PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -- In a wild 11-goal affair, it was the Elmira College men's ice hockey team that came out on top, as the Soaring Eagles rallied to secure a 6-5 overtime victory against Endicott College in the opening round of the W.B. Mason Winter Classic, hosted by Plattsburgh State. With the win, the Soaring Eagles improved to 6-3-1, while the Gulls of Endicott dropped to 7-5-0.
 
A total of 10 EC skaters logged points tonight and four players scored goals, however, none were more crucial than the one scored by Nick Ford '20 in overtime. The New Lennox, Illinois, native converted on a 2-on-1 odd-man rush with 18 seconds left in the overtime period to lift Elmira to the win in the program's first-ever matchup with Endicott.
 
Ford and Connor Powell '20 paced the Elmira offense with three points apiece. Ford scored twice and logged an assist, while Powell was credited with three assists, including one on the game-winner.
 
Matthew Cuce '20, Marty Kapoian '22 and Alex Gagnon '23 finished with two points each. Both of Cuce's points came on goals, including one power-play tally. Kapoian finished with one power-play goal and one assist, while Gagnon picked up a pair of assists.
 
One-point scorers included Christian Lloyd '20 (0g-1a), Kale Kane' 21 (1g-0a), Anthony Parrucci '20 (0g-1a), Harry Kramer '20 (0g-1a) and Jake Russo '23 (0g-1a). Kane's goal came on the power play, while assists from Lloyd and Kramer were also registered on the power play.
 
Logan Bateman '23 made 15 saves in 38:09 of action between the pipes en route to earning his first collegiate win. Chris Janzen '21 got the start in net for EC and finished with 13 saves in 26:33 of action.
 
Endicott took the first lead of the game at the 11:08 mark on a goal from James Winkler. An initial shot by Matt Shaheen caromed off of the end boards to Winkler, who wrapped around the left post, split two EC defensemen, and then found the top shelf for the goal.
 
Elmira's lethal power-play unit, which entered today's contest ranked third in the country with a 34.8% success rate, came up clutch with a game-tying goal less than three minutes later at the 14:00 minute mark. A cross-ice pass by Lloyd found Gagnon at the left faceoff dot. Gagnon snapped a shot on goal that was padded away, but the rebound leaked out to Kane, who punched the puck into the back of the cage in the middle of a scrum to knot the score at one apiece.
 
Immediately following the Kane goal, Endicott and Elmira players got into a tussle during Elmira's celebration which resulted in Kane and Endicott's Eric Manoukian being sent into the locker room as both received game misconduct penalties.
 
With the first period coming to a close, Endicott reclaimed its lead with 1:48 on the clock. An Elmira turnover in its own defensive zone set up the goal, as a pass from Eric Johansson went across the mouth of the goal to Svet Kuchynski, who one-timed it with the backside of his blade into the open net.
 
In the second period, both teams continued to press on the offensive end and that effort yielded four goals.
 
Luke Rodgers opened the second stanza with an even-strength goal at 6:33 to give the Gulls a 3-1 lead. An Elmira turnover behind the net set up the score, as Noah Strawn collected the loose puck before wrapping around the goal and passing it to Rodgers on the far post, who one-timed it into the net.
 
Elmira trimmed the lead to 3-2 at the 8:47 mark on a tally from Ford. Parrucci began the scoring play with a pass behind the net to Powell, who found Ford camped out in the low slot. From there, Ford was able to fend off a defenseman's hit and bury a wrist shot past a sprawled out Conor O'Brien for the goal.
 
Although momentum seemed to be on Elmira's side, the pendulum swung back in favor of the Gulls at 12:22. Following a faceoff win in the Endicott offensive zone, passes around the umbrella set up Bump List with a clean look from the point. Bump rocketed a slap shot off of a one-timer through traffic and into the net for the goal, which padded the Endicott lead at 4-2.
 
Endicott had a prime opportunity to make it a three-goal lead, as it was awarded a penalty shot, but the Gulls were unable to take advantage of the scoring chance as the attempt missed wide left.
 
Elmira took advantage of the miscue on the penalty shot by scoring on the power play with just 15 seconds left in the period to cut the lead to just one, 4-3. Tic-tac-toe passing by Kramer and Gagnon put Kapoian in position to tip-toe his way just outside the crease and bury the shot from close range.
 
The scoring frenzy continued in the third period with a goal by Endicott's Jake Simons just 3:27 into the period. A turnover in the Elmira zone, and a pass that split EC's final two defensemen, allowed Simons to beat EC's Bateman from just outside the crease and give the Gulls a 5-3 advantage.
 
Cuce stepped up in a huge way for the Soaring Eagles by scoring back-to-back goals at the 3:47 and 7:07 marks, which tied the game at 5-5.
 
Cuce's first goal came on a 2-on-2 rush, as a pass from Russo was redirected on net by Kapoian. The shot was initially saved, but not covered up, as Cuce rushed in and poked in the loose puck on a great heads up play.
 
The second Cuce tally was registered on the power play. A pass from Powell found Ford at the point, where he fired a slap shot towards the cage. Cuce, who was stationed outside the crease, screened the goalie before redirecting Ford's shot into the back of the net.
 
Cuce's goal, along with some hard-nosed defense, sent today's game into overtime.
 
The overtime period nearly came to a close without a goal, but Elmira showed its resilience and scored the game-winner with just 18 seconds left on the clock. Powell began the scoring play by forcing a turnover at center ice, which set up a 2-on-1 odd-man rush for the Soaring Eagles. Ford gained the zone and lured the last Endicott defensemen to slide down to block the shot, but Ford sniped the top corner of the net for the game-winning overtime goal.
 
In His Own Words…
Head Coach Aaron Saul '98 reflects on tonight's win…
"We finally played the way we could in the third period. After a month off, you expect to be rusty and it took us a while to get going. It was good to see everyone chipping in. We are going to need that for the second half of the year. Coach Zannella has worked hard with our power-play unit and the players are very confident in their ability. At the end of the day, the players should get the credit because of how well they are executing."
 
News and Notes

• Elmira and Endicott met for the first time in program history tonight.
• Elmira advances to the championship game of the W.B. Mason Winter Classic.
• The Soaring Eagles went 3-for-4 on the power play.
• EC outshot Endicott 42-33.
• Elmira earned its first overtime win since October 27, 2017.
• Ford scored the game-winning goal in overtime.
• Ford and Powell finished tied for the team lead in points with three apiece.
• Bateman secured his first collegiate victory.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles will play for the W.B. Mason Winter Classic championship tomorrow night at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena at 7:00 p.m. Elmira will face the winner of the Plattsburgh State and Wentworth game.