Box Score ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Castleton women's hockey team was held without a goal in Saturday's NEHC Championship against Elmira College, falling 4-0 to the undefeated Soaring Eagles.
 
Netminder Kirsten DiCicco was excellent in net once again for the Spartans, saving 46 shots — her second highest tally of the season — while allowing just three scores in the game.
 
The Spartans went on the attack early in the opening period, drawing the first penalty of the day to gain the player advantage halfway through the frame, but a stiff Golden Eagle defense held Castleton to just three shots.
 
Instead, it was Elmira taking the early lead just six seconds into their own powerplay, getting the puck in front of a crowded net and sneaking it past DiCicco and in to make it a 1-0 game. The lead would double three minutes later as the Soaring Eagles were able to capitalize on a Spartan turnover in their own zone to increase their lead to two at the first break.
 
Castleton picked things up defensively in the second period, holding Elmira scoreless despite facing 20 shots, but could not generate much on the other end themselves, getting only six pucks on net in the frame.
 
The best chance of the period for the Spartans came with four minutes left when a scrum in front of net saw consecutive shots from Nancy Benedict and Darby Palisi get turned aside by the Soaring Eagles' Leonie Kuehberger to keep Elmira up 2-0 heading into the final period.
 
The Soaring Eagles controlled much of the third, scoring their third goal of the game at the 16:51 mark before sealing the championship with an empty-netter with two minutes remaining, locking up the 4-0 win and their first championship as members of the NEHC.
 
DiCicco and Palisi were named to the All-Tournament team after Palisi scored two game-winners to help the Spartans reach the finals and DiCicco racked up 121 saves through three contests. The Spartans end their season with a final record of 15-10-2, their best win percentage since the 2015-16 season.