ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's ice hockey team opens play within the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) this weekend with a pair of league games, starting with a Friday, November 3, matchup against long-time rival Manhattanville College. The following night will pit the Purple and Gold against first-year program King's College (Pa.). Both contests are scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. at Elmira's Murray Athletic Center in Pine Valley, N.Y.
WEEKEND OVERVIEW
- The Soaring Eagles open play within the newly formed United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) this weekend with a pair home contests against Manhattanville and King's (Pa.).
- The UCHC is a first-year conference with teams based in New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
- Friday's contest against the Valiants will be Elmira and Manhattanville's UCHC opener, while Saturday's tilt versus the Monarchs will be King's first conference game.
- Elmira and Manhattanville will face each other for the 57th time, as the two sides renew their rivalry.
- Elmira and King's will face each for the first time ever on Saturday.
- King's is a first-year hockey program that is located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
A LOOK AT LAST WEEK
- Elmira opened the 2017-18 campaign with games against a pair of nationally-ranked opponents in No. 10/9 Hobart and No. 7/7 Oswego State.
- The Soaring Eagles edged the Statesmen of Hobart in overtime at the Murray Athletic Center in the 2017-18 season-opener, 3-2.
- Matthew Cuce '20 scored twice in the win for Elmira, including the game-winning goal 2:52 into the overtime period.
- Elmira jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead on the road against the Lakers, but Oswego rallied with four unanswered goals to earn a 4-2 victory.
- Connor Powell '20 and Harry Kramer '20 collected three points in the two games, all on assists.
- Jake Sabourin '21 combined to make 81 saves in the two games, including a 42-save effort against the Statesmen.
SCOUTING MANHATTANVILLE
- Manhattanville was picked to finish second in the UCHC this year, according to the league's preseason poll.
- The Valiants (0-0-1) are coming off of a surprising 2-2 overtime tie against Morrisville State in their 2017-18 season opener.
- Manhattanville held a 2-0 lead in the second period, but surrendered a pair of power-play goals to the Mustangs in the third.
- Kevin Loppatto and Stephen Gaul registered goals for the Valiants; Gaul's goal was scored unassisted.
- Tyler Bommarito and Bryan Platt were credited with assists on the Loppatto goal.
- Junior netminder Tyler Feaver made 27 saves in the contest, including a 13-save effort in the third period.
SCOUTING KING'S (PA.)
- The Monarchs (0-1-0) opened the first year of King's collegiate ice hockey with a blistering 6-2 defeat at the hands of the Golden Eagles of Brockport.
- Cameron Anklewich scored the Monarchs' first-ever goal in the loss, while Chris Conlin tallied the team's second goal.
- Jamie Lukas, Nicholas Palumbo and Luciano Bucci were all credited with assists in their inagural game against Brockport.
- Jake Tugnutt made 42 saves in 60 minutes of work between the pipes, which included a monster 19-save performance in the second period
