HERSHEY, Pa. -- The Elmira College men's ice hockey team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back on Friday night, as the Soaring Eagles collected an all-important 4-2 victory in United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) action against Lebanon Valley College. With the win, Elmira improved to 15-6-1 (11-5-0 UCHC) on the year, while Lebanon Valley's record dipped to 5-15-3 (3-10-3 UCHC).
 
Matthew Cuce '20 continued his stellar senior season by recording his ninth multi-point performance of the 2019-20 campaign. Both of Cuce's points came on assists, as he was credited with helpers on a power-play goal and tonight's game-winning tally.
 
Outside of Cuce, seven EC skaters produced points in tonight's win. Marty Kapoian '22, Connor Powell '20, Kale Kane '21 and Graham Denomme '23 all scored goals for the Purple and Gold. Kapoian scored the game-opening goal, while Powell potted the power-play tally and Kane netted the game-winner. Denomme, on the other hand, provided a bit of insurance for the Soaring Eagles by scoring mid-way through the third period, unassisted, to solidify the win.
 
Other point-getters on the night included Andrew Pucci '20, Nick Ford '20 and Jake Russo '23. All three skaters were credited with assists.
 
In net, Logan Bateman '23 got his first start in 13 days. The rookie netminder finished with 18 saves in 60 minutes of action to improve to 5-3-1 on the 2019-20 season. Of his 18 stops, seven were registered in the first period.
 
Kapoian opened the scoring at 12:02 thanks to some sleek passing and speed skating. The scoring play began with Pucci in EC's defensive zone, where he led a 3-on-2 rush. Pucci gained the zone, before dumping the puck to Russo, who quickly snapped a cross-ice pass to Kapoian on the left post. Kapoian one-timed the pass into the open net for the game-opening goal.
 
Good positioning and hard-nosed board play set up the Purple and Gold's second goal, as Powell doubled the lead on the power play at 16:27. Ford won a puck battle along the left-side boards, which allowed Cuce to collect the puck and carry it to the left faceoff dot. From there, Cuce drew Lebanon Valley's Aidan Richardson away from the net, before dishing the puck to Powell on the right post for the easy one-time finish.
 
The goals from Kapoian and Powell sent the Soaring Eagles into the first intermission with a 2-0 advantage.
 
Elmira wasted little time tripling its lead in the second period, as Kane deposited his first goal of the night just 1:09 into the frame. A shot from Cuce at the point was initially saved by Richardson, but the rebound leaked into the slot, which allowed Kane to collect it and bury the shot from just outside the slot.
 
It looked as though the momentum was all in Elmira's favor, but that changed drastically as the Flying Dutchmen rallied with back-to-back goals.
 
On somewhat of a fluky play, Cole Hepler collected a loose puck that caromed off of a few skates in the slot and fired a shot past an unsuspecting Bateman for the goal at 4:29. Then, at 17:08, Mark Kishko trimmed the Elmira lead to 3-2. Kishko took the puck from the corner, wrapped around to the left circle and weaved a wrist shot past a screened Bateman for the tally, which sent the game into the final intermission with EC clinging to a one-goal lead.
 
After a second stanza that saw EC and Lebanon Valley produce identical shot totals, 7-7, the Soaring Eagles upped the pressure on the forecheck which helped them more than double LVC's shot total, 13-6. With a lopsided advantage in shots, EC controlled the flow of play for much of the final frame to eventually see out a critical conference win.
 
Aiding Elmira's efforts was freshman forward Denomme, who potted an insurance goal at 9:56. Denomme carried the puck coast-to-coast, before ripping a shot from the high slot. His attempt ricocheted off of the glove of backup goalie Henry Burns and into the air, before tumbling down to the ice and trickling into the back of the net for the goal.
 
Although EC held a two-goal lead, the Soaring Eagles were forced to kill a pair of Lebanon Valley power plays. The most challenging of the two penalty kills came at the end of the contest at 18:36, as the Flying Dutchmen pulled their goalie for the remainder of the contest, adding another skater to the ice. However, the extra bodies did little to shake Elmira's confidence, as the Purple and Gold held Lebanon Valley scoreless during the final stretch to secure a 4-2 win.
 
News and Notes

• Elmira improved to 15-6-1 on the year.
• Elmira sweeps the regular season series against Lebanon Valley.
• EC has scored a power-play goal in three straight games and in six of its last seven contests.
• The Soaring Eagles are 5-2-0 in their last seven games.
• Elmira improved to 8-2-1 in road games.
• Elmira outshot Lebanon Valley, 34-20.
• EC was 1-for-2 on the power play, while LVC went 1-for-6. 
• Ford extended his consecutive point streak to 22 games.
• Cuce logged his ninth multi-point game of the season.
• Denomme scored his second goal of the season.
• Kane logged his third game-winner of the season.
• Bateman improved to 5-3-1 on the year.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles conclude non-conference action, and host their final home game of the 2019-20 campaign, tomorrow night when they welcome the Red Dragons of SUNY Cortland to the Murray Athletic Center. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
 
Tomorrow's contest is also EC's First Responders Night. All first responders with valid ID will be granted free admission to watch tomorrow's contest.