Mustangs on a pair of 5-on-3 power-play chances.
Hertto opened the game with her first collegiate goal just 38 seconds into the first period. Hertto’s goal came on a slap shot from the point that beat a screened Annie Smyth-Hammond and was assisted by Lahey and Lippiatt Durnell.
The Hertto goal was the first of three first-period scores, as the Soaring Eagles received contributions from Fonfara at 7:21 and Melvin at 8:23, both of whom scored their second goals of the 2017-18 season. Crocker and Smith picked up assists on Fonfara’s goal, while Grampp and Hughson earned assists on Melvin’s tally.
Elmira added another two goals in the second stanza on tallies from Lippiatt Durnell and Lahey, both of which were scored even strength. Lippiatt Durnell’s goal at 2:49 came on the rush, as passes from Strawinski and Hughson set up the score. Then 10:20 later, Lahey registered her first tally of the season on a shot from the blue line that beat Stevenson’s screened goalie. Hertto and Evangelous were credited with assists on the goal.
Lahey’s goal wrapped up the second period, but EC’s offense did not slow down in the third frame, as the Soaring Eagles added two goals by Hughson and Jerolman. Hughson scored her team-leading seventh goal of the season at the 6:17 mark by redirecting a shot by Gilman from just outside the crease. Melvin was also credited with an assist on the goal.
Just about two-and-a-half minutes later, Jerolman cashed in on EC’s fourth and final power-play chance of the game. Jerolman received a cross-ice pass from Gilman on the weak side, allowing her to one-time it into the open net. Evangelous and Gilman were credited with assists on EC’s final goal of the game.
In His Own Words…
Head Coach Tim Crowley shares his thoughts about picking up a pair of wins over Stevenson in EC’s first two home games…
“I thought it was a pretty good weekend for us. We are trying to play more consistently throughout games. I think Stevenson is a very well-coached team. I thought that the difference today was that we were able to finish our chances.”
Coach Crowley talks about how Elmira was able to get a quick start in today’s tilt…
“We stress getting traffic in front of the net, which allowed us created offense from low to high. I credit the girls for making some really good alterations before the game. I think that the first period shows how successful our adjustments were today.”
Coach Crowley shares his thoughts on the Purple and Gold’s success on the penalty kill…
“As I said yesterday, your best penalty killer is your goalie, and we are fortunate enough to have Kelcey [Crawford], who had a really solid game today. We are doing a really good job of pressuring when we need to pressure and backing off when we need to back off. We are getting into shooting lanes. When you look at the 5-on-3, both Kristin [Chivers] and Rachel [Grampp] had nice blocks and Louisa [Lippiatt Durnell] was diving head-first into shooting lanes. It just goes to show how much pride we are taking into our special teams.”
Coach Crowley talks about looking ahead to next weekend’s UNO Classic, hosted by Plattsburgh State…
“We really do not want to adjust how we are coaching every weekend. We want to win every shift, we want to win all of the 50/50 battles. Regardless of our talent level, we want to be a tough team to play against. We want to be system strong. I am certainly excited about next weekend and the girls are as well. The next six games on our schedule are the bulk of our season. Four of the next six games will be against ranked opponents. We need to approach this weekend as a really important piece of our non-conference slate. We are looking forward to facing a good Middlebury team on Saturday.”
News and Notes
Elmira has opened the year with five straight wins in back-to-back seasons.
EC swept the season series with Stevenson, outscoring the Mustangs over the weekend, 14-1.
Elmira has scored seven-plus goals in four games this year.
The Soaring Eagles are one of five teams in the country that has not allowed a power-play goal this season.
EC has scored a power-play goal in each of its first five games.
Hughson scored her team-leading seventh goal of the season.
Hughson ranks third in the country in points per game (2.40).
Hertto scored her first collegiate goal this evening.
Hertto registered the first multi-point game of her career.
Strawinski’s point streak extended to 10 games this afternoon.
Crawford earned her second shutout win of the season.
Up Next
The Soaring Eagles return to action next weekend when they travel to Plattsburgh, New York, to compete in the Uno Classic, hosted by Plattsburgh State. Elmira opens the tournament on Saturday, November 25, with a 7:00 p.m. showdown with No. 6/6-ranked Middlebury College.
