Pine Valley, N.Y. – Freshman Jill DeBus (Howard, Mich.)
scored the game-winning goal on a redirection in the final minute
of the second period to lead the Elmira College Soaring Eagles to a
2-1 win over the visiting Trinity College Bantams in the opening
round of the NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Championship
Tournament at Murray Athletics Center this afternoon. Trinity
closes its best-ever season with a 21-5-2 record, while Elmira
improves to 23-4-1 and advances to its third straight and sixth
overall NCAA Division III Frozen Four next weekend against Norwich
University in Minnesota.
"I am very proud of how hard we played in our first taste of
NCAA competition against one of the traditional powerhouses of the
sport," stated Trinity Head Coach Andrew McPhee. "The game came
down to special teams. They scored twice on redirected pucks and
their goalie played well down the stretch. This is a season that I
will never forget."
Trinity sophomore forward Celia Colman-McGaw (Manchester, Conn.)
got the Bantams off to a great start, scoring on a rebound 34
seconds into the game. Junior defender Laura Komarek (Plymouth,
Minn.) sent the initial shot at Soaring Eagle freshman goalie
Lauren Sullivan (Toronto, Ontario) and took a second off the
rebound that was also stopped by Sullivan before Colman-McGaw
streaked in from the right side for the tally.
Elmira increased its intensity and offensive pressure in the
second half, and tied the score on the power play at the 8:13 mark
when sophomore forward Alexandra Bresler (Golden, Colo.) redirected
a slapshot from just outside the right face-off circle by freshman
defender Madison Johnson (Toronto, Ontario). DeBus' gamewinner
occurred two seconds after another Soaring Eagle power play had
ended, as she skated past the Bantam defense to get her stick on a
puck that had been shot from the point by senior forward Lauren
DePaul (Liverpool, N.Y.).
"Trinity executed its game plan very well, and made it difficult
for us on offense," said Elmira Head Coach Greg Fargo. DeBus added,
"We knew we would have to get traffic in front of the net because
of how good their goalie is."
Trinity had a pair of power-play opportunities of its own
in the second and third periods, but Sullivan and the Elmira
defense held firm. The Bantams came closest to tying the score
several times in the two minutes, despite playing 5-on-5 with the
goalie pulled for over 30 seconds during a late penalty kill.
Sullivan stopped a clear shot by Bantam junior forward Jill Roloff
(West Seneca, N.Y.) from 12 feet in front of her in the final 30
seconds, and Elmira survived a melee as the Bantams frantically
tried to stuff in a loose puck in front of the Soaring Eagle net as
time expired. Senior goaltender Isabel Iwachiw (New York, N.Y.)
finished with 22 saves and Sullivan had 23 stops, including 11 in
the third period, for the Soaring Eagles.
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