Atkins, a rookie for the Soaring Eagles this season, had a grand debut for the Purple and Gold over the weekend. The left-winger produced two points on one goal and one assist, making him just the third Elmira rookie skater since 2005-06 to total at least one point in each of EC’s first two games of the season.
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The first point of his Elmira career occurred in Friday night’s home opener. Atkins created a scoring opportunity midway through the second period against Neumann, as the Kitchener, Ontario native made a diving poke-check inside the Knights’ blue line. Atkins’ effort would set Carter Shinkaruk ’16 up for his first goal of the season, which tied the game at 3-3 at the time.
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The following night’s game against Manhattanville would see Atkins produce Elmira’s lone goal of the night in the third period. EC’s scoring play was setup by Rob Simpson ’16, who sent an outlet pass to Brian Depp ’16 along the boards, allowing him to carry the puck along the right wing. From there, Depp dished a pass cross-ice to Atkins, who rifled a shot from the left circle and into the top corner of the net, beating Manhattanville’s goalie glove-side for the score.Â
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