2008-2009 Season In Review

2009 ECAC West Champions!!
2008 ECAC West Champions!!
2005 ECAC West Champions!!
2004 ECAC West Champions!!
2002 and 2003 NCAA National Champions!!
2002 and 2003 ECAC West Champions!!

 The Elmira College Women’s Hockey Team had a season of great success, making it all the way to the NCAA Division III Championship Game before being defeated in overtime by Amherst 4-3. EC finished the season with a 24-5-1 record, its highest win total since the 26-win season of 2001-02.

The Soaring Eagles started their hunt for their third national championship in eight seasons with six straight wins to begin the season. Elmira College never lost consecutive games and had winning streaks of nine games and two six-game game stretches.

Elmira College, whose offense was second in the Eastern College Athletic Conference West Division at 4.67 goals a game, scored five or more goals in 13 games all of which ended in wins for the Purple and Gold. As potent as the EC offense was, its defense was just as effective giving up just 1.27 goals per contest.

In recognition for guiding Elmira College to such an outstanding season, first-year head coach Greg Fargo '06 earned ECAC West Co-Coach of the Year honors. A flock of Soaring Eagles also gained individual accolades.

Kayla Coady ’09 (Charlottetown, PEI -- Berkshire School) was chosen as a First Team All-American after a season of scoring 56 points, 21 goals and 35 assists in 30 games. Coady, who was also recognized as the ECAC West Player of the Year and First Team All-ECAC West, led the conference in points, goals, assists, and power play points (29). The ECAC West All-Academic Team selection finished her time at Elmira College with 100 career assists.

Coady was also named the 2009 Laura Hurd Award Winner. The award is given annually to NCAA Division III Player of the Year and is named after former Elmira College great Laura Hurd ’05.

Between the pipes, Allison Cubberley ’09 (Bracebridge, ONT -- Clearview Stars Mid AA) joined Coady as a First Team All-American and capped off her career in fine fashion with a 94.5 percent save percentage and an ECAC West best 1.28 goals against average. For her efforts, Cubberley took home ECAC West Goalie of the Year honors as well as First Team All-ECAC West accolades. She’ll leave Elmira College with 54 career victories making her the all-time leader in wins by a goalie at Elmira College.

A pair of third-year defensemen joined Coady and Cubberley as First Team All-ECAC West selections in the form of First Team All-American Jamie Kivi ’10 (Green Bay, WI -- Wisconsin Wild, MWEHL) and Tiffany Hart ’10 (Perth, ONT -- Perth Jr.Wings). Kivi and Hart were first and third in the conference in defenseman scoring with 27 and 20 points respectively. Kivi’s 22 assists were the third by an Elmira College player.

Jamie Huntley ’09 (La Jolla, CA -- California Selects U19) tied teammate Jenna McCall ’10 (Thamesford, ONT -- Bluewater Hawks, PWHL) with 19 goals, the second-highest total at EC and in the conference, as she skated to a Second Team All-ECAC West selection. Huntley also dished out a career-high 21 assists to give her 40 points on the season, third most in the ECAC West.

 

Erika Godwin ’09 (Ottawa, ONT -- Nepean Wildcats Mid AA), Catherine Shears ’09 (Cornerbrook, NL -- Appleby College) and Natasha Yeates ’09 (Collingwood, ONT -- Clearview Stars Mid AA) provided veteran leadership and a combined eight goals and 11 assists this season to help the ’09 class finish with a career-record of 84-25-5.

Along with her 19 goals, McCall also played in 30 games and finished with 26 assists to end the year with 45 points which was second on the team and the ECAC West trailing only Coady. The assistant captain was first in conference with 13 power-play goals.

Lauryn DePaul ’10 (Liverpool, NY -- Syracuse Stars U19) was third on the team, and sixth in the conference, in goals with 16. Elmira College’s fourth leading point gainer was Karen Colehour ’10 (Schenectady, NY -- Albany Ice Cats U19) who had a 12 goal and 17 assist season to finish with 29 points. Melanie Henshaw ’10 (Margate, FL -- No. American Hockey Acad.) achieved a career-high of 19 assists in her third season at Elmira College.

Ana Steele-Norton ’10 (Kennett Square, PA -- Millbrook School) and Carly Richardson ’10 (Barrie, ONT -- Clearview Stars Mid AA) both played in 30 games and helped make EC one of the best defenses in the conferences. Offensively, Steele-Norton had three goals and four assists. Richardson would add one goal and three assists.

In limited action, Laura Solverson ’10 (Longwood, FL -- No. American Hockey Acad.) scored the first goal of her career and goalie Jalene McCulloch '10 (Bellville, ONT -- Millbrook School) had a record of 3-0 and made 43 saves on 46 shots.

Defenseman Amanda Ritzel ’11 (Spencerport, NY -- Toronto Rattlers), Elmira College’s lone second-year player, had one goal and two assists while getting on the ice for 24 games. Ritzel also joined Cubberley, Coady, Godwin, Colehour, Kivi, and Hart as the seven Soaring Eagles to represent Elmira College on the ECAC Women’s West All-Academic Team.

The top of the ECAC West Freshmen scoring leader board was littered with first year Soaring Eagles as Lindsay Mitchell ’12 (Arnold, MD - NAHA) ranked sixth with 18 points and Kathryn Walker ’12 (Edmonds, WA -- Colorado Selects) was just behind her in ninth place after a 15-point season. Not to be out done, Alex Bresler ’12 (Golden, CO -- Colorado Selects) scored 17 points to hold down the fourteenth position. All three players played in at least 25 games.

The 2008-09 season also saw youngsters Alex McPhail ’12 (Oakville, ONT -- Toronto Aeros), Monica Valente ’12 (Watertown, CT -- Kent School) and Caitlin Manahan ’12 (St. Albans, VT -- BFA, Vermont Selects) get a first-hand look of what it takes to be winners while gaining valuable experience. McPhail appeared in all 30 games for the Soaring Eagles, scoring two goals and five assists. Manahan saw action in 28 games and finished with nine points off of three goals and six assists while Valente also scored one goal in 11 games.

The Soaring Eagles lose Coady, Cubberley, Huntley, Godwin, Shears, and Yeates to graduation.