GENEVA, N.Y.-The William Smith College ice hockey team was defeated by top-ranked Elmira 5-1 in a United Collegiate Hockey Conference contest at The Cooler this afternoon. The Herons are now 13-6-0 overall and 11-3-0 in conference play.
 
Junior Gina Scibetta scored the Herons goal. Sophomore Olivia Williams made 38 saves in goal. Ariella Haas scored a natural hat trick in the second period to finish with a game-high three points. Maddy Jerolman (1g, 1a) and Mary McCafferty (2a) each added multi-point games for the Soaring Eagles (15-2-1, 11-0-0). Stephanie Martin made 21 stops in the winning effort.
 
Jerolman opened the scoring at the 5:06 mark of the first period when she banged home a rebound for her seventh goal of the season. Kiana Melvin was credited with an assist on the goal. Melvin intercepted a pass in the neutral zone. She carried the puck over the blue line and left a drop pass for Jerolman in the high slot. Jerolman deked around a defender and backhanded a shot past Williams.
 
The Herons had a chance to tie the game late in the period but Martin was up to the task stopping point blank shots from sophomore Emily Martino and first-year Abbey Luth.
 
The second period was the Ariella Haas show. The first-year scored all three of the Soaring Eagles goals in the middle period. At the 4:40 mark of the period she took a pass from Morgan Mordini and slid a shot past Williams. Her eighth goal of the season would prove to be the game-winning goal. Amanda Zenstein was credited with a secondary assist on the goal. Four minutes later, Haas' second goal of the game gave Elmira a 3-0 lead. She wristed a shot from the right faceoff circle into the back of the net. McCafferty and Katie Granato were credited with assists on the goal. Haas completed the hat trick at the 15:50 mark of the period, poking a loose puck across the goal line. Her 10th goal of the season was assisted by Meg Lahey and McCafferty. 
 
Sixty-three seconds into the third period, Emma Crocker gave Elmira a 5-0 with her third goal of the season. She collected a pass from Maddy Jerolman and one-timed a shot past Williams. Eliza Beaudin also notched an assist on the goal.
 
Scibetta broke the shutout with her 15th goal of the season at the 18:29 mark of the third period. Senior Maura Mulligan and sophomore Jules Kennedy were credited with assists on the power-play goal.  With just under two minutes remaining, Elmira was called for a tripping penalty. Following the time out, the Herons pulled Williams in favor of the extra attacker. Mulligan fired a shot from the right point that was turned aside by Martin. Scibetta picked up the rebound and fired a shot into the net.
 
The Soaring Eagles finished with a 43-22 edge in shots on goal. The Herons were 1-for-6 on the power play. William Smith held Elmira, which entered the game with the nation's top power play unit, without a goal in six attempts.
 
The Herons will be back in action next weekend, Feb. 2-3, when it takes on Utica in a key UCHC series. Saturday's game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. faceoff at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. Sunday's game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. faceoff at The Cooler.