PINE VALLEY, N.Y. -- A four-goal first period and a six-goal third period paved the way for the Elmira College men's ice hockey team to secure a 10-0 shutout win against visiting Nazareth College on Sunday evening. It marked the first win for the Soaring Eagles (2-1-1, 1-0-1 UCHC) within United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) play, while the Golden Flyers (0-2-0, 0-2-0 UCHC) remain in search of their first win of the 2020-21 campaign.

Elmira produced double-digit shots, and held Nazareth to single-digit shots, in all three periods and finished the game with a 50-16 advantage. Both teams had six power-play chances, but the Elmira men were the only ones to convert with the extra skater, as they went 1-for-6 on the power play.

A total of 14 skaters logged points for the Soaring Eagles. Shane Haviland '24 (2g-2a) and Jake Russo '23 (1g-3a) paced the Purple and Gold with four points each. Shawn Kennedy '24 added a trio of points, all on assists, while Daniel Dimon '24 (0g-2a), Nicholas Domitrovic '24 (2g-2a), Bailey Krawczyk '24 (1g-1a), Amedeo Mastrangeli '24 (0g-2a), and Larry Niland '23 (1g-1a) added two points apiece.

Single-point scorers included Ryan Reifler '24 (1g-0a), Dan Smith '21 (1g-0a), Jordan Gonzalez '24 (0g-1a), Janis Vizbelis '24 (1g-0a), Graham Denomme '23 (0g-1a), and Aleksi Ojala '21 (0g-1a).

In net, Chris Janzen '21 made 16 saves in a shutout effort. With the win, he improved to 2-1-1 on the year and 13-6-1 during his collegiate career.

Elmira set the tone in the first period with four even-strength goals in a 10:30 span. Four different skaters produced goals during that time frame. Niland began the scoring with a tally at 7:23. A shot from Krawczyk was stopped but not covered, as Niland pushed the puck between the legs of Nazareth's starting goaltender, Gag Roberts, for the goal. Mastrangeli picked up a secondary assist on the goal.

Just about a minute later, Smith doubled the Elmira league with his first goal of the season. Smith snuck a shot through traffic that eventually squeaked past Roberts at the 8:31 mark. Russo and Haviland were credited with assists on the goal.

After earning the primary assist on Smith's goal, Russo added to his point total with a goal at 14:36. Turnovers in Nazareth's defensive zone set up the scoring play, as Haviland found Kennedy, who slid a cross-ice pass from the left dot to Russo on the right post. With Roberts out of position, Russo routinely buried the puck into the open net. Russo's tally forced a Nazareth goalie change, as Raphael Provencher took over netminder duties.

The goalie change did little to shake Elmira's confidence, as Haviland put the Purple and Gold ahead, 4-0, at the 17:55 mark. Kennedy began the scoring play with a shot that was initially saved, but the rebound went right to Haviland, who wristed it in from the slot for his first collegiate goal.

Following a scoreless second period, the Elmira offense came back to life in the third period and produced six goals to seal a double-digit victory. Vizbelis began the third-period scoring with a tally at 3:47. The Latvian native found the lower right corner of the net for his second goal of the season. Gonzalez and Dimon were credited with assists on the goal.

Then in an 18-second span, Domitrovic scored back-to-back goals to give Elmira a 7-0 lead. His first goal came on the power play at the 4:25 mark, while his second was scored at even-strength at 4:43. Both goals were scored from close range, as the first-year forward cleaned up rebounds from just outside the crease. Denomme, Russo, Mastrangeli and Niland picked up assists on the goals.

At 6:35, Reifler scored his first collegiate goal in similar fashion as Domitrovic. Following a saved shot from Dimon, Reifler found the puck in a scrum and went top shelf for the goal with the backside of his blade. Dimon, along with Ojala, were credited with assists.

Haviland potted his second goal of the evening at 13:35. Following a turnover in the neutral zone, Kennedy started a 2-on-1 rush with Haviland and found him on the right post, where he one-timed the shot into an open net for the goal.

Rounding out the scoring this evening was Krawczyk at the 14:55 mark. Another Nazareth turnover resulted in an easy score, as Krawczyk went bar-down over on a two-on-none rush for the unassisted goal.

In Their Own Words...
Head Coach Aaron Saul '98 when asked about the offensive explosion by the Soaring Eagles in the win over Naz...
"It takes time with so many new players and it is very hard to score at our level. Our players went to the net all night and it was nice to see them get rewarded.

Coach Saul on Jake Russo's evolution into a leader on offense after Elmira graduated several senior forwards in the Class of 2020...
"He has come into his own player a bigger roll and bringing the younger players along. We saw how skilled he was every day at practice last year and now he's taking advantage of his opportunity.

News and Notes

• Elmira improved to 2-1-1 overall and 1-0-1 against conference opponents.
• EC's 10 goals are not only a season-high, but are the most scored by the Soaring Eagles since beating King's (Pa.) 11-1 on January 18, 2019.
• 10 goals are also the most scored by either Elmira or Naz in the all-time series, one more than the Soaring Eagles netted in the first-ever meeting between the two teams on January 17, 2013.
• Elmira has won six of its last seven against Nazareth and now leads the all-time series, 14-6-1.
• 14 different Soaring Eagles had at least one point against the Golden Flyers, nine of whom are rookies.
• Freshmen Haviland, Domitrovic, Reifler, and Krawczyk each scored their first collegiate goals.
• Mastrangeli also earned his first career point with the secondary assist on Elmira's first goal.
• Haviland (2g-2a) and Russo (1g-3a) finished in a tie with a game- and career-high four points apiece.
• Kennedy tied Russo with a game- and career-best three assists.
• In one game, Niland (1g-1a) match the point total from his entire freshman season.
• Janzen blanked the Golden Flyers for the second shutout of his career and the first of his senior campaign.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles are scheduled to take on Utica College on Friday, March 5. The opening puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Murray Athletic Center.