OSWEGO, NY – The Elmira College Men's Ice Hockey team dropped its road-opener on Saturday evening to the No. 13 ranked Lakers from Oswego State, 5-2. After falling behind 4-0 through the first period and a half, the deficit was too much to overcome as the Lakers rallied for its first ranked win of the season in two attempts.

For the Soaring Eagles, it was Janis Vizbelis '24 who scored his second goal of the season, while Graham Denomme '23 notched the first of the year

JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 2, No. 13 Oswego State 5
LOCATION: Oswego, NY | Deborah F. Stanley Arena
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (1-1-0, 0-0-0 NEHC), Oswego State (1-1-0, 0-0-0 SUNYAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:
After a scoreless 9:30 to begin play, the Lakers broke the scoreboard after Shane Bull scored on assists from Connor Sleeth and Matt McQuade. Just under three minutes later, it was Sleeth who would answer the call with a goal of his own, as McQuade picked up his second assist on the tally with the home team leading 2-0 heading into the break. 

In the second, the Lakers would double its lead after scoring a pair of goals off the stick of Daniel Colabufo and Tommy Cahlill at the 0:20 and 10:17 marks, respectively. Elmira would score its first goal of the contest at the 15:04 mark early on into a power-play opportunity as Vizbelis scored his second of the season on assists from Daniel Dimon '24 and Bailey Krawczyk '24. 

Trailing 4-1 headed into the third, Elmira would surrender its fifth goal of the night as Colabufo notched his second of the evening at the 3:40 mark. Denomme would then score his first goal of the campaign, assisted by Bailey Krawczyk '24 and Amedeo Mastrangeli '24. 

The Lakers would hold a 34-16 advantage in shots on net, while Jeffrey Zero '23 finished the night with 29 saves. Elmira, who was 2-for-5 on the power-play committed five penalties compared to six for the Lakers for a game total of 11, equivalent from the night prior against Nazareth.

UP NEXT:
Elmira returns to the ice next Friday, November 4, as they play host to the University of Southern Maine and begin NEHC Conference play at the Murray Athletic Center. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM.