PINE VALLEY, N.Y. --The Elmira College men's ice hockey season drew to a close on Tuesday evening, as the Soaring Eagles fell to rival Nazareth by a final score of 5-2 in the quarterfinal round of the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) Championships.

A slow start made the difference at the Murray Athletic Center, as Nazareth was able to build a three-goal lead to fend off the Purple and Gold. Elmira dominated the puck in the latter stages of the contest, as the Soaring Eagles ended the game with a 38-20 advantage in shots. EC scored both of its goals in the third period, as Jake Russo '23 and Anthony Parrucci '20 found the back of the net.

It was a fairly evenly matched first period as both sides skated fast and with a physical edge. The quick pace worked to the Golden Flyers' advantage, as the visitors struck 5:14 into the contest. A scrum along the left boards resulted in the puck being worked back to the point by Nazareth's Henry McKinney. Cole Moore collected the pass at the blue line and fired a seeing-eye wrist shot that managed to beat a screened Chris Janzen '21.

The Purple and Gold continued to apply pressure with an aggressive forecheck, and then strategy looked to have paid off near the eight-minute mark. Parrucci found himself in the slot as the puck caromed towards his stick. The senior powered an effort on net, but the attempt rattled the post as Nazareth clung to its one-goal edge.

Despite outshooting the Golden Flyers 17-to-9 in the second period, the Soaring Eagles saw the visitors' lead jump to 3-0. A broken play in Elmira's end allowed Nazareth's Ray Falso to collect the puck by the edge of the left faceoff circle. With traffic in front of Janzen once again, Falso doubled Nazareth's lead at 14:36 on the clock. A one-on-none breakaway allowed the Golden Flyers to build a three-goal advantage as Casey Kubara snuck past Elmira's defense for the goal.

Elmira wasted little time in mounting a comeback charge in the third frame, as the Soaring Eagles got on the board just 1:52 into the period. The Purple and Gold's vaunted power-play unit was gifted a chance following a holding penalty on Nazareth's Sean Hallice. Christian Lloyd '20 started the play with a rush out of EC's zone. He flipped a pass to Kale Kane '21 who entered the zone and quickly moved the puck to Russo. The rookie picked up the pass with speed and snapped a wrist shot that beat Michael Tilford on the blocker-side to make it 3-1.

The Purple and Gold cut the deficit to 3-2 shortly after, as Parrucci tallied his 13th goal of the season with 16:31 on the clock. Nick Ford '20 raced into Nazareth's zone with the puck and flicked a pass into the slot. After caroming around in a small scrum, Parrucci gathered the puck and whipped a shot into the right side of the net. 

EC continued to push Nazareth to the brink, as the Soaring Eagles amassed a 17-to-5 edge in shots during the final stanza. Despite the constant attack, the Golden Flyers managed to tack on two more goals, one of which came with an empty net, to seal the victory. 

News and Notes          

• Elmira bows out in the Quarterfinal round of the 2020 UCHC Championships
• The Soaring Eagles conclude the 2019-20 season with a 17-8-1 record.
• EC's 17 wins are the most the program has recorded since the 2010-11 season.
• Nazareth advances to the UCHC Semifinals and will play either top-seeded Utica or second-seeded Wilkes.
• Elmira outshot Nazareth 38-20.
• EC went 1-for-2 on the power play, while Naz went 0-for-3.
• Ford extended his point streak to 26 consecutive games.
• Ford logged his 27th assist, a career-high for the senior.
• Ford's 149 career points are tied for 14th in EC history.
• Parrucci scored his 13th goal of the season, a career-best.
• Russo scored the first power-play goal of his career.