Elmira College (0-2-0, 0-2-0 ECAC West)
Utica College (2-0-1, 1-0-1 ECAC West)
Nazareth College (0-1-2, 0-1-1 ECAC West)
Friday, November 13, 2015 | 7:00 P.M.| Utica Memorial Auditorium – Utica, NY
Saturday, November 14, 2015 | 7:00 P.M.| Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex – Rochester, NY
Live Coverage | Twitter: @ECSoaringEagles | Game Notes
 
Elmira, NY -- Elmira College men's ice hockey will be searching for their first win of the season this weekend when the Soaring Eagles travel to take on a pair of ECAC West foes in Utica College and Nazareth College. EC faces the Pioneers on Friday, November 13th, at 7:00 p.m. before taking on the Golden Flyers the following night at 7:00 p.m. as well.  
 
Opening Weekend
Elmira opened the 2015-16 campaign last week with a pair of ECAC West home games against Neumann University and Manhattanville College. Although Elmira scored seven goals over the two contests, the Soaring Eagles were beaten by both the Knights and Valiants at the Murray Athletic Center Ice Arena. Elmira's 0-2 start is the program's first since the 2011-12, a season that saw the Soaring Eagles receive an at-large bid into the NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
 
Not Since 1998
Elmira and Neumann combined for 13 goals in last Friday night's season opener. The 13 tallies between the two teams are the most scored in an EC season-opening game since the 1998-99 opener, when the Soaring Eagles thumped Fredonia State, 12-1. Additionally, Friday's 13-goal total is tied for the fourth-most combined goals in an Elmira College season-opening game. The other three 13-goal games took place during the 1977-78, 1974-75, and 1973-74
seasons.
 
Penalties Galore
In Elmira's loss to Manhattanville on Saturday, the Soaring Eagles were called for 14 penalties, totaling a whopping 52 penalty minutes. EC's 52 penalty minutes marks the second time in the last three years the Soaring Eagles have eclipsed the 50-minute mark, with the other time occurring on February 1, 2014, when the Purple and Gold were also called for 52 penalty minutes against Utica.
 
Scouting the Pioneers
Utica College enters Friday's game unbeaten through their first three contests (2-0-1). The Pioneers produced back-to-back wins against Castleton State and Nazareth College before skating with the Golden Flyers to a 2-2 OT tie in Utica's most recent contest. Utica has done a phenomenal job through its first three games on the penalty kill, as the Pioneers have not allowed a single power-play goal in 11 PK chances. Alex Brissette and Hayden Dawes have paced the Utica offense with four points apiece. Brissette leads the squad with three goals, while Anthony McVeigh leads the Pioneers with three assists. Look for rookie goaltender Michael Fredrick to continue his stay between the pipes after turning away 80 shots in Utica's first three games for a 1.62 goals against average.
 
Scouting the Golden Flyers
Nazareth College is in a similar position as the Soaring Eagles, as the Golden Flyers are still searching for their first win of the season at 0-1-2. The Golden Flyers have ties against Buffalo State and Utica this year. Five different players have scored for Nazareth this season, with all five scoring just once. Of Nazareth's five goals, zero have been scored in the first period, while three have been tallied in the third period. Senior netminder Ed Zdolshek has resumed his role as Nazareth's top goaltender this season. He has started in all three games, making 86 saves with a .915 save percentage.