Score: SUNY Cortland 2, Elmira College 1
Records: Elmira (8-7-0), Cortland (7-8-0)
Location: Alumni Arena -- Cortland, N.Y.

CORTLAND, N.Y. --Harry Kramer '20 scored the first goal of the night on Friday, but the Elmira College men's ice hockey team was unable to maintain the early lead in a 2-1 non-conference loss to SUNY Cortland.

Just 1:26 into the opening period, the Red Dragons won a faceoff in their own zone, but a bad outlet pass was intercepted and kept inside the blue line by Kramer on the left-wing side. The third-year defenseman skated to the top of the left faceoff circle and released a hard shot that beat Cortland goalie Nick Modica to the top shelf, as the Purple and Gold quickly pulled ahead 1-0.

Despite the early offense, a 43-to-30 advantage in shots on goal, and four power-play opportunities, the Soaring Eagle offense was stifled for the remaining 58-and-a-half minutes against the host Red Dragons. On the other hand, Cortland converted both power-play chances it received, which provided just enough scoring to complete the comeback.

Cortland's Connor Beck leveled the score at the 7:51 mark of the first period with a one-timer from the left faceoff dot. A mere 28 seconds into the second period, EC's Jamie Dorsey '21 was sent to the box on a slashing call. The Red Dragons needed only 47 additional seconds to find the back of the net for the eventual game-winner, as Ian Keller redirected a puck into the cage following a long-range shot by Mike Crowley.

Elmira, which outshot Cortland 30-to-19 after falling behind, was held off the scoreboard thanks to a strong performance by Modica, who won his third consecutive start. After making 44 stops on January 5 to lead the Red Dragons to a 2-1 upset win over No. 8/8 UMass Boston, the Codfish Bowl Tournament MVP needed 42 saves in Friday's defeat of EC.

Looking to force overtime, Elmira pulled its goalie, sophomore Gennaro Anzevino '21, inside the final minute of regulation. With the extra attacker on the ice, the Soaring Eagles produced two quality chances, both of which were turned aside. The first came after the Red Dragons cleared the puck into the EC zone. A long pass from behind the net to the center line found Matthew Cuce '20, who then fed a streaking Connor Powell '20 to create an odd-man rush. After Powell was denied from the right faceoff circle on the play, Nick Ford '20 found the Merrimack, New Hampshire, native again with a cross-ice pass on top of the crease, but Modica sprawled to his left for his last save inside the final 10 seconds.

News and Notes

• Elmira fell to 8-7-0 overall, while SUNY Cortland improved to 7-8-0.
• EC's 43 shots marked its third-highest single-game total of the season.
• The Soaring Eagles were held without a power-play goal for only the third time this year.
• Kramer's goal was his first of the season and his fifth as a Soaring Eagle.
• Anzevino made 28 saves for EC between the pipes to give him an even 200 on the year.

Up Next
Elmira returns home to host the No. 5/5-ranked Lakers of Oswego State on Saturday, January 12. The non-conference matchup is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. inside the Murray Athletic Center.