College Hockey Stats Box Score
 
Pine Valley, NY -- Seeded fourth in the ECAC West Conference Tournament, the Elmira College men's ice hockey team picked up a 5-2 win in a do-or-die game against visiting Utica College in the ECAC West Quarterfinals.  With the win, Elmira advances to the ECAC West Semifinals, where they will travel to play against top seeded Hobart College on Saturday, February 28th at 7:30 p.m.  
 
The Soaring Eagles set the tone in the first period by scoring four goals, two of which came shorthanded on the same penalty kill effort.  Carter Shinkaruk '16 was one of three multi-point scorers tonight as he led Elmira with three points on one goal and two assists, with his lone goal going down as the game-winner. 
 
Taylor Love '16 and Andrew Ciampichini '15 were Elmira's other two multi-point scorers, tallying two points apiece.  Both Love and Ciampichini finished with one goal and one assist.  
 
Sal Magliocco '17 got the start in net for the Soaring Eagles tonight, his first start since the February 13th matchup with Utica.  Tonight's game would be much different from his last start as the Roslyn, NY native made 32 saves en route to his seventh win of the season.  Also making an appearance in net for Elmira tonight was senior Gavin Gretsky '15, who made his collegiate debut late in the third period. 
 
It only took 3:17 for the game's first goal to be scored, as Alexander Taulien '17 netted his 12th goal of the year to put the Soaring Eagles on top early, 1-0.  Taulien's goal was scored just one second after EC's power-play opportunity ended, as he wristed a shot from the left side of the slot into the back of the net for the score.   Jarryd ten Vaanholt '16, the 2014-15 ECAC West Conference Player of the Year, was credited with an assist on the game's opening goal.
 
Utica responded a little over two minutes later as the Pioneer's leading point scorer, Louie Educate, scored a power-play goal to even things at 1-1 at the 5:50 mark.
 
Elmira's Taylor Love '16 broke the tie 12:31 into the period as he scored his first goal of the season.  On the rush, Carter Shinkaruk '16 would avoid a pair of defenders before dumping the puck to Love just inside the blue line on the right side of the ice.  From there, Love one-timed a slap shot through traffic, and it looked as though the shot deflected off a Utica skater's stick and into the net for the score.  Along with Shinkaruk, Andrew Ciampichini '15 also picked up an assist on the goal as his pass to Shinkaruk from EC's defensive zone setup the scoring play. 
 
20 seconds following Love's goal, Elmira's Tyler Theodoulou '18 was called for a two-minute slashing penalty.  Although no team wants to take penalties, this one was a blessing in disguise as Elmira scored a pair of shorthanded goals following the Theodoulou penalty. 
 
Shinkaruk scored the first of two shorthanded goals at the 13:48 mark on a precise wrist shot that beat the Utica goalie on the blocker-side.  Defenseman Rob Simpson '16 was credited with an assist on the eventual game-winning goal, as his pass from behind the EC net found Shinkaruk in the neutral, which setup the scoring play. 
 
With the Utica power-play coming to a close, ECAC West All-Conference Honorable Mention selection Tommy Sumi '16 put the Soaring Eagles ahead 4-1 with Elmira's second shorthanded goal of the night.  Sumi began the scoring play as he collected the loose puck in Elmira's defensive zone before passing it to Brian Depp '16, which created a two-on-one odd-man rush.  On the rush, Depp carried the puck into the left side of the slot, forcing the last Utica defenseman to make a play on the puck.  Utica's decision to play the puck proved to be costly as Depp slid a pass to Sumi who buried the shot for the score. 
 
Sumi's goal would hold up through the end of the first period as Elmira carried a 4-1 lead into the first intermission. 
 
In the second period, the Pioneers had several chances to get back into the game as Utica was awarded four power-play opportunities, including a five-minute power play and a 5-on-3 power-play chance.  However, Elmira's penalty killers stepped up in a big way, killing all four power-play chances to keep the game at 4-1 entering the third period.
 
Utica eyed a comeback late in the third as they played without a goaltender for nearly three and a half minutes.  The extra attacker paid off at the 16:50 mark as Peter LaFosse knocked-in Utica's second goal of the night, cutting Elmira's lead to two.  However, the move to pull their goalie would not go unpunished as Ciampichini scored on the empty net with just 24 seconds remaining in the game, all but sealing Elmira's 5-2 victory.  Shinkaruk and Love tallied assists on Ciampichini's goal.
 
With the win all but clinched, Elmira swapped goaltenders, taking out Magliocco and putting in senior Gavin Gretsky '15, who made his collegiate debut tonight.  Gretsky would not face any shots in the final 24 seconds of the game as he saw his Soaring Eagles march away with a three-goal win and advance to the ECAC West Tournament Semifinals.
 
The Soaring Eagles will have a short turnaround as they will be back in action this Saturday, February 28th when Elmira travels to Geneva, NY to take on top seeded Hobart College in the ECAC West Tournament Semifinals.  Faceoff for Saturday's playoff game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Geneva Recreation Complex.