Matthew Cuce '20 continued his stellar sophomore season by guiding the EC men to a 5-2 non-conference victory over the Lions of Bryn Athyn at the Murray Athletic Center on December 5. The Fort Myers, Florida, native scored a game-high two goals and was tied for the team lead with three points. It marked his third consecutive game with at least one point and his fifth multi-point outing of the year.
The second-year forward recorded his first point of the night by dishing out the primary assist on a Nick Ford '20 goal that knotted the score at 1-all at the 13:47 mark of the opening period. He then netted his first goal a mere 22 seconds into the second period, giving the Purple and Gold a 2-1 lead, an advantage they never relinquished. Cuce added some insurance late in the third period, padding Elmira's lead to 4-2 with just over two minutes remaining in regulation en route to the win.
Cuce enters the winter break ranked third in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) with 18 points, trailing only linemates Ford and Connor Powell '20. He is second in the league in assists (11) and his seven goals, which are tied for fourth in the UCHC, are already one more than he scored in his entire freshman season.
Following an extended break for the holiday season, Cuce and the Soaring Eagles will return to action on Friday, January 5, when EC takes on Connecticut College in the first round of the Boston Landing Collegiate Invitational, hosted at the Boston Bruins' practice facility, the Warrior Ice Arena.
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