Score: Elmira College 6, King's College 1
Records: Elmira (9-8-2, 4-4-2 UCHC), King's (0-17-0, 0-9-0)
Location: Revolution Ice Centre -- Pittson, Pa.

PITTSON, Pa. -- A dozen Soaring Eagles registered a point on Saturday night at the Revolution Ice Centre, where the Elmira College men's ice hockey team earned a 6-1 victory over the Monarchs of King's College in United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) action.

Matthew Cuce '20 paced all scorers with a hat trick of power-play goals. Linemates Nick Ford '20 (2a) and Connor Powell '20 (2a) both dished out two assists, while Anthony Parrucci '20 and Aleksi Ojala '21 both scored one goal with one assist, as part of their multi-point performances.

With King's earning a whopping 74 penalty minutes on 18 infractions, the Purple and Gold took advantage on the power play and scored four of their six goals while skating a man-up. After Ojala logged his first career goal 2:09 into the opening period, Cuce and classmate Harry Kramer '20 widened the gap to 3-0 with back-to-back power-play tallies in a span of 1:10.

The Monarchs ended the first period with their only score of the night, which also came with an extra skater from freshman Tyler O'Mara with 1:34 left in the frame.

While King's held EC scoreless in the middle period, it was unable to do so in the third. The Soaring Eagles doubled their scoring output by tacking on three more goals, two of which were notched on the power play. Cuce logged both of those man-up tallies for his second multi-goal performance in as many nights and his first career hat trick. Powell was credited with the primary assist on the first of the back-to-back Cuce goals, his team- and conference-leading 21st helper and his 30th point of the season. Ford earned an assist on the latter, his team-best 32nd point of the year. That makes Powell and Ford one of only two pairs of teammates in the country to reach 30 points.

With five ticks left on the clock in regulation, Parrucci scored an even-strength goal with assists from Brent Lafayette '19 and Chris Moses '19, to reach the final score.

In Their Own Words...
Head Coach Aaron Saul when asked about Elmira's performance on the power play against King's...
"We had a number of opportunities and it gave us confidence throughout the game."

Coach Saul on Matthew Cuce's first career hat trick and five-goal weekend...
"Down the stretch you need your best players to be at their best. Matt and his linemates were all of that this weekend."

Coach Saul on using Saturday's victory heading into a significant stretch of UCHC games...
"It gives us momentum. We are looking at these games as playoff games. We are not in as of today and we need to play that way to give us a chance to make the postseason."

News and Notes

• With the win tonight, Elmira improved to 9-8-2 overall and 4-4-2 in UCHC play.
• EC scored four power-play goals tonight, the most the Soaring Eagles have tallied since they posted four in an 8-6 win over Lebanon Valley on November 5, 2016.
• Six goals are the second-most Elmira has scored this season, just trailing its seven-goal outing against these Monarch on November 4.
• The Purple and Gold's top line of Ford, Powell and Cuce have each tallied at least one point in each of the last three games.
• With two points tonight, Ford sits one shy of the national lead with 32 points.
• Powell cracked 30 points this season with a pair of assists.
• Cuce scored a career-best three goals versus King's, giving him a combined five goals in Elmira's two games this weekend.
• Ojala posted his first collegiate goal and assist in tonight's win.
• Joe Smith '21 dished out the first assist of his collegiate career.
• Kramer's power-play tally in the first period is the first goal of his sophomore campaign.
• Parrucci's multi-point effort is his third of the season.
• Gennaro Anzevino '21 made 28 saves to earn his team-leading fifth win of the year.

Up Next
The EC men open a four-game UCHC homestand on Friday, January 26, when the Soaring Eagles host Nazareth College at the Murray Athletic Center at 7:00 p.m.