2008 Woodie Awards
Lady Cardinals upset by Elmira in conference championship
Matt Rosenberg
Issue date: 3/7/08 Section: Sports Updates
Originally published: 3/10/08 at 12:08 AM EST
Last update: 3/10/08 at 3:10 PM EST
With Plattsburgh State junior forward Claire O'Connor staring at a seemingly open net in the third period and the puck on her stick, she let go a wrist shot.
Elmira junior goalie Allison Cubberly flashed her glove and stopped the shot, making the best of her 34 saves in the game, as she preserved a 1-0 Soaring Eagles' victory in the ECAC-West championship game Sunday.
No. 1 PSUC (23-3-1, 14-1-1 ECAC-West) suffered its first ever shut-out loss in 102 games at Stafford Ice Arena and was held from earning its third-straight ECAC-West title.
Elmira (21-5-1, 12-3-1 ECAC-West) won the championship for the first time since the 2004-2005 season.
The game was scoreless after two periods of play, with PSUC out-shooting Elmira 25-21.
Nine seconds into the third period, Elmira sophomore forward Melanie Henshaw put a shot on net that deflected up in the air and landed in the crease. A defiant Henshaw would not be denied, as she batted away the rebound to score what proved to be the game-winning goal.
PSUC threw nine shots at Cubberley in the third period, but none found the back of the net. Cubberely earned the most-valuable-player award for the ECAC-West tournament.
"We have a lot of support. There are a lot of parents here that don't usually come to our home games," Cubberley said. "I can't take credit for the shutout. (MVP) means a lot but I have to give some credit to everyone else because they helped me out big time out there."
The Soaring Eagles' strategy was to keep coming at PSUC after the goal was scored, Head Coach Paul Nemetz-Carlson said.
Three weeks ago, the Soaring Eagles blew a lead in each of the two games against PSUC - one resulting in a tie and one in a loss. Sunday's win is the first for the Soaring Eagles against PSUC in nine games, dating back to the 2005 NCAA semifinals.
"Today, we did a better job defensively," Nemetz-Carlson said. "We were confident with the puck and didn't turn it over. Dictate the play and make it happen. We were playing to win, not playing not to get scored on."
In the final minutes of the game, penalties ran rampant. With PSUC holding a 4-on-3 man-advantage, sophomore forward Laurie Bowler took a hooking penalty at 17:07 making it 3-on-3, ending the advantage.
With 1:15 remaining in the third, PSUC Head Coach Kevin Houle called junior goalie Danielle Beattie to the bench for an extra attacker. PSUC's attempts to get shots to the net were futile, as the Elmira defense stood strong in front of Cubberley. One last rush attempt in the final 10 seconds was broken up by an Elmira stick and the Soaring Eagles had won the game.
"We had some point blank opportunities and didn't convert," Houle said. "You've got to earn your breaks and I guess we didn't earn them tonight."
The Lady Cards were short on defense, as junior defenseman Tara Khan did not dress for the game. Houle said having to rotate between five defensemen was tiresome, but that there are no excuses and the team was "healthy enough to win."
With the win, Elmira earned an automatic bid the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Lady Cards can still earn an at-large bid to the seven-team tournament to defend their national championship. The selections will be announced Monday.
"It's going to sting for awhile," Houle said of the loss. "The only way the sting goes away is grasping on to the next game, hopefully moving on to the national championship series. We've got some soul searching to do. You hit some bumps in the way but hopefully we can overcome it."
GAME NOTES
Junior forward Lindsay Brown did not dress for today's game, along with Khan…Cubberley made 52 saves, allowing two goals in two games in the tournament. Nemetz-Carlson said she is a legitimate candidate to win goalie-of-the-year for the second straight year…Elmira and PSUC were 0-for-6 and 0-for-8 on the power play, respectively.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
PSUC forward Danielle Blanchard
PSUC forward Claire O'Connor
Elmira forward Jenna McCall
PSUC defenseman Sharis Smith
Elmira defenseman Jamie Kivi
PSUC goalie Danielle Beattie
TOURNAMENT MVP
Elmira junior goalie Allison Cubberley
Elmira junior goalie Allison Cubberly flashed her glove and stopped the shot, making the best of her 34 saves in the game, as she preserved a 1-0 Soaring Eagles' victory in the ECAC-West championship game Sunday.
