ASTON, PA. -- The Elmira College men's ice hockey team pushed its winning streak to four-straight games on Friday evening, edging the Knights of Neumann University by a final score of 3-2.

EC's offense caught fire in the first period, as the Soaring Eagles poured in all three of their goals in the opening stanza. The Purple and Gold ended the game with the advantage in shots, 36-21. Jake Sabourin '21 got the start in net and made 19 saves to earn the win. The Soaring Eagles penalty kill unit was outstanding against Neumann, as EC forced the Knights to go 0-for-7 on the power play.

The Soaring Eagles got off to a quick start, as Elmira's dynamite line of Connor Powell '20, Matthew Cuce '20 and Nick Ford '20 combined for the first goal of the contest. After some quick puck movement between Ford and Cuce, Powell did the rest, burying the chance four minutes into the contest to give EC a 1-0 lead.

The Soaring Eagles doubled their lead eight minutes later, seizing advantage of their first power play chance. Cuce cashed in with the man advantage, sending the puck into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season. Less than a minute later, Chris Moses '19 scored the eventual game-winner, as the Purple and Gold jumped out to a commanding three-goal lead.

Sabourin kept the Knights off of the board throughout the majority of the second period, but Neumann was finally able to beat the sophomore with five minutes left on the clcok. Chris Caldwell ripped a shot that narrowly sneaked by Sabourin to cut the Soaring Eagles' advantage to 3-1.  The Knights stunned the Purple and Gold to open the third period, as Ryan Swain combined with Joe Mitchell and Zac Boyle to cut the Soaring Eagles lead to 3-2.

EC buckled down defensively the rest of the way, as the Purple and Gold kept the Knights from finding the game-tying goal. Sabourin staved off Neumann' s final push for an equalizer with eight saves in the period to seal the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) victory for the Soaring Eagles.

In his own words
Head coach Aaron Saul '98 on the team's quick start…
"Our goal for this game was to play harder on the defensive side of the puck first, and the offense would follow. We were able to jump on them early and caused a number of turnovers."

Saul on the late adjustments made to hold on for the win…
"We got into some penalty trouble, which hurt our momentum, but we had a strong third period to finish the game out."

Saul on the importance of getting off to a quick start in UCHC play…
"League play and our conference points are so important because of the UCHC's auto-bid. It's important to play playoffs games on our home ice in front of our home crowd."

News and Notes

• Elmira has won four consecutive games and has started 3-0-0 in against UCHC opponents.
• The Soaring Eagles improved to 2-0-0 in one-goal games.
• EC has netted at least one power-play goal in all six games this season.
• Powell extended his season-opening point streak to six consecutive games, including three in a row with multiple points.
• Linemates Cuce and Ford also logged at least one point for the sixth straight game to start 2018-19.
• Moses netted his first goal of the year, which is also his first game-winner of his senior campaign.
• Sabourin earned his second win in as many starts between the posts, improving to 2-1-0 this year.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles continue UCHC play on Saturday afternoon when they trek to Purchase, New York, to battle Manhattanville. Puck drop is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.