PINE VALLEY, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's ice hockey team hosted its third annual teddy bear toss game in style on Saturday evening, as the Soaring Eagles skated to a 7-1 victory over United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) foe Lebanon Valley College at the Murray Athletic Center.

With the win, Elmira improved to 5-3-1 overall with a 5-2-0 mark in UCHC play. Lebanon Valley dropped to 3-7-1 on the season with a 1-5-1 record within the conference.

As Soaring Eagles dominated proceedings from the opening whistle, the Elmira faithful didn't have to wait long to launch their stuffed toys onto the ice. After EC was awarded a faceoff in the Flying Dutchmen's zone, Patrick Schmelzinger '20 won the draw and sent the puck back to Christian Lloyd '20. Lloyd promptly unleashed a booming shot that nicked a Lebanon Valley defender's skate and found its way into the right side of the net to give EC a 1-0 lead.

The Purple and Gold continued to apply pressure on the Flying Dutchmen and eventually broke through for another marker with 2:03 left on the clock. Marty Kapoian '22 gathered the puck and slid it to Spencer Carter '20. Carter rifled a screened shot past Lebanon Valley's Henry Burns to push Elmira's advantage to 2-0.

A power-play tally rounded out EC's scoring in the opening period, as Harry Kramer '20 struck with under a minute to play. Kale Kane '21 won the draw, with the puck finding its way to Spencer MacLean '20. MacLean shifted the puck to Kramer who faked a shot before launching a shot into the back of the net for his first goal of the year.

The physicality continued to pick up in the second period as Lebanon Valley looked to gain a foothold in the contest. Elmira didn't waver, however, as Connor Powell '20 potted a power-play tally off of a feed from Matthew Cousino '22. Lebanon Valley got a goal back two minutes later off the stick of Danny Galvez, who was able to beat Elmira's Chris Janzen '21 to cut the Purple and Gold's lead to 4-1.

The Soaring Eagles kept up their scoring ways in the final period, as they netted their fifth goal of the game a little over eight minutes into the frame. Carter moved the puck to Nick Ford '20 as Elmira entered Lebanon Valley's zone.  Ford spotted Anthony Parrucci '20 charging into the zone following a line change and quickly sent a pass to his classmate. Parrucci made no mistake, as he fired home his fourth goal of the season.

Lloyd added his second of the game a little over a minute later, combining with Kane and Alex Gagnon '23 to make it a 6-1 contest. Following Lloyd's marker, a flurry of penalties resulted in EC being rewarded with a power play. Matthew Cuce '20 ensured the chance did not go to waste, as he combined with Powell and Ford to seal the 7-1 victory.

In Their Own Words...
Head Coach Aaron Saul on scoring the game's first goal to ignite the throwing of the teddy bears onto the ice…
"It was good to get it early in the first period. It's a great event and a lot of teddy bears will go to kids in the community. It was just good to get three goals in the first period and to keep going forward from there."
 
Coach Saul when asked about the offense producing seven goals on the night…
"We tried to get net traffic in front of their goalkeeper. Our first three goals were all scored by defensemen with our forwards' screening. We knew it was important to score goals like that. And it was nice to have the scoring spread around, it's not just one guy. We've got depth scoring and a lot of people are contributing, so it's great for us."
 
News and Notes

• Elmira improved to 5-3-1 overall and 5-2-0 against UCHC opponents with the win.
• The Soaring Eagles collected 269 stuffed toys as part of the third annual Teddy Bear Toss.
• EC tied a season-high with seven goals and finished one shy of a season-high with three power-play tallies.
• Seven goals mark the most allowed by the Flying Dutchmen in a contest this season.
• A total of 13 different skaters logged a point for EC, including six multi-point scorers.
• Ford paced all players with three points on a trio of assists, while Lloyd produced a game-high two goals.
• Carter (1g-1a), Powell (1g-1a), Schmelzinger (2a), and Kane (2a) also notched multiple points for the Soaring Eagles.
• Elmira also received goals from Cuce, Kramer, and Parrucci.
• Carter and Kramer each netted their first goals of the 2019-20 campaign.
• Janzen earned the win between the pipes by making 26 saves.

 
Up Next
The Soaring Eagles will enjoy almost a month off from competition until they return to the ice at the W.B. Mason Winter Classic, hosted by Plattsburgh State. In the first round on Friday, January 3, at 4:00 p.m. Elmira will face the Gulls from Endicott College.