PINE VALLEY, N.Y. – A power-play tally from Nicholas Domitrovic '24 proved to be the eventual game-winning goal for the No. 10 Elmira College Men's Ice Hockey program as the Soaring Eagles defeated sixth-ranked Babson College, 5-3, on Saturday at the Murray Athletic Center. The win is also the third straight for the Purple & Gold in New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) action.
 
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: No. 10 Elmira 5, No. 6 Babson 3
LOCATION: Pine Valley, New York | Murray Athletic Center
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (12-3-1, 6-2-1 NEHC), Babson (8-2-2, 4-2-2 NEHC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Elmira and Babson skated to a scoreless draw through the opening 20 minutes of action as the Soaring Eagles would take a 13-7 advantage in shots into the locker room. Despite not being able to score with a man-advantage in the first period, Bailey Krawczyk '24 got Elmira onto the scoreboard with a short-handed goal just 1:05 into the second period.

Working with momentum, Chance Gorman '24 found the back of the net for the Soaring Eagles as he doubled the advantage to 2-0 at the 4:39 mark. Gorman's tally would be assisted by Ryan Reifler '24 and Jake Russo '23. The lead stretched to 3-0 later in the period as Nick Grinvalds would light the lamp at the 9:44 mark off assists from Reifler and Gorman.

The Beavers found their way onto the scoreboard at the 12:16 mark of the second period to trim the deficit to 3-1. Chris Rooney would sneak a puck past Elmira netminder Chris Janzen '21 off assists from Ryan Black and John Corrigan.

Elmira opened the third period with a power-play that carried over and would regain a three-goal advantage just 50 seconds into play as Domitrovic scored to make it 4-1 in favor of the Purple & Gold. Domitrovic later provided a spark for the Soaring Eagles with an unassisted goal at the 16:06 mark to give Elmira a 5-2 advantage.

Ryan Black closed the scoring on the night for the Beavers with a goal at the 18:21 mark that trimmed the deficit to 5-3 off assists from Rooney and Corrigan. Babson skated the final 1:30 with an extra skater after pulling the goalkeeper but would be unable to close the gap before the final buzzer sounded.

Janzen improved to 6-3-1 on the season for Elmira after recording 27 saves between the pipes. Elmira held a 33-30 advantage in shots, while eight different players registered at least one point for the Soaring Eagles. Reifler notched a pair of assists in the contest, while Krawczyk and Gorman each finished with a goal and an assist.

UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles return to the ice for a pair of NEHC matchups next weekend against nationally-ranked Hobart College. Elmira and Hobart will face each other on Friday, January 21, from First Arena in Elmira at 7:00 p.m. before traveling to Geneva on Saturday afternoon.