Men's Ice Hockey Clinches Bye into UCHC Semifinals
Elmira, NY (02/21/2019) — The Elmira College men's ice hockey team came up short on senior night, as the Cougars of Chatham University escaped with a 4-2 win at the Murray Athletic Center on Saturday night. Despite the loss, the Soaring Eagles clinched the No. 2 seed in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) Championships, and as a result, EC received a bye into the semifinal round on Friday and Saturday, February 22 and 23. Both games will take place on Elmira's home ice at the Murray Athletic Center.
Elmira held a decisive advantage in shots on goal, 55-32, but timely scoring by the Cougars helped Chatham secure tonight's win. Chatham went 0-for-4 on the power play, while Elmira was 1-for-5 with the extra skater.
Six skaters produced points for the Purple and Gold, all of whom finished with one.
Connor Powell '20 and Chris Moses '19 each scored once for the Soaring Eagles, with both goals coming in the third period. Powell's tally came on the power play, while Moses scored with an extra attacker.
Blake O'Neill '19, Harry Kramer '20, Nick Ford '20 and Spencer MacLean '20 were all credited with one assist each.
Senior netminder Charl Pretorius '19 got the start in goal for the Soaring Eagles. He finished with 25 saves in 49:02 of action, before Gennaro Anzevino '21 took over goaltender duties. Anzevino logged three stops in 9:36 between the pipes.
After a scoreless first period, Chatham scored three unanswered goals, tallying twice in the second stanza and once mid-way through the third frame. Derek Schrank scored the game-opening goal at 1:29 in the second period, followed by a shorthanded goal from Kirk Underwood at 16:10. Chris Lutz tallied what would eventually go down as the game-winning goal at 9:03 in the third.
Elmira snapped the streak with a power-play tally from Powell, his 23rd goal of the year, at the 15:44 mark of the third frame. Kramer and Ford were credited with assists on the goal.
The Powell tally looked like a potential spark for the Soaring Eagles, but Underwood found the back of the cage just seven seconds later to reclaim a three-goal lead, 4-1, for the Cougars.
EC pulled its goalie towards the final portion of the third period, a move that paid off as Moses cut the Chatham lead to 4-2 at the 18:38 mark. Moses' extra-attacker goal was assisted by O'Neill and MacLean, but that was as close as EC got, as the Cougars skated away with a two-goal win.
Up Next
Following the quarterfinal round of the UCHC Championships, the Soaring Eagles will host the highest remaining seed in the semifinal round on Friday and Saturday, February 22 and 23. Both semifinal contests will take place at the Murray Athletic Center at 7:00 p.m.
Media Attachments
The Elmira College men's ice hockey team hosted their senior night at the Murray Athletic Center on Saturday night and clinched the No. 2 seed in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) Championships. EC received a bye into the semifinal round on Friday and Saturday, February 22 and 23. Both games will take place on Elmira's home ice at the Murray Athletic Center.