UTICA, NY - Utica University's women's hockey team is set to take on Elmira College in the Semifinal Round of the UCHC Championship Tournament. The teams meet following Elmira's first-round bye and Utica's 1-0 victory over #6-seeded Manhattanville. Action between the #2 and #3 seeds is set to take place at the Murray Athletic Center in Horseheads, New York, tomorrow, February 28th. Puck drop is set for 3:00 pm.
Follow Along: For those interested in attending the game, Elmira has announced free admission. Those interested in following along online can find the video stream
HERE, and the live stats
HERE.
First Round Recap: The #3-seeded Pioneers began their run in the 2025-26 postseason by hosting #6-seeded Manhattanville University in the First Round of UCHC Tournament play. The orange and blue scored a late first-period power-play goal, withstanding mounting pressure from the Valiants with some stellar goaltending. Senior captain
Tess Barrett (Tewksbury, MA/St. Mark's) netted the lone goal off assists from freshman
Veronica Houk (Richboro, PA) and
Samantha Dobrzynski (Garnet Valley, PA/), with fellow first-year
Katie Sheahan (Oak Lawn, IL) making 31 saves in a star-studded shutout. After outshooting Manhattanville 7-5 in the first period, the visitors took over in the next two frames, outshooting Utica 10-8 in the second, and 16-7 in the final 20 minutes.
In the other portion of the bracket, #4 seed Albertus Magnus defeated #5-seeded St. John Fisher 3-2, ending the program's first season. The game needed a second overtime period to find a victor, joining a day for the ages in UCHC hockey history. Across the four UCHC First Round games played (two men's, two women's), Utica vs. Manhattanville was the only one not to go to at least double overtime. In the women's bracket, this now sets the Semifinal Round for #3 Utica at #2 Elmira, and #4 Albertus Magnus at #1 Nazareth.
Earlier Elmira Encounters: As part of the early-season UCHC schedule, Utica and Elmira faced off in a home-and-home set on November 21st and 22nd of 2025. In night one's game, on Elmira's ice, the Soaring Eagles took the win by a score of 3-1, before taking game two by a score of 2-1. These losses marked the start of an 11-game winless streak for the Pioneers, as well as a streak of seven consecutive games against opponents either ranked or receiving votes in the major national polls.
The orange and blue were outshot 59-32 in the two games, with
Elliana Lasher (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) and
Nora Pollestad (Stavanger, Norway/) netting the Pioneer scores. Dobrzynski tallied the only assist in the two contests and led Utica with a 45.5% win rate at the faceoff dot (20/44). Barrett aided the defense with five blocked shots, followed by fellow defenders Houk and
Grace Joscelyn (Loudon, NH/) with four. Sheahan played both games between the pipes for the orange and blue, making 54 saves for a .915 save percentage in her 119:18 time on ice.
Soaring Eagle Scout: The Elmira Soaring Eagles, a team receiving votes in both national polls, worked their way to the two seed in the UCHC Tournament off the back of a 17-5-2 overall record, and 11-2-1 record within the conference. After opening the regular season with back-to-back wins over Salve Regina and a split with SUNY Potsdam, the Soaring Eagles secured a UCHC victory and a draw with St. John Fisher and a home-and-home sweep of Utica in November. As part of the East-West Hockey Classic, the Soaring Eagles earned their biggest win of the season, a 5-4 overtime win against #12-ranked Plattsburgh State. The following day, they lost to #14-ranked Norwich, but Elmira responded with momentum in conference play, sweeping William Smith, earning a tie with Hamilton, and posting decisive wins over Albertus Magnus and Hilbert. Despite narrow losses in a tight two-game set with Nazareth (3-2 and 4-3), the Soaring Eagles rebounded with dominant shutout performances over Hilbert and Chatham, before closing the regular season with a road sweep of Manhattanville by scores of 3-0 and 7-0. In their last five games, all wins, Elmira has posted four shutouts and outscored opponents 28-3. Additionally, they have outshot their opponents 253-71, averaging 50.6-14.2 per game in that span.
As part of a unit that averages 3.625 goals per game, several Soaring Eagles have had strong offensive production. Junior Anna Lugge far and away leads Elmira, totaling 36 points (19 goals, 17 assists), good enough for second best in the UCHC. Senior MK Boyle follows with a 13-goal, 10-assist season. Abby Eselunas and Alayna Toole are the final players to reach 10 goals for the team, with each adding eight and five assists, respectively. Junior defender Bri Conger sits second on the team with 11 assists, making up all 11 of her points this season. Elmira has used a sophomore tandem in net, splitting time between Sara Sevcikova and Olivia Last. In 753:15 of play, Sevcikova has posted a .901 save percentage and a 1.75 goals-against average. In less time (513:30), Last has posted elite numbers, holding a .954 save percentage and a 0.93 goals allowed average.
Up Next: The Pioneers must defeat Elmira in order to continue their 2025-26 season. With a win over the Soaring Eagles, Utica would advance to the UCHC Championship Game, scheduled for March 7th. In the other semifinal game, if Nazareth wins, the #4-nationally ranked Golden Flyers would host the potential matchup, while Utica would host if Albertus Magnus gives Nazareth their first defeat of the season. Be sure to stay tuned to uticapioneers.com and follow Utica Athletics on social media for the most up-to-date postseason information!
