HERSHEY, Pa. -- The Elmira College men's ice hockey team proved to be too much for Lebanon Valley College this afternoon, as the Soaring Eagles (4-2-1, 3-1-1 UCHC) handed the Flying Dutchmen (2-1-1, 2-1-1 UCHC) their first loss of the season, 4-2.
 
Elmira jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back this afternoon. Back-to-back goals in a 4:20 span in the first period from Ryan Reifler '24 and Jake Russo '23 gave Elmira momentum early on in today's contest. Reifler tallied at 4:54 on assists from Daniel Dimon '24 and Chance Gorman '24. Russo found the back of the cage at 9:14 on assists from Dimon and Amedeo Mastrangeli '24.
 
Janis Vizbelis '24 gave Elmira a three-goal cushion by scoring 6:56 into the second stanza. For Vizbelis, it was his third goal of the season and it was assisted by Nicholas Domitrovic '24 and Graham Denomme '23.
 
Lebanon Valley cut into the Elmira lead with just 35 seconds remaining in the second period behind a power-play goal from Alex Borowiec. The goal sent Elmira into the final intermission with a 3-1 advantage.
 
In the third frame, the two sides traded goals midway through the period in a 17-second span. Domitrovic potted the fourth goal of his rookie season at 11:05. Mastrangeli was credited with his second assist of the game, which put Elmira ahead by three goals, 4-1, at that time. However, Tyler Romel brought the Flying Dutchmen back to within one, 4-2, with an even-strength goal at 11:22.
 
This was as close as it would get, as EC limited Lebanon Valley to just four shots on goal during the final 8:38 and killed off a Flying Dutchmen power play en route to a two-goal victory.
 
Offensively, Elmira was led by a trio of two-point scorers. Domitrovic (1g-1a), Dimon (0g-2a) and Mastrangeli (0g-2a) all logged two points apiece. Single-point getters included Reifler (1g-0a), Russo (1g-0a), Vizbelis (1g-0a), Denomme (0g-1a) and Gorman (0g-1a). The tally from Vizbelis went into the books as today's game-winner.
 
Jeffrey Zero '23 made his first collegiate start in net for the Soaring Eagles. The Clifton Township, Pennsylvania, native collected the first win of his EC career by making 18 saves in 60 minutes of action.
 
News and Notes

• Elmira outshot Lebanon Valley, 36-20.
• EC held a decisive 29-11 lead in shots through the first two periods.
• Elmira went 0-for-5 on the power play.
• LVC was 1-for-5 on the power play.
• Elmira has won five straight against Lebanon Valley.
• Zero made his first collegiate start and collected the first win of his career.
• Domitrovic scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season.
• Domitrovic registered his first career assist.
• Russo logged his team-leading eighth point of the year
• Gorman extended his point streak to three games (1g-2a).
• Dimon and Mastrangeli recorded their second multi-point games of the season.

 
Up Next
Elmira's next scheduled contest is set for Friday, March 19, when the Soaring Eagles travel to the Toyota Sportsplex in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to take on Wilkes University. The puck is set to drop at 5:00 p.m.