For the fifth time in the last six 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 semifnal game. This year, the Herons will take on ninth-ranked Elmira College in a New England Hockey Conference semifinal contest. Faceoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Murray Athletic Center.
 
William Smith is 12-12-1 overall on the season. The fifth-seeded Herons knocked off Castleton 5-0 in the quarterfinals last Saturday. Senior Julianna Gong scored twice in the victory and junior Annie Hauser made 20 saves as she earned the shutout.
 
Elmira is 20-5-0 overall and brings an 11-game winning streak into the semifinals. The top-seeded Soaring Eagles beat Salem State 7-0 in the quarterfinals. Mary McCafferty scored twice for Elmira.
 
Fans who cannot make it to the MAC can follow all the action with stats and video courtesy of Elmira's athletic website.
 
ABOUT THE HERONS

• Sophomore Kayla Ketchabaw leads the Herons with nine goals and 15 points.
• Junior Emily Cataldo has a team-high seven asssits on the year.
• Annie Hauser has played a majority of the minutes in goal, posting a GAA of 2.06 and a save percentage of .920.
• William Smith is fourth in the NEHC in scoring offense (2.36 gpg) and third in scoring defense (2.12).

 
ABOUT THE SOARING EAGLES

• Morgan Mordini leads Elmira with 12 goals and 29 points.
• Erika Goleniak has 19 assists and is second on the team with 27 points.
• Goalie Leonie-Louise Kuehberger plays the majority of the minutes in goal for the Soaring Eagles. Kuehberger has a GAA of 1.28 and a save percentage of .927.
• Elmira is second in the NEHC in scoring offense (3.80) and first in scoring defense (1.48).

 
SERIES HISTORY

• Saturday's game will be the 19th meeting between the Herons and the Soaring Eagles.
• Elmira leads the all-time series 16-1-1, including a 9-0-1 record in Elmira.
• The Soaring Eagles swept the regular season meetings between the two teams.