Men's Ice Hockey

Elmira Ties Manhattanville, 2-2, in First Game of UCHC Semifinal Series

Score: Elmira College 2, Manhattanville College 2
Records: Elmira (14-9-3), Manhattanville (16-7-4)
Location: Murray Athletic Center – Pine Valley, N.Y.
 
PINE VALLEY, N.Y. -- The second-seeded Elmira College men's ice hockey team erased a two-goal deficit and skated to a 2-2 overtime tie with third-seeded Manhattanville College in the first game of the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) Championships Semifinal series. Elmira and Manhattanville will face each other in a winner-take-all game tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. at the Murray Athletic Center.  
 
Elmira controlled the opening 20 minutes by outshooting Manhattanville, 11-5. Connor Powell '20 nearly put the Purple and Gold out in front in the first 30 seconds of the contest, but his attempt caromed off of the crossbar. Similarly, Casper Dyrssen had a close-call around the four-minute mark, but his shot rattled off of the pipe, as the two teams skated into the first intermission deadlocked at 0-0.
 
Manhattanville jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second stanza behind a pair of goals from Jared Martin and Alex Rowella at 3:58 and 9:01, respectively. Martin's goal came from a tip just in front of the net, while Rowella punched in the puck in the middle of a scrum to give the Valiants a 2-0 advantage.
 
EC began to chip away at the Valiant lead just over two minutes later, as rookie blueliner Matthew Cousino '22 found the back of the cage at 11:13. A pass from Chris Moses '19 to Spencer MacLean '20 along the boards allowed MacLean to dump the puck to Cousino at the blue line. From there, Cousino weaved a shot through traffic and beat a screened Tyler Feaver for the goal.
 
The Elmira rally continued at the 14:24 mark of the period thanks to the efforts of EC's leading point-scorer, Nick Ford '20. A pass from Connor Powell '20 found Matthew Cuce '20, who fired a shot on target. Although Cuce's attempt was denied, Ford was positioned outside the crease, where he slapped the puck out of mid-air off of the rebound and into the back of the net for the eventual game-tying goal.
 
Tied 2-2, both teams searched for a game-winner in the third frame, and both squads had ample amount of chances to do so. However, strong performances between the pipes by Feaver and EC's Jake Sabourin '21 sent tonight's contest into overtime. However, even an extra five-minute session could not produce a winner, as tonight's contest ended in a 2-2 overtime draw.
 
Sabourin finished today's game with 18 saves in 65 minutes of action, while his counterpart from Manhattanville, Feaver, logged 31 saves in 65 minutes between the pipes.
 
News and Notes
  • The all-time series between Elmira and Manhattanville remains even at 27-27-8.
  • The 2018-19 season series is also tied, as the Soaring Eagles are 1-1-1 in three meetings with the Valiants.
  • Ford added to his team lead in points and now has 39 (15g-24a) in 26 games this season.
  • Ford and Powell have posted at least one point in their last five games.
  • Cousino's goal marks the third of his freshman year.
  • Cuce handed out his 20th assist of the year and moved one point closer to the 100-point club (97).
  • Sabourin is unbeaten in his last seven starts with a 4-0-2 record since January 25.
 
Up Next                            
The Soaring Eagles conclude their two-game UCHC Semifinal series with Manhattanville on Saturday, February 23, when the two teams square off at the Murray Athletic Center at 7:00 p.m. If neither team is able to win in regulation, or the five-minute overtime period, a 20-minute mini-game will be played. If the 20-minute mini-game ends in a tie, an additional 20-minute sudden-victory period will be played and continued until a winner is determined.