PINE VALLEY, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's ice hockey team saw its comeback attempt fall just short on Saturday evening, as the visiting Valiants of Manhattanville College edged the Soaring Eagles, 3-2, in a tense United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) battle.

The Purple and Gold (2-3-1, 2-2-0 UCHC) dominated the flow of the game to the tune of a 54-to-22 advantage in shots on goal. Despite the ice being tilted in EC's direction, Manhattanville's (2-3-1, 1-3-0 UCHC) Mac Vail was stellar in net, totaling 52 saves over 60 minutes of action.

The Soaring Eagles outshot Manhattanville 13-to-11 in the opening period of play but found themselves in a 2-1 deficit due to a pair of mental errors in their zone. The Valiants pounced on an errant pass for their first goal, as Alex Rowella was able to beat rookie netminder Logan Bateman '23 with 12:41 on the clock. The Soaring Eagles responded quickly through Andrew Pucci '20. The senior received a pass from Spencer MacLean '20, and promptly deked the goalie to the right and calmly slotted the puck into the empty space to knot the score at 1-1.

The teams skated fairly evenly from there, but Spencer Carter '21 was whistled for a tripping penalty with a little over eight minutes to play. With the extra skater, Manhattanville proved to be too much to handle, as Dylan Pollak buried a shot to make it 2-1.

EC came out for the second period reinvigorated and set the tone with fast skating and plenty of big hits. The Soaring Eagles peppered the Valiants with a whopping 26 shots during the frame, but were unable to break through for the equalizer. A 5-on-3 power-play chance for the Valiants slowed EC's momentum, but the Soaring Eagles fended off the visitors as the man-up opportunity carried over into the third period.

The Soaring Eagles had the momentum firmly in their favor, but Manhattanville pushed its advantage to 3-1 six minutes into the final stanza. Ken Mclean stole the puck in EC's defensive zone and managed to beat Bateman for the score.

As Elmira pushed for an equalizer, Manhattanville was whistled for a tripping penalty, gifting the Purple and Gold a power-play chance. EC established itself in the Valiants' zone, worked the puck into the corners and then back to the blue line. Nick Ford '20 received a pass at the blue line and spotted Matthew Cousino '22 unmarked on the left side. Ford fired a pass to Cousino, who promptly ripped a shot towards goal. Kale Kane '21 was parked in front of the goal and redirected Cousino's rocket to make it a one-goal game.

EC continued to press for the equalizer and eventually pulled Bateman to place an extra skater on the ice with 51 seconds left to play. A tying goal was not to be found, however, as Vail spurned Elmira's final chances.

News and Notes

• Elmira registered over 50 shots for the second time this season.
• EC held the edge in faceoff wins, 42-to-28.
• The Soaring Eagles went 1-for-4 (25%) on the power play, while Manhattanville finished 1-for-3 (33%).
• Kane scored his second goal in as many games.
• Ford is riding a six-game point streak to open the season.
• Pucci's goal was his first of the campaign.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles return to the ice on Friday, November 22, when they trek to the Flower City, for a tilt against Nazareth College. The UCHC contest is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start.