2013-14 Schedule | Inside Practice Photo Gallery | Season Preview Video

Elmira, NY -- Following a 10-16 season in 2012-13, the Elmira College men's ice hockey team is eager to prove that last year was a fluke.  Last season, the injury bug hit the Soaring Eagles hard as several impact players were missing from the starting lines for most of the season, but this year, all of those players return healthy and are ready to make a push for an ECAC West title and an NCAA Tournament berth.

"Last season was tough for us" said head men's ice hockey coach Aaron Saul '98. "We had 13 freshmen come in and had a couple of add-ons from our JV program because we had some injuries so we knew last year was going to be a frustrating one.  But we are excited about this season because a lot of our freshmen played in some key situations and got a lot of experience."

Experience will serve the Soaring Eagles well as they prepare to compete in the always competitive ECAC West Conference. "Our league top to bottom is very tough" says Saul.  "It's not easy to get points in our league. At the end of the year when you have three or four teams from the ECAC West inside the top 15 of the national ranking, it obviously says something about the quality of our league."

Despite the stiff competition, one thing is clear about the 2013-14 season – Elmira will be competing for an outright ECAC West championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.  "We are used to competing for those things" stated Saul. "It's our focus again this year, to take what we learned from last year and turn it around."

FORWARDS
One of the luxuries Elmira will have this season is their depth as EC returns 10 of their top 11 scorers from a season ago, including ECAC West All-Conference Honorable Mention selection Josh Burnell '15.  Burnell is coming off a 24 point season where he registered eight goals and a team high 16 assists. Joining Burnell up front will be Jesper Strale '14, who boasts 55 career points in three seasons with the Soaring Eagles.  "Those two guys are going to look to carry the load as far as offense goes this season" said Saul.

Second-year standouts Michael Collins '16 and Carter Shinkaruk '16 will be back on the ice for the Purple and Gold in 2013-14.  Collins was an ECAC All-Rookie West selection while Shinkaruk led all Elmira skaters in goals scored with nine, becoming the first freshman in Elmira College's storied history to lead the Soaring Eagles in goals scored.

"We have a lot of depth" raved Saul. "These returning guys are going to be the leaders offensively for us. We are extremely deep, especially up front."

DEFENDERS
One area to look for improvement this season is the defense. Last year Elmira struggled to keep defenders on the ice due to injury and only had their top six defenders available at the same time for two games.  However, an offseason of rest and preparation has this year's defense ready more than ever.

Captains Eric David '15 and Liam Burtt '16 are back to lead the EC defense.  David played in all but one game last season, tallying nine points on three goals and six assists, while Burtt finished with 10 points on three goals and seven assists in just 15 games.  Also keep an eye on Taylor Love '16, who like David, registered nine points on three goals and six assists.

"Last year we really got hurt with injuries on defense" said Saul.  "Burtt, David, and Love all missed some games last year but are all back and healthy.  We are really happy with our defensive group this year so if we can stay healthy back there I think we can do a lot of good things."

GOALIES
Ryan deMelo '15 looks like the front-runner to start in net for the Soaring Eagles.  The third-year netminder appeared in 17 games last season, logging the most minutes of any of EC's goalie that season at 759:34.  "Ryan has sat behind Darren MacDonald '13, and for good reason with Darren being an two-time All-American" said Saul.  He continues "but Ryan has been waiting in the shadows and he knows that it is his turn to step up. He is very confident in his own abilities and we have confidence in him."

Also keep an eye on rookie goalie Sal Magliocco '17 to make some starts as the season goes on.  "Sal is a really athletic type goaltender and a team player so he's going to push Ryan to be at his best every day" Saul said.

OVERALL
With the return of 20 players from a season ago, the Soaring Eagles have built a solid foundation for success in 2013-14.  Also, history is on Elmira's side as the last time EC came off a losing season, the Soaring Eagles made a run all the way to the NCAA Frozen Four (2005-06). 

"We want to compete for an outright ECAC West Championship" says Saul.  "Every game is important and we don't want to look too far into the future but it's a goal that we want to get back there.  We have a bunch of guys that are hungry to get there because they didn't get that opportunity last season.  We know the deal.  We know what we have to do to win the conference, how many wins we need and how many losses we can afford. We know the precursor to get us into the NCAA Tournament so it's just a matter of going out and doing it."  

The Elmira men open the 2013-14 season at the Murray Athletic Center in Pine Valley, NY as they host the defending ECAC West Tournament champions Neumann University on Friday, November 1st at 7:00 p.m.