Score: Elmira College 6 – No. 6 Amherst College 3
Records: Elmira (3-4-0), Amherst (2-1-0)
Location: Murray Athletic Center – Pine Valley, NY
 
Pine Valley, NY -- For the second straight game, Elmira College men's ice hockey has defeated a nationally ranked team. Elmira's latest victim was sixth-ranked Amherst College, who suffered a 6-3 loss this afternoon to the Soaring Eagles at the Murray Athletic Center Ice Arena in Pine Valley, NY. Elmira is peaking at just the right time, as the Soaring Eagles are 3-1-0 in their last four contests.
 
Elmira set the tone early in today's game, scoring twice in the opening stanza on goals from its captains, Brian Depp '16 and Tommy Sumi '16. Depp opened today's scoring with his fourth tally of the season at the 7:10 mark of the first period.
 
The game's opening goal was setup by Mitch Atkins '19, who won the puck along the left side boards in front of the Elmira bench in EC's defensive zone. From there, Atkins fired a pass to Carter Shinkaruk '16, who carried the puck from the neutral zone and into Amherst's defensive zone with Depp trailing. Shinkaruk dumped the puck to Depp, whose speed was too much for Amherst's last defender, allowing him to beat Connor Girard one-on-one to give the Soaring Eagles a 1-0 lead.
 
Sumi quickly made it 2-0 in favor of the Purple and Gold, as he scored his third of the season just 1:13 after Depp's score. An Amherst turnover in its own defensive zone setup the goal, as Kenny Tencza '19 intercepted the puck behind the Amherst cage. After making the steal, Tencza made a no-look pass with the backside of his stick, which found Sumi in the right slot. From there, Sumi one-timed the shot, beating Amherst's Girard by the smallest of margins for the second goal of the afternoon.
 
Sumi's tally would hold up through the first period, as Elmira took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, despite a 15-11 disadvantage in shots on goal.
 
The tempo of the second period was controlled by Amherst, as the Lord Jeffs outshot the Soaring Eagles 20-to-8 in the period. Amherst also went on the power play three times, giving the Purple and White several quality scoring chances throughout the period. However, Elmira's defense stood tall and denied Amherst on all three power-play opportunities.
 
Although Elmira was more than doubled-up in shots, EC was still able to make the most out of its eight attempts. With 2:21 remaining in the period, Elmira cashed-in on another quality scoring chance, this one by Alexander Taulien '17. After receiving a pass along the end boards from Michael Collins '16, Jarryd ten Vaanholt '16 sent a sleek pass into the slot to Taulien, who wristed it past Girard, glove-side, for the tally.
 
Amherst would get one back on a goal by Conor Brown with just 40 seconds remaining in the second period, as the Soaring Eagles took a 3-1 lead into the final intermission.
 
The third period saw five goals scored, three for Elmira and two for Amherst. EC scored the first of its three third-period goals just 41 seconds in thanks to Depp's second tally of the night. Depp went bar-down to score his goal, one that beat Girard glove side to give EC a 4-1 lead. Depp's goal was setup by Shinkaruk, who forced a turnover and sent a no-look pass to Depp in the right slot, allowing him to score his goal fifth of the year.
 
Amherst answered just about five minutes later, as Thomas Lindstrom tallied for the second time this season, cutting the Elmira lead to two.
 
Taulien answered for the Purple and Gold at the 10:57 mark with his second goal of the night, which put Elmira back on top by three. Taulien's goal was setup by a string of precise passes, beginning with defenseman Noah Anderson '19, who started Elmira's counter attack. Anderson sent the puck to Taulien in the neutral zone, who quickly passed it over to Collins just outside the blue line. From there, Collins dumped the puck to ten Vaanholt along the left side boards before sending it cross-ice to Taulien in the high slot. With the puck on his stick, Taulien snapped one that caromed off the right post and into the back of the net for the score.
 
Just about six minutes of scoreless hockey was played until Shinkaruk gave Elmira its biggest lead of the game, a 6-2 advantage at the 16:49 mark. Eddie Nolan '17 setup the scoring play by collecting a loose puck in the neutral zone and sending it to Shinkaruk just outside the blue line. Shinkaruk carried the puck into the zone, made a quick move that tripped-up an Amherst defenseman, who fell to the ice, allowing the Langley, BC native to go bar-down on Girard for Elmira's sixth goal of the afternoon.
 
With the game coming to a close, Amherst's David White found the back of the cage, cutting EC's lead to three. This would be as close as the Lord Jeffs would get, as the Soaring Eagles skated away with an impressive 6-3 win.
 
In Their Own Words…
Head Coach Aaron Saul '98 reflects on his team's play this afternoon…
"I thought we played really well today and probably our best first period of the year. We had a great week of practice. When you are here on break and nothing but hockey going on, you can really focus. We knew Amherst was a good team and we wanted to prove to everyone that we can play with Top-10 teams and beat them too."
 
Coach Saul on the play of his seniors, who finished with 10 points…
"They struggled early-on this season. There has been a little bit of pressure on them with so many new guys coming in. But they dealt with it and they have been great about it and are getting better every game."
 
Coach Saul shares his thoughts on the play of Sandro Aeschlimann…
"He was good again, very solid I thought. He has an opportunity with Sal being hurt and he is taking full advantage of it. He just calms everything down. He's great with the puck and it's nice to have him back there."
 
Turning Point
Elmira's defense was under fire for the majority of the second period, as Amherst outshot EC 20-to-8, the most lopsided period in terms of scoring chances. However, Elmira's d-core, along with the superb play of Aeschlimann in net, kept Amherst relatively quiet in the period. The Lord Jeffs only scored once on their 20 chances while Elmira scored once on its eight attempts. Also, Elmira's penalty killers forced Amherst to go 0-for-3 on the power play during the second period.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Amherst held a 44-to-33 advantage in shots on goal.
• Neither team was able to capitalize on power-place chances as they both went 0-for-4.
• Elmira won 37 faceoff attempts compared to Amherst's 34.
• Shinkaruk led the charge with three points on one goal and two assists
• Depp and Taulien each scored twice, with Depp's second goal going down as the game-winner.
• Collins and ten Vaanholt finished with two points apiece, both coming on assists.
• Collins and ten Vaanholt also assisted on the same two goals.
• Sumi tallied one point on one goal.
• Atkins, Tencza, and Nolan also registered one assist apiece.
• Rookie netminder Sandro Aeschlimann '19 continued to impress with 41 saves.

 
News and Notes

• Elmira has won back-to-back games against nationally ranked teams (#11 Hobart, #6 Amherst)
• Elmira's last win over a team ranked sixth or better dates back to the 2010-11 season, when EC downed No. 6 Manhattanville College in back-to-back games.
• The Soaring Eagles are 3-1-0 in their last four games.
• EC's six goals ties its season-high.
• Aeschlimann's 41 saves ties his career-best.
• Aeschlimann has made 41 saves in consecutive wins against nationally ranked teams.
• Shinkaruk has scored in five straight games, with six goals during that time.
• ten Vaanholt picks up his first points of the year with two assists.
• Nolan's assist is his first of the season.

 
Up Next
Elmira is back in action tomorrow, when it faces third-ranked Babson College in a non-conference bout at the Murray Athletic Center Ice Arena in Pine Valley, NY. Tomorrow's contest is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.