Pine Valley, NY -- On a night that the Elmira College men's ice hockey team (11-11-3, 5-8-2 ECACW) honored their five graduating members of the Class of 2015, the Soaring Eagles would come up short, falling to No. 12/13 nationally ranked Hobart College (19-6-0, 12-3-0 ECACW), 2-1.  Elmira's Alexander Taulien '17 scored the game's opening goal but the Purple and Gold were unable to hang on to their lead, as the Statesmen scored two unanswered goals in the third period to seal their eighth consecutive win of the season.
 
The first period was heavily controlled by the Statesmen as they held a hefty 13-to-2 advantage in shots on goal.  However, the majority of Hobart's shots were taken through heavy traffic as Elmira's defense made it tough on the Statesmen, especially Ryan deMelo' 15, who stopped all 13 attempts in the period.
 
Elmira had a golden opportunity to score the game's first goal with 3:20 remaining in the first period when, playing with a man down, EC's Brian Depp '16 forced a turnover in Hobart's offense zone.  The turnover created a scoring opportunity for Tommy Sumi '16, who after receiving a pass in the high slot, fired a shot on goal, only to see it go off of the Hobart goaltender's right shoulder and ricochet off the post.  The game remained 0-0 entering the first intermission.
 
In the second period, Elmira would up the pressure on the forecheck, which would create more shooting opportunities for the Soaring Eagles as they put 11 on net in the period, while to Hobart logged 12. 
 
Despite Elmira's increase in shots, it would be the Statesmen who would have the best scoring chance in the period as Tommaso Traversa used a cheeky wraparound shot that looked like it had a chance to go in for the game's first goal.  However, EC's deMelo turned it away with a nice kick save to keep things even at 0-0 entering the final intermission. 
 
The Soaring Eagles broke the 0-0 tie just 2:22 into the third period as Alexander Taulien '17 scored his eighth power-play goal of the season, the second-most power-play goals in the country.  Taulien's power-play goal came on a precisely placed wrist shot from the high slot, beating the Hobart goalie glove-side.  Eric David '15 and Tommy Sumi '16 were credited with assists on the power-play score.
 
Elmira's 1-0 lead did not last for long however, as a bit a bad luck evened the game at 1-1 at the 3:58 mark of the period.  A shot by Jordan Haskell ricocheted off an EC defender, with the loose puck going to a wide open Bobby Sokol who would quickly send the puck into the left side of the net after Elmira's deMelo was forced out of position due to the deflection.
 
A little over four minutes would pass before the game's next goal would be scored, one that would be tallied by the Statesmen. On the power play, Elmira tried clearing the zone but Hobart's Ryan Michel would block the clearing attempt, keeping the puck in EC's defensive zone.  Michel would make a diving pass to Ben Gamache on the right side of the slot, where he rifled a slap shot past deMelo for the eventual game-winning goal. 
 
It looked as though Elmira evened the game at the 2:15 mark when a powerful slap shot from the blue line by Taylor Love '16 seemed to find the upper left corner of the netting for the game-tying goal.  However, after a discussion by the officials, the goal was waved off.  This would be the best scoring chance Elmira would have in the final two minutes of play as the Statesmen extended their win streak to eight games, defeating the Soaring Eagles, 2-1.
 
Tonight's game was the final regular season contest for the Soaring Eagles.  Elmira will be back in action this Wednesday, February 25th when the Purple and Gold host Utica College in the ECAC West Conference Tournament Quarterfinals.  Details about the game, including ticket prices, will be released next week prior to the game.