Score: Elmira College 4, Buffalo State 3
Records: Elmira (8-6-0), Buffalo State (7-6-1)
Location: Buffalo State Ice Arena – Buffalo, N.Y.
 
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Trailing by two goals entering the third period, the Elmira College men's ice hockey team rattled off three unanswered goals in the final 9:30 of regulation to secure a thrilling 4-3 come-from-behind victory over Buffalo State on Tuesday night. Andrew Pucci '20 played the hero this evening for the Soaring Eagles, as the third-year forward scored the game-winning goal with just 30 seconds left on the clock.
 
With tonight's win, head coach Aaron Saul '98 earned his 150th career win. Of his 150 wins, 131 have been as the bench boss of the Soaring Eagles and 19 were registered during his tenure with SUNY Potsdam.
 
Buffalo State outshout the Elmira men, 33-28, and held a 43-27 advantage in faceoffs. The Purple and Gold were efficient on the power play, connecting on 2-of-4 opportunities, while limiting the Bengals to one goal on five extra-skater attempts.
 
Three EC skaters finished with multiple points, including Nick Ford '20, who paced the Purple and Gold with three points on a trio of assists. Matthew Cuce '20 added two assists and Blake O'Neill '19 recorded two points on one assist and a power-play goal.
                                       
Connor Powell '20 scored his team-leading 11th goal of the 2018-19 campaign, while Matthew Cousino '22 registered his first career goal on the power play. Aleksi Ojala '21 and Harry Kramer '20 chipped in with one assist apiece.
 
After a scoreless first period, Ben Butcher put Buffalo State on top with an even-strength goal at the 8:11 mark of the second stanza. Then at the 17:20 mark, O'Neill knotted the game at 1-1 with a power-play tally on assists from Ojala and Kramer.

However, the Bengals went on to score a pair of goals in the final 1:18 of the second period and jump out to a 3-1 lead. Colin O'Connor logged Buffalo State's second goal at 18:42 on the power play, while Mac Wood handed the Bengals a two-goal advantage by scoring his eighth of the season with 14 ticks left on the second-period game clock.
 
The outcome of tonight's game looked bleak, as Buffalo State's defense held Elmira scoreless through the first half of the third frame. However, EC rallied with a trio of goals in the final 9:30 of regulation to steal a win away from the Bengals on their home ice.
 
Cousino ignited the Elmira offense with a power-play tally at 10:30, his first goal of the season, on assists from Ford and Cuce. Powell leveled the contest just about five minutes later, as he scored his 11th goal of the year on assists from Cuce and Ford at the 15:28 mark.
 
With the game drawing to a close, it looked as though both teams were looking at a five-minute overtime period, but all that changed thanks to the efforts of Pucci. With just 30 seconds left on the clock, Pucci found the perfect time to score his first goal of the season, as he handed the Soaring Eagles their eighth win of the year, 4-3. O'Neill and Ford picked up assists on the game-winning goal.
 
EC's starting goalie, Jake Sabourin '21, made 10 of his 30 saves in the third period to help EC clinch the win. Sabourin made 12 stops in the opening period, one in which he also held the Bengals scoreless.
 
In His Own Words…
Head Coach Aaron Saul '98 shares his thoughts on EC's comeback win…
"I felt we were playing better as the game progressed. The last two goals we let in during the third period were lucky bounces and didn't discourage our play, we just kept playing hard for the last 20 minutes. We talked about depth scoring and it helped tonight. I was very happy for the both Cousino and Pucci, they've been playing great and it was nice to see them score. It was a strong way to start the New Year. We are a second-half team and have been that way, so there's no reason to think otherwise this year."
 
News and Notes

• Saul registered his 150th career coaching victory.
• Elmira is 3-1 in its last three games.
• EC improved to 5-4 in road contests this season.
• The Soaring Eagles improved to 9-3-1 all-time against Buffalo State.
• Cousino scored his first career goal.
• Pucci scored his first goal of the season and his first-ever game-winner.
• Powell scored his team-leading 11th goal of the year.
• Ford logged his team-leading 14th assist of the season and has 91 career points.
• Sabourin improved to 5-3-0 on the year.

 
Up Next
The Soaring Eagles will look to continue their winning ways this Friday, January 11, when they renew their Route 13 rivalry with the Red Dragons of SUNY Cortland. The puck is set to drop at 7:00 p.m.