Score: Elmira College 3, #15/15 Buffalo State 2
Records: Elmira (8-8-1), Buffalo State (12-4-1)
Location: Murray Athletic Center -- Elmira, N.Y.
 
ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's ice hockey team bounced back from yesterday's shutout loss to No. 15/15-ranked Buffalo State in a big way today, as the Soaring Eagles bested the Bengals by a 3-2 final score at the Murray Athletic Center in the second bout of the two teams' weekend series.  

Buffalo State opened the scoring in tonight's game with a goal from Sam Maddox at the 17:47 mark of the first period. Maddox scored the goal in a transition attack, when he buried a Mac Wood pass by Jake Sabourin '21 to his stick side.

Trailing 1-0, Elmira answered with its first tally 5:46 into the second period. The goal came off of a faceoff in the Buffalo State zone, Matthew Cuce '20 won the puck and sent the puck Connor Powell '20, who rocketed the puck through the Bengal's starting goalie's legs to knot the score at 1-all.

The action really started to pick up in the third period, as three of the game's five goals were scored in the final 20 minutes. Powell would net the first score of the stanza about three and half minutes into the third to give Elmira a 2-1 advantage. Powell was set up perfectly on the left side of the Buffalo State starting goalie, Ian Sylves, when he received a pass Nick Ford '20 that he sent right into the open net. Blake O'Neill '19 was credited with his third assists of the season on the play.

The Bengals would answer about six minutes later with an unassisted tally from Wood, who retrieved a loose puck in front of the EC net and blasted it over Sabourin's glove shoulder. The goal was a direct result of power play created by a Joe Smith '21 checking-from-behind penalty at the 8:30 mark of the third.

Tied 2-2 with 10 minutes reaming, the next goal seemed destined to decide the victory. EC would find the game-winner at the 12:31 mark of the final period off of the stick of Spencer MacLean '21. The play was started with a shot from Calvin Hughson '20 from just inside the blue line that caromed off of Sylves' pad and straight to MacLean, who calmly shot the puck past the keeper. Mitch Atkins '19 was also given an assist on the goal that put EC up 3-2.

Sabourin posted 18 saves against the Bengals, who had the fifth-ranked scoring offense in the country coming into this weekend. He also held the third-ranked power-play unit to just 1-for-3 on the night. Sabourin's win is his second against a nationally-ranked opponent and his third overall of the year.
 
In His Own Words…
Head Coach Aaron Saul '98 shares what he talked about with his team heading into today's game…
"We knew we were way better than how we played yesterday. We were all disappointed. We knew that we could play much better and that was the conversation that we had."
 
Coach Saul talks about what helps drive the team when they are facing a nationally-ranked opponent…
"I think our guys get up for these games. They are up to the challenge when we face competitive teams. It is a huge win for us heading into a conference weekend. Our compete level was a thousand times better than what it was yesterday."
 
Coach Saul shares his thoughts on Connor Powell's level of play in today's win…
"I thought today's game was Connor's best of the year. He was great in all three zones, offensively, defensively and face-offs. He did it all. It is scary how good he could be, as he is only a sophomore. It was great for him. He had a great weekend out in Boston last weekend. We need him to continue to be successful is we are going to find success."
 
News and Notes

• Elmira's record improves to 8-8-1, while Buffalo State falls to 12-4-1 on the season.
• With the win, the Purple and Gold improve to 4-2-0 against nationally-ranked teams.
• The Soaring Eagles also improved to 8-3-1 in the all-time series against the Bengals.
• EC is an impressive 6-3-0 in games played at the Murray Athletic Center this season.
• With two points tonight, Powell tied Ford for the team lead in that category with 26.
• After adding an assist tonight, Ford now has a team-high-tying 26 points (15g-11a).
• Hughson's assist is the first of his sophomore campaign.
• O'Neill's helper is the third of his junior season.
• Sabourin's victory is his second against a nationally-ranked opponent and improved his overall record to 3-4-1 on the season.

 
 
Up Next
The Soaring Eagles return to action on Friday, January 19, with a road bout against United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) foe Manhattanville. The opening puck drop for the conference contest is slated for 7:00 p.m. at the Playland Ice Casino.