Courtesy Amherst Sports Information

Box Score

AMHERST, Mass. – Elmira avenged its 3-2 loss to Amherst earlier in the season by advancing to the semifinals of the 2008 NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Tournament with a 3-2 nail-biting win over the Lord Jeffs Saturday afternoon at Orr Rink.

The Jeffs and Eagles were playing for the second time this season, as Amherst earned a 3-2 win at Elmira in the midst of a 17-game unbeaten streak. The Eagles carried a five-game winning streak into Saturday and snapped the longest unbeaten streak in the nation by defeating the Jeffs on their home ice. Elmira improves to 22-5-1 and will travel to Plattsburgh St. to take on the Cardinals in next weekend’s semifinals.

Elmira was given an early power play opportunity, but the Jeffs and their NESCAC-best penalty killing unit were able to keep the Eagles off the scoreboard. With nine minutes remaining in the opening period, Elmira junior forward Jamie Huntley (La Jolla, CA) raced to a loose puck that bounced toward Amherst’s blue line. Huntley skated in from the left side and freed herself for a hard wrist shot, but the puck deflected off the shoulder of sophomore goaltender Krystyn Elek (Summerville, SC) and flew out of play.

The Eagles picked up the game’s first goal at 6:44 of the second period when senior Farren Hart (Perth, Ontario) received the puck with her back to the Amherst net. Hart calmly spun and fired a shot high and to the near post to put Elmira on the board with a power-play goal.

The visitors’ lead was increased to two goals just three minutes later when junior Kayla Coady (Charlottetown, P.E.I.) broke free from the pack and skated in from the right side untouched. Taking note from the first goal, Coady elected to go high and tight with Elek and it once again paid off, as the puck deflected off the Amherst goalie’s shoulder and into the back of the net to give the Eagles a 2-0 advantage.

Coady tallied her second goal of the afternoon after Amherst was whistled for yet another penalty. Elmira jumped out to a commanding 3-0 lead with just four and a half minutes remaining in the second period.

A 5-on-3 opportunity for the Jeffs came late in the period, as they called a timeout with 1:13 on the clock to set up a play in order to take advantage. The Eagles’ defense could only hold on for so long this time, as first-year Randi Zukas (Glen Head, N.Y.) and junior Lindsey Harrington (Westford, Mass.) set up first-year Courtney Hanlon (Fullerton, Calif.) for the Jeffs’ first goal of the game. Hanlon’s team-leading 15th tally cut her team’s deficit to just two goals and provided some much-needed momentum as the teams headed into the second intermission after what proved to be quite an eventful second period.

Amherst emptied its net with 2:30 to play in regulation and it paid off when Hanlon set up fellow rookie Julia Koch (Rochester Hills, Mich.) for the Jeffs’ second goal. Sophomore goaltender Krystyn Elek (Summerville, S.C.) again headed to the bench immediately following the ensuing face-off and the Jeffs were able to get a solid shot on goal in the waning moments, but time was not on their side as the final horn sounded with Elmira holding on for the 3-2 victory.

Elek finished with 17 saves for the Jeffs, while Cubberley stopped 24 shots for the Eagles. The Jeffs end their season at 20-4-4, matching the program record for wins in a season.