OSWEGO, N.Y. -- Elmira College men's ice hockey continued its superb play on Saturday night with an impressive 4-3 road victory against No. 15 nationally-ranked Oswego State. For the Soaring Eagles (8-3-1), it marked their first win over the Lakers (7-7-0) since the 2013-14 season and the program's first victory on Oswego's home ice since the 2007-08 campaign.
 
For the Elmira men, they secured their sixth consecutive win, a streak that dates back to November 22, 2019. During the six-game streak, Elmira has outscored the opposition, 30-14. It is Elmira's longest win streak since 2010-11.
 
Nick Ford '20 paced the Purple and Gold with two points on one goal and one assist. Justin Robertson '21, Anthony Parrucci '20 and Matthew Cuce '20 each produced one goal. Cuce's came one the power play and went down as tonight's game-winner.
 
Other point-getters for Elmira included Christian Lloyd '20 and Tommy Donnelly '23, who were both credited with one assist apiece.
 
In goal, Logan Bateman '23 got the start once again and the rookie did not disappoint. He finished with 29 saves in 59:41 of action to secure his third win of the year and improve to 3-2-1. Of his 29 saves, 14 were registered in the third period.
 
Oswego finished with a 32-23 advantage in shots on goal, mainly due to a 16-7 lead in shots on goal in the third period. Both teams went 1-for-4 on the power play and both were whistled for four penalties to go along with eight penalty minutes.
 
Ford set the tone early for the Soaring Eagles tonight by scoring just 19 seconds into the first period of play. A pass from Lloyd found Ford just outside the crease, where he powered it into the back of the net to give the Elmira men their first lead of the contest.
 
Oswego's Josh LeBlanc answered at the 5:57 mark to level the game at 1-1. A cross-ice pass from Tyson Kirkby found LeBlanc on the right post, where he tipped it past Bateman for the equalizer.
 
Elmira and Oswego both had prime chances to take a lead around the eight-minute mark. A shot from EC's Powell rattled off of the pipe, and on the ensuing breakout, Oswego's Travis Broughman had a one-on-one with Bateman, but his attempt was denied at point-blank range to keep the score knotted at 1-1.
 
However, the near-goals were a sign of things to come, as the Purple and Gold found the go-ahead tally at the 8:46 mark. The scoring play began with Donnelly, who fired a shot from the blue line, before Robertson re-directed it into the back of the cage for the goal to give the Elmira men a 2-1 advantage.
 
Similar to the first period, Elmira got things going on the offensive end early with a goal just 39 seconds into the second stanza. A pass from Ford found Parrucci in the neutral zone, and from there the senior captain gained the zone, before firing a wrist shot that whizzed past Oswego's Cedric Hansen for the goal.
 
Parrucci's tally resulted in Oswego pulling Hansen from net and subbing in David Richer. Elmira welcomed Richer to the contest with a goal on the power play at 2:53. Cuce was able to punch in the power-play goal, his team-leading fifth extra-skater goal this season, as Elmira took a commanding 4-1 lead.
 
Elmira carried its three-goal advantage into the third period, and those tallies proved to be ever so important for the Soaring Eagles, as the Lakers found a pair of third-period goals from Alex DiCarlo.
 
DiCarlo cashed in on a 5-on-4 power play at 2:44, which trimmed the EC lead to 4-2, before tallying again, this time even strength at 10:53.
 
Oswego pressed for the game-tying goal, even pulling their goalie and skating with six players for the final 56 seconds of regulation. The extra attacker nearly paid off in the final 30 seconds, as Bateman made a pair of clutch saves on his back from close range to maintain Elmira's one-goal lead.
 
Bateman's efforts, along with a plethora of blocks by the EC defense, helped see the Soaring Eagles through to an all-important 4-3 victory over the nationally-ranked Lakers.
 
In His Own Words…
Head Coach Aaron Saul '98 talks about tonight's win…
"We had two very strong periods and I told them to keep attacking them and don't back down. Credit to Oswego with a strong push at the end, but the boys did a great job late. All credit goes to the team. They compete at every practice and push each other to be better. We have a tight locker room and at the end of the day they are having fun. It was a big confidence win for us because it was our first win in Oswego's new rink. It will help us for a very tough opponent on Tuesday."
 
News and Notes

• Elmira earned its sixth consecutive win.
• EC's six-game win streak is the team's longest such streak since 2010-11.
• Elmira snapped a four-game skid against the nationally-ranked Lakers.
• The Soaring Eagles earned their first win over Oswego since January 18, 2014.
• EC earned its first road win over Oswego since October 26, 2007.
• Ford has produced at least one point in all 12 games for Elmira this season.
• Cuce extended his point and goal streak to six games.
• Robertson scored his first goal in just his fourth appearance of the season.
• Bateman recorded the second-most saves of his rookie season (29).
• Bateman has won three in a row for Elmira.

Up Next
Elmira will be back in action on Tuesday, January 14, when the Soaring Eagles welcome second-ranked SUNY Geneseo to the Murray Athletic Center. The puck is set to drop at 7:00 p.m. in Pine Valley, New York.