Score: No. 7 Hobart College 7, Elmira College 1
Records: Hobart (16-4-4, 8-2-3 ECAC West), Elmira (8-15-1, 3-10-0 ECAC West)
Location: Geneva, N.Y. - Geneva Recreation Complex Skating Rink

GENEVA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's ice hockey team had its postseason aspirations dashed on Saturday night, as the No. 7-ranked Hobart College Statesmen defeated the Soaring Eagles by a 7-1 final on their home ice at "The Cooler."

The nationally-ranked Statesmen overwhelmed the Purple and Gold in nearly every category, including a 47-to-28 advantage in shots on goal. In addition, Hobart finished 2-for-6 on the power play to go along with one shorthanded goal, while the EC special teams unit failed to produce a score on five man-up opportunities.

Hobart scored the only two goals in the opening period to take a 2-0 lead. The Statesmen needed only 1:33 to light the lamp, as Julien Denicourt's quick strike had the hosts up 1-0 early. The Soaring Eagles responded with the first goal of the second period off of the stick of Matthew Cuce '20. He received assists from fellow rookie standouts Connor Powell '20 and Spencer MacLean '20 at the 4:30 mark of the stanza, and cut the deficit in half at 2-1.

From there, Hobart finished with the ECAC West Conference bout with five unanswered goals. The Statesmen tallied their third goal on the power play, while the seventh and final score was netted shorthanded by Tyler Hanzlik.

Making his third consecutive start between the pipes for the Soaring Eagles, sophomore netminder Charl Pretorius '19 did all he could to slow down the opposition. Despite the loss, he finished with a career-high 40 saves.

Turning Point
Elmira opened the second period strong and peppered Hobart goalie Frank Oplinger with four shots on goal before finally breaking through for a goal, which made it a 2-1 game with 15:30 remaining in the period. Shortly thereafter, however, Noah Anderson '19 was penalized with a five-minute major and a 10-minute game misconduct for illegal contact to the head. The Statesmen sparked what turned into a 5-0 run with a power-play goal less than two minutes after the infraction, and they never looked back from there.

Inside the Box Score

• The Statesmen finished the contest with a dominant lead in shots, 47-28.
• Elmira was called for seven penalties for a total of 25 penalty minutes.
• Hobart was taxed for six infractions and a total of 12 penalty minutes.
• EC went 0-for-5 on the power play, while the Statesmen finished 2-for-6.
• Cuce scored the lone goal for the Soaring Eagles.
• Powell and MacLean were credited with assists on the Cuce tally.
• Tyler Wolf was the only player to finish with multiple points, as he had a game-high two points on two assists.
• Seven different skaters scored a goal for the Statesmen.
• Pretorius made 40 saves in between the pipes for Elmira.
• Oplinger finished with 27 saves in net for Hobart to earn the win.

 
News and Notes

• With the loss, Elmira's record falls to 8-15-1 overall and 3-10-0 in conference.
• The loss vs. No. 7 Hobart officially eliminated the Soaring Eagles from ECAC West Tournament contention.
• Elmira leads the all-time series vs. Hobart, 58-26-2, but the Statesmen have won three in a row.
• Pretorius' 40 saves are a new career high for the second-year goalie.
• The last Soaring Eagle to record 40-plus saves in a game was Sal Magliocco '17, who did so against these Statesmen on January 21st.
• Powell maintains his lead in points with a team-best 26 on 13 goals and 13 assists.
• Cuce is still in second with 25 points after scoring his sixth goal of the year.
• Powell and Cuce rank second and third, respectively, in the conference in freshman scoring.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles will cap off the regular season on Sunday, February 19th, as EC takes on nationally-ranked Hobart at 7:00 p.m. at the First Arena in downtown Elmira in the 2016-17 finale.