The William Smith College ice hockey team is set to take on Route 14 rival Elmira College in a pivotal New England Hockey Conference series this weekend, Jan. 26-27. The conference travel partners will square off in a home-and-home series with Friday's game beginning at 7 p.m. at The Cooler and Saturday's game at 4 p.m. at the Murray Athletic Center.
The Herons and Soaring Eagles enter the weekend tied for second in the NEHC standings with 28 points each. Both teams have a game in hand on conference-leading Norwich, which has 31 points. William Smith, Elmira and Norwich have all clinched a spot in the eight-team NEHC tournament field.
The Herons enter the weekend with an overall record of 14-4-1 with a 9-2-1 mark in NEHC play. This past weekend, the Herons shut out both Salem State University (3-0) and University of Southern Maine (2-0). Senior
Annie Hauser was named the NEHC Goaltender of the Week. In addition, senior
Mackenzie O'Neil was named the Player of the Week after scoring the game-winning goal in both games.
The Soaring Eagles are 12-6-1 overall with a 9-2-1 record in league play. Last weekend Elmira lost to the Huskies 1-0. The Soaring Eagles bounced back to defeat the Vikings 6-0 the next day. Six different Soaring Eagles scored.
The Taste of Soul Food Truck will be on-site on Friday serving from 6-9 p.m. HWS students faculty and staff will receive one free item with a valid One Card courtesy of the Heron Society and HWS Athletics.
MEDIA COVERAGE
ABOUT THE HERONS
- William Smith enters the weekend with the NEHC's top-ranked penalty-killing unit (.953). The Herons have allowed just three power-play goals this season.
- Junior Kayla Ketchabaw leads the Herons with 11 goals and 18 points.
- Junior Annabel Ziskin leads the Herons and the NEHC with 13 assists.
- Junior Erin Murray and Hauser have split time in net this season. Murray is 6-2-1 with a 1.14 GAA and a .956 save percentage. Hauser is 6-2-0 with a GAA of 0.88 and a .965 save percentage. Along with first-year Mia Iwicki, they have combined for a program record matching eight shutouts this season.
ABOUT THE SOARING EAGLES
- Erika Goleniak leads Elmira with nine goals, 10 assists and 19 points.
- Claire Meeder is right behind her with nine goals and eight assists. Madi Morton also has 10 helpers.
- Leonie-Louise Kuehberger has played the majority of the time in net for the Soaring Eagles. She is 7-5-0 with a 1.16 GAA and a .927 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY
- This weekend's games will be the 20th and 21st meetings between the Herons and the Soaring Eagles.
- Elmira leads the all-time series 17-1-1. William Smith's lone win in the series came at The Cooler.
- Last year, Elmira rallied with two goals in the third period to defeat William Smith in the semifinals of the NEHC Tournament.