No. 1 PSUC (23-3-1, 14-1-1 ECAC-West) suffered its first ever shut-out loss in 102 games at Stafford Ice Arena and was held from earning its third-straight ECAC-West title.
Elmira (21-5-1, 12-3-1 ECAC-West) won the championship for the first time since the 2004-2005 season.
The game was scoreless after two periods of play, with PSUC out-shooting Elmira 25-21.
Nine seconds into the third period, Elmira sophomore forward Melanie Henshaw put a shot on net that deflected up in the air and landed in the crease. A defiant Henshaw would not be denied, as she batted away the rebound to score what proved to be the game-winning goal.
PSUC threw nine shots at Cubberley in the third period, but none found the back of the net. Cubberely earned the most-valuable-player award for the ECAC-West tournament.
"We have a lot of support. There are a lot of parents here that don't usually come to our home games," Cubberley said. "I can't take credit for the shutout. (MVP) means a lot but I have to give some credit to everyone else because they helped me out big time out there."
The Soaring Eagles' strategy was to keep coming at PSUC after the goal was scored, Head Coach Paul Nemetz-Carlson said.
Three weeks ago, the Soaring Eagles blew a lead in each of the two games against PSUC - one resulting in a tie and one in a loss. Sunday's win is the first for the Soaring Eagles against PSUC in nine games, dating back to the 2005 NCAA semifinals.
"Today, we did a better job defensively," Nemetz-Carlson said. "We were confident with the puck and didn't turn it over. Dictate the play and make it happen. We were playing to win, not playing not to get scored on."
In the final minutes of the game, penalties ran rampant. With PSUC holding a 4-on-3 man-advantage, sophomore forward Laurie Bowler took a hooking penalty at 17:07 making it 3-on-3, ending the advantage.
With 1:15 remaining in the third, PSUC Head Coach Kevin Houle called junior goalie Danielle Beattie to the bench for an extra attacker. PSUC's attempts to get shots to the net were futile, as the Elmira defense stood strong in front of Cubberley. One last rush attempt in the final 10 seconds was broken up by an Elmira stick and the Soaring Eagles had won the game.
"We had some point blank opportunities and didn't convert," Houle said. "You've got to earn your breaks and I guess we didn't earn them tonight."
The Lady Cards were short on defense, as junior defenseman Tara Khan did not dress for the game. Houle said having to rotate between five defensemen was tiresome, but that there are no excuses and the team was "healthy enough to win."
With the win, Elmira earned an automatic bid the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Lady Cards can still earn an at-large bid to the seven-team tournament to defend their national championship. The selections will be announced Monday.
"It's going to sting for awhile," Houle said of the loss. "The only way the sting goes away is grasping on to the next game, hopefully moving on to the national championship series. We've got some soul searching to do. You hit some bumps in the way but hopefully we can overcome it."
GAME NOTES
Junior forward Lindsay Brown did not dress for today's game, along with Khan…Cubberley made 52 saves, allowing two goals in two games in the tournament. Nemetz-Carlson said she is a legitimate candidate to win goalie-of-the-year for the second straight year…Elmira and PSUC were 0-for-6 and 0-for-8 on the power play, respectively.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
PSUC forward Danielle Blanchard
PSUC forward Claire O'Connor
Elmira forward Jenna McCall
PSUC defenseman Sharis Smith
Elmira defenseman Jamie Kivi
PSUC goalie Danielle Beattie
TOURNAMENT MVP
Elmira junior goalie Allison Cubberley
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