The #6 Middlebury women's ice hockey battled #14 Elmira in a tightly-contested NCAA Semifinal contest, but the Soaring Eagles scored with less than five minutes remaining in regulation. The Panthers nearly leveled the contest with six seconds left with a shot that looked to cross the goal line, but the video review confirmed the call on the ice to be a no-goal, as Elmira hung on for the 1-0 win.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Middlebury dominated the opening stanza, holding a decisive 16-7 advantage in shots on goal. 
• The Panthers had a pair of quality chances to break through. With 5:25 expired, Jordan Hower had a beautiful shot on the doorstep during a power play, but Soaring Eagle goalie Chloe Beaubien smothered the attempt.
• With 12:01 on the clock, Sabrina Kim had a breakaway opportunity, rushing into the zone with a head full of steam, but Beaubien made a nice butterfly save to thwart the chance. 
• With just 3:16 elapsed in the second period, Piper Andrews nearly put Elmira on the board, but her wrister from the edge of the right circle was turned away by the glove of goalie Sophia Will.
• The Soaring Eagles had a power play beginning at the 6:54 mark, but the Panthers limited their opponent to just three shots.
• Middlebury had a pair of its own power plays later in the stanza. At the 13:36 mark, Cece Ziegler grabbed the loose puck at the top of the circles and rifled a shot that trickled all the way through traffic, but Beaubien just grabbed ahold of it.
• During the second extra-player opportunity, the Panthers locked the puck in the offensive zone for almost the entire two minutes, but could not break through despite a flurry of shots on goal, as the teams headed into the intermission deadlocked at 0-0.
• With 45 ticks off the clock in the third period, Kate Flynn intercepted a pass and skated into the zone solo, but her blast was snared by the glove of Beaubien.
• With 8:47 expired, Avery McInerny rifled a shot that hit Beaubien's pad and bounced back into play. Beaubien was not able to get back in position as Ziegler sent a shot on goal, but a defender was able to block the puck and clear it away.
• At the 12:19 mark on the power play, Kim had a quick shot from the left pipe, but Beaubien came up big again with a butterfly stop.
• Elmira broke through with just under five minutes remaining in regulation. Holley Riva dug the puck out of the right pocket and came around the net on the left pipe. Riva fed a pass that split a pair of blueliners, and Claire Meeder was there to one-time the attempt from the doorstep into the goal for the 1-0 edge.
• Middlebury had a pair of chances in the final minute of play while on the power play. The first attempt came at the 19:11 mark when Kim sent a pass to Flynn, but Flynn's one-timer was just kicked away by Beaubien.
• The last opportunity for the game-tying marker came with six seconds left on the clock. Flynn had a tip-in attempt on an initial bid by Ziegler from the top of the circles. The puck looked to go in, but Beaubien just got her stick on it on the right pipe and flicked it away. The play was challenged, but it was confirmed by video review that the entire puck did not cross the line, as the Soaring Eagles hung on for the 1-0 victory. 

NOTES

• Middlebury made its 19th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the semifinals for the 11th time. 
• The Panthers and the Soaring Eagles faced off for the 28th time with the Panthers holding a 13-11-4 advantage in the series.
• The programs have met six times in the NCAA Tournament with Elmira leveling the series at three wins apiece. 
• The last time the teams met in the semifinals was in 2022 when Middlebury, the eventual national champions, edged the Soaring Eagles 3-2. 
• With 19 saves during today's contest, Will moves into second place on the Panthers' single-season list with 453 stops. She also concludes the year ranked second with eight shutouts this season.

The Panthers finish the season with an 18-7-4 overall mark, including the program's 12th NESCAC Championship.