BOSTON, Mass. – UMass Boston Women's Ice Hockey dropped their second consecutive game on Saturday afternoon at home, falling 5-0 to 10^th nationally-ranked Elmira College. The Beacons, currently ranked sixth in the New England Hockey Conference standings, play a pair of crucial games against Johnson and Wales University next weekend who entered the day just four points back in the seventh spot.  

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 0, #10 Elmira College 5

UMass Boston (8-12-1, 6-7-1 NEHC)

#10 Elmira College (16-5-0, 14-0-0 NEHC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
A first period marked by offensive zone dominance by Elmira College was quelled by the UMass Boston defense who matched the effort of the Soaring Eagles through the first 20 minutes of play. Despite being outshot 13-7 and at one point on a 5-on-3 penalty kill, the Beacon defense held the 10^th-ranked team in Division III to just a single goal by graduate forward Mary McCafferty in the first four minutes of the contest. With assists from graduate forward Morgan Mordini senior forward Holly Riva, McCafferty beat freshman goalie Leah Bosch high left, giving the Soaring Eagles their one goal lead after one.

McCafferty would add her second goal of the contest on the power play from Riva and Mordini in the second period after two cross ice passes found the graduate forward in front of Bosch for the one timer, extending the Elmira College lead to two goals. The Beacons would have a chance to respond on the power play later on in the frame, but would be unable to do so, trailing by a 2-0 deficit heading into the third.

Less than a minute into the final 20 minutes of play, the Soaring Eagles would add a two more goals on a breakaway from Riva off the turnover and sophomore forward Erika Goleniak's goal that founds its way just inside the left post making it 4-0. Despite a few offensive zone rushes down the stretch, UMass Boston would be unable to generate any scoring against sophomore goalie Leonie-Louise Kuehberger and a fifth goal in the final minute for Elmira College resulted in a 5-0 defeat for the Beacons at home on Saturday afternoon.  

BY THE NUMBERS

• Leah Bosch finished the game with 42 saves on 47 attempts
• Leonie-Louise Kuehberger stopped all 16 shots she faced from UMass Boston
• The UMass Boston penalty kill finished 5-for-7 while the power play was 0-for-4 on the afternoon
• This is the second time UMass Boston has been shutout in back-to-back games and sixth time overall this season

 
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will play three of their last four games on the road, starting next weekend with a home-and-home matchup against Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island next Friday night at 6:00 PM. The two teams will then meet at the Edward T. Barry Ice Rink on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 PM to close out the regular season home schedule for the Beacons.