PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Elmira College men's ice hockey closed out the 2019-20 regular season in dominant fashion, as the Soaring Eagles handed Chatham University a 6-1 defeat in United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) action. The Soaring Eagles (17-7-1, 13-5-0 UCHC) will enter the postseason as the fourth seed in the UCHC Tournament, while the Cougars (3-21-1, 2-15-1) played their final contest of the season.
 
As the fourth seed, Elmira will host the fifth-seeded Golden Flyers of Nazareth College on Tuesday, February 25, in the quarterfinal round of the UCHC Championships at the Murray Athletic Center at 7:00 p.m.
 
Aleksi Ojala' 21 led the Soaring Eagles with a two-point and two-goal performance, the first multi-goal performance of his collegiate career. Rookie Alex Gagnon '23 and senior Nick Ford '20 also finished with two points apiece this evening, as both skaters produced two assists each.
 
A slew of EC skaters finished with one point. Andrew Pucci '20, Matthew Cuce '20, Jake Russo '23, and Larry Niland '23 potted one goal apiece. All of EC's goals were scored at even-strength this evening and Russo's tally went into the scorebook as the game-winner.
 
Other point-getters included Marty Kapoian '22, Matthew Cousino '22, Tommy Donnelly '23, Nick Grinvalds '22, Graham Denomme '23, Christian Lloyd '20, and Matthew Cousino '22, who were all credited with one assist apiece.
 
Chris Janzen '21 was EC's starting goalie tonight and finished with 30 saves in a winning effort. Janzen made 14 of his 30 saves in the first period, as he collected his 11th win of the season (11-4-0). Rookie Jeffrey Zero '23 made his collegiate debut between the pipes as he made a relief appearance in the third frame. Zero played the final 4:08 of regulation and made six saves.
 
Cuce scored the game-opening goal at 19:16 in the first period, his team-leading 16th goal of the season on an assist from Ford.
 
Then in the second period, Russo and Ojala potted goals at 11:50 and 13:08, respectively, to give EC a 3-0 advantage. Grinvalds assisted on Russo's goal, which went down as the game-winner, while Lloyd and Gagnon picked up assists on the Ojala tally.
 
Chatham put one goal on the scoreboard at the 17:38 mark of the second stanza, but Elmira responded with a trio of third-period goals to push today's contest out of the Cougars' reach.
 
Pucci scored just 2:08 into the third period on assists from Ford and Cousino, putting Elmira ahead 4-1. Niland and Ojala scored back-to-back goals in a 23-second span at 15:29 and 15:52, respectively, to close the door on Chatham and secure a 6-1 win. Donnelly and Kapoian were credited with assists on the Niland tally, while Gagnon and Denomme picked up assists on Ojala's goal.
 
News and Notes

• Elmira concludes the regular season with a 17-7-1 overall record.
• The 17 wins are the most since the 2010-11 season.
• EC secured the fourth seed in the UCHC Tournament.
• Elmira outshot Chatham, 43-37.
• EC went 0-for-2 on the power play and Chatham went 0-for-1.
• Ford's two points kept his consecutive point streak alive at 25 games.
• Ojala produced the first multi-point game of his career.
• Russo scored his first game-winning goal.
• Zero made his collegiate debut.
• Janzen's 11 wins are the most by an EC goalie since Sal Magliocco '17 during the 2013-14 season.
• Janzen logged his fifth game with 30 or more saves.

Up Next
The Elmira men open the 2019-20 postseason with a UCHC Quarterfinal matchup against Nazareth College on Tuesday, February 25. The playoff contest is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Murray Athletic Center in Pine Valley, New York.