Score: Elmira College 3, #10/9 Hobart College 2 (OT)
Records: Elmira (1-0-0), Hobart (0-1-0)
Location: Murray Athletic Center – Pine Valley, N.Y.
 
PINE VALLEY, N.Y. -- Teams around the Division III hockey world should take notice of what transpired tonight at the Murray Athletic Center, as the Elmira College men's ice hockey team knocked off No. 10/9 nationally-ranked Hobart College, 3-2 (OT), in the 2017-18 season opener. The Soaring Eagles improved to 30-12-3 all-time in home-opening games, a mark that dates back to EC's inaugural season in 1973-74.
 
Hobart finished tonight's contest with a 44-22 lead in shots, but Elmira dominated at the faceoff dot, 45-31. Matthew Cuce '20, Connor Powell '20 and Harry Kramer '20 all finished with two points on the night. Cuce scored twice for the Soaring Eagles, including tonight's game-winner, while Powell and Kramer logged two assists apiece. Anthony Mangano '21 registered one point on a power-play goal in the second period and Nick Ford '20 was credited with an assist on EC's goal in the third frame. In net, Elmira's Jake Sabourin '21 turned away 42 shots in his debut between the pipes in 62:52 of action.
 
The first period was filled with hard hits and good back-and-forth action. Both teams utilized an aggressive forecheck, which created eight shots for Hobart and five for Elmira. However, both goalies proved to be a tough wall to crack, as the Soaring Eagles and Statesmen skated into the first intermission tied at 0-0.
 
The offense picked up quite a bit in the second period, as Hobart launched 20 shots and Elmira totaled nine. Despite the disparity in shots, Elmira was able to take a 1-0 lead on a great individual effort by freshman Anthony Mangano '21. Following an outlet pass from behind the EC cage by Harry Kramer '20, Mangano raced past a handful of Hobart defensemen, before beating Hobart's Frank Oplinger glove-side for the go-ahead goal. Kramer was credited with an assist on the power-play score.
 
Elmira's lead lasted just a little over seven minutes, before the Statesmen cashed in on a power play of their own. The scoring play began with pass along the left-side boards from Tyler Wolf to Tanner Shaw, who skated to the point and weaved a shot through traffic and on-goal. EC's Sabourin made the initial save, but Zach Sternbach was there to clean up the rebound from just outside the crease and level the game at 1-1 with 11:08 left in the second stanza.
 
In the third period, Elmira cashed in on a great play in front of the net by Matthew Cuce '20 to go back up by a goal, 2-1. After receiving a pass from Nick Ford '20, Connor Powell '20 wrapped around the back of the cage and slid a pass across the mouth of the goal to the weak side to Cuce. From there, Cuce one-timed the puck into the back of the net for his first goal of the season.
 
A stingy Hobart squad would not go away quietly though, as the Statesmen once again leveled the contest with 3:54 remaining in regulation play. Following an EC turnover, a string of passes put Cam Shaheen all alone with EC's Sabourin. Shaheen found the top left corner for the game-tying goal, while Alec Robitaille and Ryan Lynch picked up assists.
 
The Shaheen goal sent tonight's contest into overtime, but not before EC killed off a Hobart power play for nearly the entire final two minutes of the period. Elmira's effort on the penalty kill paid off, as Cuce scored his second of the night 2:52 into the overtime session.
 
Kramer set up the goal with a shot from the left point. His shot ricocheted off a pair of bodies, before trickling out to Cuce on the left pipe. From there, Cuce cleaned up the loose puck and slammed home the game-winning goal to hand Elmira an inspiring 3-2 overtime win over No. 10/9 nationally-ranked Hobart. Kramer and Powell were credited with assists on the game-winning tally.

In His Own Words…
Head Coach Aaron Saul '98 shares his thoughts on tonight's win…
"We are excited obviously, it was a huge win for us. First game of the year, you know time is going to be a bit off and you aren't always going to play your best, but we found a way to win. Hobart's a good team, and for us to beat a top-10 team is great for us. We are going to enjoy it for a little bit and refocus for No. 7 Oswego tomorrow night."
 
Coach Saul talks about Mangano's goal and how it changed the momentum of tonight's game…
"Mangano's goal really got us started. We were struggling a little bit, and then we were on a change and it was late on the power play and Anthony is not a power-play guy. But he jumped out and made a great play. It was great for him to get his first goal, it's always exciting when you're a freshman and score your first goal at home and kind of change the momentum for us was huge."
 
Coach Saul talks about Sabourin's effort in net…
"I though Jake was very solid. I though he did an outstanding job and I think the guys in front of him played really well. I have to tip my cap to the defense, they didn't allow a lot of rebound chances. Jake made the first save and what a confidence builder for him, especially being his first game to get a win like that is huge."
 
Coach Saul talks about what tonight's win does for EC's confidence moving forward…
"It's huge for us. We've always started so slow. This is probably the biggest season-opening win we've had since 2009, opening up at home with a win. The confidence is just going to help us. We know we can play with teams in the top-10. We were right there last year, but we were on the losing end of a lot of those games. So it's nice to get a win and start of the season on a positive note."
 
News and Notes

• Elmira earned its first season-opening win since 2013-14, a year EC went on to win the ECAC West title.
• It was also Elmira's first home-opening victory since 2014-15.
• The win snapped a four-game skid against the Statesmen.
• EC picked up its first win over a nationally-ranked program since its 5-2 triumph against No. 13/14 Salve Regina in 2016-17.
• Elmira improved to 30-12-3 in home-opening games since the program's inception in 1973-74.
• Cuce registered the second multi-goal performance of his two-year EC career.
• Powell logged the eighth multi-point performance of his career.
• Kramer tied his single-game career high in points (2) and assists (2).
• Sabourin's 42 saves are the most by a freshman goalie in a debut game in over 18 years.
• The 42 saves by Sabourin are the most in a season-opening game since the 2015-16 season.

 
Up Next
The Soaring Eagles will look to pick up their second straight win over a nationally-ranked team tomorrow night, when Elmira travels to face No. 7-ranked Oswego State. The opening puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.