Complete Game Notes
ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's ice hockey team opens the second half of its 2016-17 campaign this weekend with a pair of non-league games against two storied foes in SUNY Cortland and SUNY Geneseo. Elmira hosts the Red Dragons of Cortland on Friday, January 6th, at the Murray Athletic Center for a 7:00 p.m. tilt. EC will then hit the road the following night for a 7:00 p.m. showdown against No. 6/7 nationally-ranked SUNY Geneseo.
WEEKEND OVERVIEW
- After nearly a full month without competition, the Soaring Eagles return to the ice to face a pair of foes from the SUNYAC.
- Elmira opens the 2017 portion of its schedule with a Friday night showdown with one of its oldest rivals, SUNY Cortland, at the Murray Athletic Center.
- The Soaring Eagles continue their stretch of non-league games with a Saturday road bout with No. 6/7 SUNY Geneseo.
- Cortland and Geneseo are two of Elmira's oldest rivals. The first all-time meeting against both the Red Dragons and the Knights dates back to the 1975-76 season - Elmira's second year as a collegiate varsity program.
SUNYAC OPPOSITION
- This weekend's games will mark the fourth and fifth contests against SUNYAC opposition this season.
- Elmira owns a 1-2-0 record against teams from the SUNYAC in 2016-17, falling twice to Oswego State, before claiming a 6-4 road win over SUNY Potsdam in late November.
- Elmira has performed fairly well against SUNYAC opposition under Head Coach Aaron Saul '98. Since 2009, the Soaring Eagles are 40-21-4 against SUNYAC teams (64.6%).
- Under Saul, Elmira has only had one season with a record below .500 against SUNYAC opponents - 2013-14 (4-5-0).
CORTLAND AT A GLANCE
- The Red Dragons enter Friday's bout with a 6-5-1 overall record and sit in fifth place in the SUNYAC standings with a 4-3-0 mark.
- Cortland is riding a four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1) and is 4-1-1 in its last six contests.
- Second-year skater Mike Crowley leads the Red Dragons with 14 points on three goals and a team-high 11 assists.
- Junior Darren McCormick is second on the team in points with 11, which includes a team-best eight tallies.
- Six of Cortland's top-10 point scorers are freshmen, led by Swedish national Dougie Elgstam (3g, 6a, 9p).
- Drew Weigman has seen the lion's share of minutes between the pipes. He has made 10 starts (5-5-0) and has registered a .912 save percentage, as well as a 3.51 goals-per game average.
GENESEO AT A GLANCE
- The No. 6/7 Knights are 9-2-1 heading into Saturday's bout with the Soaring Eagles and sport a 5-2-0 mark in league play, good enough for third-place in the SUNYAC standings.
- Geneseo boasts the country's second-leading scoring offense with a 5.00 goals per game average. Defensively, the Knights are surrendering 3.25 goals per contest, which ranks 48th in the nation.
- The Knights have been lethal on the power play, connecting at a 29.9% clip (23-for-77). Geneseo is fourth in the country in power-play percentage.
- Freshman Conlon Keenan is tied for the national lead in power-play goals (7) and enters the contest riding high on an eight-game goal streak. He is also third in the country in freshman scoring (1.50 ppg).
- Senior Stephen Collins is third in the land in points per game (1.83) and is the nation's leader in assists with a 1.42 per game average.