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| 7 p.m. - Murray Athletic Center |
Despite the slow finish, you have to be impressed by Elmira's résumé. The Eagles own a home victory over SUNYAC champion Oswego State and battled to a 1-1 tie with highly-ranked Plattsburgh in January. They also responded well to a shocking early-season loss to Morrisville, going 15-1-1 in their next 17 games (the only loss being to Oswego State and the previously-mentioned tie with Plattsbugh). They'll rely on a spread scoring attack (six players with at least nine goals) and veteran goaltending from senior Casey Tuttle (13-6-1, 2.50 GAA, 91.2 save %) to try and avoid a second straight play-in round loss.
Curry won the ECAC Northeast and earned an automatic bid to the tourney, winning three straight in their conference bracket after finishing the regular season with a pair of losses. The Colonels faced just two tournament teams in the regular season: they were shutout 4-0 by Norwich on New Year's Day then fell 6-4 at Bowdoin on Jan. 6. They are a young team that typically spends more minutes in the penalty box than their opposition. However, they have a quartet of sophomores, led by forward Payden Benning (29 g, 35 a), who are capable of lighting the lamp in a hurry. Curry is making their first tournament appearance since 2004-05 when they were drilled 6-0 by Middlebury in the quarterfinals.
Prediction: Elmira 5-2
UPDATE: Final, Elmira 4-1
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