Complete Game Notes

ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Winners of three in a row, the Elmira College men's ice hockey team has its eyes set on a fourth consecutive victory on Saturday, December 10th, when the Soaring Eagles host the Bantams of Trinity College at the Murray Athletic Center Ice Arena at 5:00 p.m. A shuttle bus for EC students will be available for Saturday's game. The bus is scheduled to depart the campus bus loop at approximately 4:15 p.m. and will return to campus following the conclusion of the contest. Please note that the departure time is subject to change depending on the duration of the women's ice hockey game, which begins at 2:00 p.m.

WEEKEND OVERVIEW

• It has been nearly two full weeks since the Soaring Eagles last took the ice in the second game of the home series against Nichols College.
• The Saturday-night bout with the Bantams marks the third of Elmira's four-game homestand at the MAC and the final game on the 2016 portion of the schedule.
• The Soaring Eagles are heading into the fourth game of their nine-game midseason span of non-conference games. Of the nine non-league bouts, six will take place at the MAC Ice Arena.
• The tilt with Trinity will mark the third game in the all-time series to be played at the Murray Athletic Center. The most recent matchup with the Bantams on EC's home ice was in the 2007-08 NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal Round, where the Soaring Eagles trounced Trinity, 6-1.
• Trinity is looking to build off of its most recent victory, a 4-3 defeat of then-No. 13/11 Amherst College. It was the first victory over a nationally-ranked opponent this season for the Bantams, who were ranked 14th in the Nov. 21st edition of the USCHO Poll, before dropping out the following week.
• The trip to Pine Valley is the second stop on Trinity's New York excursion, as the  Bantams visit Hobart in Geneva on Friday, December  9th.

CUCE'S FIVE-POINT AFFAIR

• Matthew Cuce was the first star in the 7-4 victory over Nichols on November 27th. The first-year standout finished with a game-high five points on two goals and three assists.
• Cuce's five-point game is the first for a Soaring Eagle since former ACHA All-American Kevin Willer '12 did so against Manhattanville in 2011 (4g, 1a).
• Cuce is the first EC freshman to score five points in a game since four-time All-ECAC West honoree Rusty Masters '10 posted five points (2g, 3a) in January of 2007.
• As a result of his outstanding performance, Cuce garnered a trio of weekly awards. He was named an EC Athlete of the Week and the ECAC West Rookie of the Week, while earning a spot on the D3hockey.com National Team of the Week.

TRINITY AT A GLANCE               

• The Bantams enter Saturday's contest with a 4-3-0 overall record and a 2-2-0 mark inside NESCAC play.
• Trinity won the NESCAC Championship in 2015-16 but fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to UMass Boston.
• As part of a three-game win streak, the Bantams walloped Post University in their home opener on November 22nd by a final of 14-0. In the following game on November 26th, Trinity battered Franklin Pierce en route to a 12-1 victory.
• Trinity recovered from a recent two-game skid by edging then-No. 13/11 Amherst, 4-3, last time out on December 3rd.
• Before coming to Pine Valley to take on Elmira, the Bantams will head to Geneva to face Hobart on Friday, December 9th.
• Trinity ranks second in Division III in scoring offense with 5.29 goals per game, trailing only No.1 nationally-ranked Oswego State (5.44).
• Senior Sean Orlando leads the Bantams in both points (13) and assists (9). He ranks seventh in the nation in points per game with an average of 1.86.
• Junior Tyler Whitney leads the team with five goals and is second with nine points.
• Junior goaltender Alex Morin has seen the lion's share of playing time in the cage. He's 2-3-0 with a 2.42 goals-against average. However, rookie Tedy Loughborough has been outstanding in his two appearances, as he sports a 2-0-0 record with a 0.52 GAA and a .944 save percentage.