For the fourth time in the last five years, the William Smith College ice hockey team will make the 50-mile trip down Seneca Lake to Pine Valley, New York, for a conference tournament semifinal game. This year, the Herons will take on third-ranked Elmira in a New England Hockey Conference semifinal. Faceoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Murray Athletic Center.
 
The sixth-seeded Herons (10-14-1) reached the conference semifinals thanks to a 2-1 double-overtime victory over third-seeded Southern Maine last Saturday. Emma Faso ended the longest game in program history 5:33 minutes into the second overtime period with an unassisted goal. Amanda Aalto went the distance in goal, making 30 saves in 85:33 minutes of work. 
 
William Smith ranks in the top-25 in the nation in several defensive categories, including penalty-killing percentage (14th, .920), shutouts (17th, 4) and scoring defense (20th, 2.00).  Aalto is 25th in the nation with a 1.87 goals against average.
 
Offensively, William Smith is led by Julianna Gong and Emily Martino, who have 12 points each. Gong has five goals and seven assists and Martino has three goals and nine assists. Mia LaPlante has a team-high seven goals. Gong has two shorthanded goals this season which is ninth in the nation.
 
Aalto has played a majority of the minutes in goal, posting a 6-6-1 record and a .930 save percentage.
 
Elmira is 22-2-1 this season. The No. 1 seed in the tournament, the Soaring Eagles are coming off an 8-0 victory over Southern Maine on Saturday. Elmira averages 4.24 goals per game, ninth in the nation, while allowing 2.40. Morgan Mordini leads the team with 37 points on 10 goals and 27 assists. Eliza Beaudin is right behind her with 35 points on 15 goals and 20 assists. Leonie-Louise Keuhberger has played a majority of the minutes in goal this season. She is 17-2-1 with a 1.04 GAA and a .955 save percentage.
 
Saturday's game will be the 16th meeting between William Smith and Elmira. The Soaring Eagles lead the all-time series 13-1-1, including a 7-0-1 mark at the Murray Athletic Center. Elmira won both games this year, a 3-2 overtime game at The Cooler and a 10-0 game the next night in Elmira.
 
Fans who cannot make it to the MAC can follow all the action with stats and video courtesy of Elmira's athletic website.