PINE VALLEY, N.Y. — The No. 2/2-ranked Elmira College women’s ice hockey team suffered its first loss of the 2017-18 campaign on Saturday evening in a grueling 3-2 setback to non-league foe Amherst College at the Murray Athletic Center. With the loss, the Soaring Eagles became the last team in NCAA Division III to add a loss or tie to its record, as they drop to 9-1-0 on the year.
The first period was a hard fought battle between the two teams, as they went into the first intermission tied at 0-0. EC outshot its non-conference rival by an 11-8 margin. The Soaring Eagles had a couple of chances on the Mammoths’ end of the ice, with back-to-back shots by Emma Crocker ’21 and Meghan Fonfara ’18 almost giving the Purple and Gold the early lead.
The opening period was highlighted by the play of the two starting backstops in the game. Kelcey Crawford ’18 made eight saves in the opening period to help maintain the clean sheet. On the other end of the ice, Bailey Plaman was also fantastic, as she posted 11 saves, including the two that kept Crocker and Fonfara out of the back of the net.
Things really started to heat up in the second period, as breakaways by Katie Granato ’19 and Devyn Gilman ’21 in the first seven minutes of the period almost game EC a 1-0 advantage, but both were ultimately saved by Plaman. Not to be outdone, Crawford made a pair of beautiful saves at the 5:05 and 7:03 marks to preserve the 0-0 score.
EC would break through this great netminder play and tally the first goal of the game with 4:31 remaining in the second period. Fonfara scored the goal by redirecting a Crocker pass right past Plaman on her glove side. Freshman Sydney Harris ’21 was also credited with an assist on Fonfara’s fourth goal of the year, which put the Soaring Eagles up 1-0.
Elmira’s momentum was short-lived, however, as goals from Ava Simoncelli and Katie Savage on back-to-back Amherst possessions gave the road team a 2-1 advantage at the 17:35 mark of the second. Simoncelli’s score was a tip that just trickled through Crawford’s legs to find the back of the net. Savage was the recipient of some terrific passing by her teammates, as touch passes from Katelyn Pantera and Natalie Lima set Savage up perfectly to beat Crawford to her glove side.
The Mammoths added to their lead at the start of the third period with an extra-women goal at the 19:19 mark. Gilman took a tripping penalty with just 41 seconds left in the second, giving Amherst a 1:19 power play to start the third. The Mammoths cashed in just before Gilman reentered, as Savage scored her second of the game to widen Elmira’s margin to two goals, 3-1. The tally was just the third allowed this season by the Elmira penalty-kill unit.
The Purple and Gold did not go down without a fight, however, as a Sarah Hughson ’18 power-play tally drew EC’s deficit back to just one goal, 3-2. Hughson was set up perfectly on the right post to bury a Shannon Strawinski ’19 pass into the back of the net. Louisa Lippiatt Durnell ’18 was also given an assist on the play. Hughson’s extra-skater goal if her sixth of the season, which is tied for the most in Division III. Strawinski’s assist is her team-leading 11th of the year.
Facing a one-goal deficit with just 1:04 remaining in the game, the Soaring Eagles pulled Crawford to get an extra skater on the ice. An Amherst penalty with 1:03 left gave EC one more skater as it looked for the game-tying goal. With a 6-4 advantage in attackers, Elmira took the final minute to put a barrage of shots on Plaman. The best of which was a centering pass by Hughson that Granato was unable to get her stick on cleanly, which was then cleared away by Plaman to persevere the non-conference setback.
News and Notes
Elmira is the last team in NCAA Division III to add a loss or tie to its record, falling to 9-1-0 overall this season.
EC still leads the all-time series against Amherst, 8-6-1.
The Soaring Eagles’ penalty-kill unit surrendered just its third extra-skater goal of the year.
Hughson’s power-play goal was her team-leading 11th tally of the season.
Hughson also leads the Soaring Eagles with six power-play goals, a mark that has her in a three-way tie for first place in the nation.
Hughson has scored a goal in three straight games and has earned a point in four in a row.
Strawinski’s assist was her team-best 11th of the season.
Strawinski is tied for fifth nationally with 1.10 assists per game.
Crawford’s 31 saves vs. the Mammoths increased her career total to 999, just one stop shy from becoming the fifth goalie in EC history to reach the 1,000-save plateau.
Up Next
The Purple and Gold will look to shake off this loss tomorrow afternoon in the second game of their series against the Mammoths. The non-conference bout is scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. at the Murray Athletic Center.
