Score: Lebanon Valley College 5, Elmira College 2
Records: Elmira (5-6-1, 3-4-1), Lebanon Valley (3-4-1, 3-1-1)
Location: Murray Athletic Center – Pine Valley, N.Y.
 
PINE VALLEY, N.Y. -- A pair of power-play goals in the second period scored by Lebanon Valley College proved to be lethal on Saturday night, as the man-up tallies sparked a four-goal run that lifted the Flying Dutchmen to a 5-2 victory over the Elmira College men's ice hockey at the Murray Athletic Center.
 
The loss comes despite some early excitement on the part of the Soaring Eagles. It only took 2:35 for the 1,088 EC faithful in attendance to fill the ice with teddy bears, as second-year blueliner Spencer Carter '20 found the back of the cage for the night's first goal. Carter's goal, which was the first of his collegiate career, was a snipe from the point that beat a screened Tyler Perhac. Passes from Adam Eby '21 and Mitch Atkins '19 set up the Soaring Eagle score, which sent the Elmira men into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead on the Flying Dutchmen.
 
As a result of the first-period tally, a total of 362 teddy bears and assorted stuffed animals will be donated to Catholic Charities, just in time for the holiday season.
 
The Soaring Eagle lead lasted just 43 seconds into the second period, however, as Lebanon Valley's Travis Acker scored the first of three second-period goals for the Flying Dutchmen. Zach Balodis and Bryan Hovanec were credited with assists on the tally.
 
Elmira's Nick Ford '20 continued his hot streak by scoring his team-leading 12th goal of the season exactly four minutes later to reclaim a one-goal lead for the Purple and Gold. Passes by Matthew Cuce '20 and Connor Powell '20 gave Ford enough space to beat the Lebanon Valley netminder for the score, making it 2-1 in favor of the Soaring Eagles.
 
EC maintained its lead for the majority of the period, but a quartet of penalties on the Soaring Eagles put Lebanon Valley's lethal power-play unit on the ice with ample scoring chances. The Flying Dutchmen converted on two of those four extra-skater chances, which gave the visitors their first lead of the game. Brett Johnson and Cole Hepler tallied power-play scores at the 14:35 and 16:27 marks, respectively, while Jaraed Karas, Hovanec and Balodis, as well as Hepler, were credited with assists on the goals that sent Lebanon Valley into the final intermission with a 3-2 edge.
 
In the third period, it looked as though the Soaring Eagles had netted an equalizer. Within the first minute of the period, Anthony Parrucci '20 ripped a shot that appeared to spring in-and-out of the upper part of the net, but play continued and on the other end of the ice, Lebanon Valley's Brennan Thompson deposited an unassisted breakaway goal. Down by two, Elmira had another goal waived off by the referees on a power play. During a chaotic scrum in front of the Dutchman goal, the goal judge lit the lamp after the puck crossed the line, but after further discussion the refs ruled that Perhac had covered the puck with his glove in time.
 
After failing to convert on any of its three power plays in the third period, EC pulled goaltender Gennaro Anzevino '21 inside the final three minutes of regulation in favor of an extra attacker. Alas, twenty seconds after the netminder left the ice, the Flying Dutchmen posted an empty-netter, which brought the score to its final, 5-2.

News and Notes

• Elmira falls one game below .500 overall (5-6-1) and within United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) play (3-4-1).
• EC is 4-3-0 at home this season and 2-2-0 during the current five-game homestand at the MAC.
• The win is just the second in 24 tries for Lebanon Valley in the all-time series against EC.
• A total of 362 plush toys will be donated to Catholic Charities, as a result of Elmira's first-ever Teddy Bear Toss.
• Carter's first career goal was the tally that sparked the parade of stuffed animals onto the ice in the first period.
• Ford registered his team- and UCHC-leading 13th goal of the season.
• Ford ranks second in the nation in goals scored and is fourth in goals per game (1.08).
• Ford has scored at least one goal in four consecutive games.
• Powell extended his point streak to four-straight outings with his team-best 13th assist.
• Anzevino made 23 saves against Lebanon Valley, boosting his total to 144 thus far in his freshman season.

 
Up Next
Elmira's five-game homestand at the Murray Athletic Center will come to a close on Tuesday, December 5, when the Purple and Gold host Bryn Athyn College. The opening puck drop for the non-conference contest is slated for 7:00 p.m.