Morrisville, N.Y. (January 11, 2025) – The Golden Bears met Elmira College in the Mustang Cup Championship game for the teams' first-ever meeting. After letting up an early goal, Kayla Ireland shut out the Soaring Eagles for the final two periods of play, making 42 total saves. Allison Walker and Zoe Galanoudis scored a goal each to give the Golden Bears the 2-1 victory as they won the Mustang Cup Championship game.

Records:

Western New England: 9-4-0 (3-3-0)

Elmira College: 9-5-1 (6-1-1)

How it Happened:

Sophie Compeau won the opening faceoff to get the Mustang Cup Championship game started. The Soaring Eagles would take the first shot, but WNE would earn the first power play chance of the contest. Elmira would open their penalty kill with two shots saved by the WNE goalie, Kayla Ireland. WNE answered with two powerplay shots of their own. Both shots were saved by Elmira's goalie, Sara Sevcikova. Elmira killed off the penalty and then posted ten shots in a row to put the Golden Bears under major pressure. However, the second Elmira penalty of the first period of play would halt that pressure temporarily, even though the Golden Bears would not be able to attempt a shot during the power play chance. The Elmira pressure would eventually break down the WNE defense, with Anna Lugge finding the back of the net with 6:27 remaining in the opening period of play. Erika Goleniak found Bri Conger, who fed a pass across the crease to Lugge, who redirected the puck into the net. Elmira led 1-0. Elmira would not take their foot off the gas. They had eleven more shots in a row to finish the first, with Ireland making five more saves during that run. The first ended with Elmira leading 1-0. Elmira had more total shots, 27-2, and more shots on goal, 15-2. WNE had more saves 14-2, more faceoff wins 13-9, and more blocked shots 2-0.

The Soaring Eagles started the second period of play the same way they ended the first. They tallied shot after shot, with Ireland making four saves on six total shots. Then, Maddie Pope would get WNE's third shot on goal. The shot was saved by Sevcikova. However, 27 seconds later, Allison Walker would get the puck past the Elmira goalie, and the Golden Bears tied the game up 1-1 3:53 into the middle period of play. Alyssa Murphy sent the puck to Maddie Pope behind the net. Pope would send a quick pass to Allison Walker in front of the net. Walker deflected the puck into the back of the net to tie the game. Elmira went right back on the hunt for a second goal. They had ten shots in a row between the time of the goal and the final 5:30 of the middle period of play. Ireland kept making saves, and the WNE defense would direct some shots wide of the goal to keep the score level for the moment. The WNE skaters did not make it easy for the Soaring Eagles to get shots. They moved the puck down the ice and won faceoffs to try to control the puck, but Elmira kept the pressure on anyways. Elmira would attempt a shot that went wide with 4:32 remaining in the second. However, the Golden Bears would flip the script, skate down the ice, and Zoe Galanoudis would score to give the Golden Bears the 2-1 lead. Alexa Paoli found Galanoudis in the right corner of the ice. Galanoudis sent the puck towards the front of the net. The puck would bounce off the goalie's pad and into the net for the goal. Both teams would have a shot before the second period of play came to an end. The Golden Bears led 2-1 at the second intermission. The Soaring Eagles led 19-4 in total shots and 12-4 in shots on goal. Elmira led 9-8 in faceoff wins, and WNE had more saves 12-2 and blocked shots 1-0.

The third period of play saw Elmira continue to test Ireland in net. They accumulated five shots in the opening three minutes of the third. WNE would get a shot before two more Elmira shots. Both teams would get called for a penalty, and the teams would play 4-on-4 for almost a minute. Then, the Golden Bears were called for a penalty, and the Soaring Eagles had a 4-on-3 power play. They had three shots during their 4-on-3 and 5-on-4 power plays. They had three more shots after the power play, as well. WNE would go on the power play with 11:20 remaining in the third. They picked up five shots during their power play but could not find another goal, with Sevcikova making four saves. Anna Lugge would have two shots saved by Ireland, and Annie Audet would have one shot saved, as well, as the clock ticked past five minutes remaining in the third. Elmira had three shots in a row after that before Sevcikova was pulled to get an extra skater on the ice. The Soaring Eagles sent shot after shot at Ireland. One went wide, two were blocked, and two were saved before Elmira called a timeout. The Golden Bears would hold on after the timeout for the 2-1 win and would earn the Mustang Cup for the first time in their team's history. Elmira led in total shots 71-13 and shots on goal 43-10. WNE led in faceoff wins 28-26, saves 42-8, and blocked shots 6-0.

Inside the Crease:

• The Golden Bears took on Elmira College in the Mustang Cup Championship game.
• 1st 13:33 – Anna Lugge opened the scoring for Elmira with a goal assisted by Bri Conger and Erika Goleniak. Elmira led 1-0.
• 2nd 3:53 – Allison Walker netted the equalizing goal for WNE off assists from Alyssa Murphy and Maddie Pope. The game was tied 1-1.
• 2nd 16:29 – Zoe Galanoudis gave the Golden Bears the 2-1 lead after an assist from Alexa Paoli.
• Sara Sevcikova made eight saves.
• Kayla Ireland made 42 saves to earn the Golden Bears the win.
• The Golden Bears beat the Soaring Eagles 2-1.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears are on the road at Curry College on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, at 7:00 PM, when they take on Curry College in a 2024 Conference Championship rematch.
• The Soaring Eagles will start up NEHC conference play once again by hosting UMass-Boston on Friday, January 17, 2025, at 6:00 PM.