Score: Elmira College 11, King's College (Pa.) 1
Records: Elmira (9-8-0, 7-3-0 UCHC), King's (1-15-0, 1-9-0 UCHC)
Location: Revolution Ice Centre -- Pittston, Pa.
PITTSTON, Pa. -- The Elmira College men's ice hockey team erupted for a season-high 11 goals in an 11-1 rout of King's College (Pa.) during Friday night's road United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) matchup at the Revolution Ice Centre.
With the lopsided victory, the Soaring Eagles improved to 9-8-0 overall and 7-3-0 within UCHC play, which gives the Purple and Gold 21 points in the conference standings, tied with Utica College for second place.
EC saw 15 different skaters recorded at least one point and eight Soaring Eagles netted a goal. Forward
Connor Powell '20 (3g) paced all goal-scorers with a hat trick, the first of his junior season and his three-and-a-half year Elmira career. Classmate
Matthew Cuce '20 (2g-1a) tied Powell with a game-high three points.
A trio of freshmen –
Marty Kapoian '22 (1g-1a),
Matthew Cousino '22 (2a) and
Ross Bartlett '22 (2a) – in addition to
Patrick Schmelzinger '20 (1g-1a), each produced two points. Elmira's other goal scorers were
Nick Ford '20,
Chris Moses '19,
Justin Robertson '21, and
Nick Grinvalds '22.
The Soaring Eagles wasted little time before grabbing a comfortable lead in the opening period, as Kapoian and Powell posted back-to-back scores 19 seconds apart at 1:13 and 1:32. Powell's first strike was recorded on the power play and marked the first goal of his natural hat trick. The Merrimack, New Hampshire, product deposited his second and third goals at the 6:30 and 8:13 marks of the first period, helping Elmira vault ahead 6-0 before the first intermission.
Second-period goals from Cuce, Schmelzinger, and Ford widened the already insurmountable gap to nine goals. In the final period, Grinvalds and Robertson both potted goals, as the Elmira offense produced the most goals in a single game since defeating Johnson & Wales University, 14-0, on December 5, 2003.
Between the pipes, senior
Charl Pretorius '19 received his first start of the season and made 18 saves to limit the Monarchs to a single goal.
In Their Own Words…
Head coach
Aaron Saul '98 on Elmira's offensive outburst on Friday…
"We had all four lines score tonight, which is the first time this season. It was good to see everyone contribute."
Coach Saul on fourth-year netminder
Charl Pretorius '19 securing his first win in his first start of the year…
"He was very solid. He was calm all night long. It was too bad we gave up a goal in the last minute to ruin his shutout."
News and Notes
- Elmira eclipsed the .500 mark by improving to 9-8-0 overall with a 7-3-0 UCHC record.
- EC is now 3-0-0 in the all-time series against King's.
- Pretorius earned his second career win, both of which have come against the Monarchs.
- Powell's hat trick marked the first of his collegiate career.
- Cousino and Schmelzinger set a single-game season-high with two points.
- Robertson's goal is the first of his EC career.
- Ford (43g-49a) and Powell (43g-49a) both increased their career totals to 92 points, just eight shy of the elusive 100-point club.
Up Next
Elmira's men's ice hockey game scheduled for Saturday, January 19, at Wilkes University has been postponed due to the incoming Winter Storm Harper. The game will be played on Monday, January 21, at 1:00 p.m. at the Toyota SportsPlex in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
