Score: Elmira College 7, King's College (Pa.) 3
Records: Elmira (2-2-0, 1-0-0 UCHC), King's (0-3-0, 0-0-0 UCHC)
Location: Murray Athletic Center – Pine Valley N.Y.
 
PINE VALLEY N.Y. -- A 4-for-6 showing on the power play was key for the Elmira College men's ice hockey team on Friday night, as the Soaring Eagles dispatched King's College (Pa.), 7-3, to collect their first United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) win of the season.
 
Nine Elmira skaters logged a point tonight, led by the efforts of Connor Powell '20, Matthew Cuce '20 and Ryan Blais '20, all of whom finished with three points apiece. Powell recorded two goals, one on the power play and the other shorthanded, and assisted on another tally. Cuce scored once and assisted on two others, while Blais scored once on the power play and assisted on two EC goals. Blais' power-play goal in the second period would eventually go down as tonight's game-winner.
 
Other goal scorers included Ross Bartlett '22, Nick Ford '20 and Dan Smith '20. Bartlett and Smith scored their first collegiate goals, while Ford scored his third of the season. Ford also collected one assist on Blais' game-winning goal.  
 
Also getting on the scoresheet this evening were Marty Kapoian '22, who produced his first-career assist, as well as Andrew Pucci '20 and Brent Lafayette '19 who were also credited with one assist apiece.
 
In goal, Elmira's Gennaro Anzevino' 21 made 24 saves to improve to 2-1-0 on the 2018-19 season. Anzevino turned away 11 shots in the third period to preserve the win.
 
Nicholas Gullo put the Monarchs on top 5:02 into the first period, as he netted a goal on assists from Isaac Cirinna and Nicholas Palumbo. Gullo, who scored King's first goal of the year, beat a screened Anzevino for the game-opening tally.
 
The Monarch lead did not stand for long thanks to a phenomenal individual effort by Powell on the penalty kill. Powell intercepted a pass by EC's blue line and beat the last King's defenseman in a footrace to set up a one-on-one with Monarch goalie Jake Tugnutt. Powell carried the puck just outside the crease before pushing it past Tugnutt for the game-tying shorthanded goal at 6:52.
 
The Powell tally held up through the end of the first period, as the two teams skated into the first intermission deadlocked at 1-1.
 
EC kept the momentum going into the second stanza with a go-ahead goal from Bartlett on the power play at 2:41. Bartlett, who was camped out in front of the net, saw a slap shot from Kapoian deflect off of his body and into the goal. Pucci and Kapoian were credited with assists on the goal.
 
Just about three minutes later, Ford extended the Purple and Gold's lead to two goals with a power-play goal. A pass from behind the cage by Cuce found Blais, who dumped it off to Ford at the left faceoff dot, where rocketed a shot that went bar-down for the score.
 
King's responded at 13:15 with an even-strength goal from Palumbo with assists by Tanner Wilding and Luciano Bucci to bring the score to 3-2.
 
The action-packed second period continued with goals from Elmira's Blais and King's Christian La Croix, both of which were registered on the power play. Blais' tally came at 14:31, as he sniped the top corner from the point after receiving passes from Ford and Cuce. The La Croix goal came on assists from Tyler O'Mara and Bucci, which sent Elmira into the final intermission with a slim 4-3 lead.
                             
Elmira turned its one-goal lead into a four-goal victory by netting three goals in the final 20 minutes of regulation.
 
Cuce kick-started EC's offense with an even-strength goal just 26 seconds into the final frame. Powell began the scoring play by carrying the puck from behind the Elmira cage and all the way to King's defensive zone, where he fired a shot on goal from just outside the crease. The initial attempt was saved, but Cuce was there for the follow-up, as he punched in his second goal of the season.
 
Powell produced his third point of the night, and second goal, at the 4:10 mark of the third period. After receiving a pass from Blais at center ice, Powell carried the puck into the zone and beat King's Tugnutt through the five-hole for the power-play tally.
 
A little over one minute passed until EC scored its seventh and final goal of the night, this one coming from the blade of Smith. Lafayette began the scoring play with a wrap-around pass from behind the cage that found Smith in the slot, where he wristed a shot past a screened Tugnutt for the score.

In His Own Words...
Head Coach Aaron Saul '98 reflects on Elmira's 7-3 UCHC win...
"It was a great to start league play with a win. We needed to get points early because points are going to be very important down the stretch. They [Powell, Cuce and Ford] are three of our better players and they showed that tonight. We are looking to get another three points tomorrow night and we'll have to be better and ready for them [Wilkes]." 
 
News and Notes

• Elmira earned its first UCHC win of the season.
• Elmira improved to 3-0-0 all-time against King's.
• Powell scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season.
• Elmira scored a season-high four power-play goals (4-for-6)
• EC's penalty kill held King's to a 1-for-5 showing on the power play. 
• Powell scored both of his goals on special teams, one on the power play and the other shorthanded.
• Cuce logged his team-leading sixth assist and team-leading eighth point of the year.
• Blais was credited with scoring tonight's game-winning goal.
• Smith and Bartlett each scored their first collegiate goals.
• Kapoian was credited with his first career assist.
• Anzevino improved to 2-1-0 on the year.

 
Up Next
The Soaring Eagles are back in action tomorrow night when they host the Colonels of Wilkes University in UCHC action. Saturday night's tilt is slated to start at 7:00 p.m. at the Murray Athletic Center in Pine Valley, New York.