ELMIRA, N.Y. — After a pair of rebuilding seasons, the Elmira College men’s ice hockey team returned to prominence with an impressive 2017-18 campaign, during which the Soaring Eagles finished 15-10-3 overall and 8-5-3 in the newly-formed United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC).
The 15-win season marks the team’s best since it won 16 contests en route to the 2013-14 ECAC West Championship but represents just one of a multitude of accomplishments the Soaring Eagles achieved this winter. For the first time since winning that conference title four years ago, the Purple and Gold punched their ticket to the tournament championship by posting back-to-back upsets on the road in the quarterfinals and semifinals as the No. 5 seed.
Against nationally-ranked foes, Elmira went 5-3-0, which included a regular-season sweep of longtime conference rival Utica by identical 5-1 scores. In the season opener at the Murray Athletic Center against No. 10/9 Hobart, the Soaring Eagles shocked the Statesmen with a 3-2 overtime victory, a fitting preface for EC’s resurgent season.
The narrow triumph over the visiting Statesmen on October 27 was fueled by a two-goal performance from second-year forward Matthew Cuce ’20, one-third of Elmira’s top forward line. He netted the game-winner 2:52 into the extra period by redirecting a hard slap shot from the left point just inside the near post past the Hobart netminder. While Cuce and linemates Nick Ford ’20 and Connor Powell ’20 combined for five of EC’s eight points, notable performances came from several newcomers, too, one being first-year goalie Jake Sabourin ’21. Due to the graduation of Sal Magliocco ’17, many questions remained regarding the void in the crease. Alas, Sabourin turned aside 42 shots in his collegiate debut against a perennial powerhouse and a 2017-18 NCAA Tournament qualifier.
The following night, Elmira trekked to Oswego, New York, for a non-league meeting with the formidable Lakers of Oswego State, who were ranked seventh in both national polls. Despite an early 2-0 lead in the opening period, the Soaring Eagles surrendered four unanswered goals across the final 45 minutes of play in a 4-2 setback. It was the first of two consecutive losses for EC, which was also beaten in the UCHC opener on November 3 against Manhattanville, 5-3.
The roller-coaster first half continued with a season-high seven goals in a 7-4 UCHC victory over King’s (Pa.) at the MAC. Ford broke out against the Monarchs with a career-high four goals and a season-high-tying five points, one of 14 multi-point efforts by the sophomore standout. A week later, he was one of five Soaring Eagles to score a goal in a one-sided upset of the Utica Pioneers inside the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. On the other end of the ice, Gennaro Anzevino ’21 cemented himself as the second half of a two-headed attack between the pipes. Like his classmate, Sabourin, Anzevino won his debut by limiting the eventual UCHC champs to a single goal with 40 saves.
Elmira, which headed into the New Year with a 3-4-1 conference record, only secured one more UCHC victory during the 2017 portion of the schedule. That was a 5-2 win over Chatham on December 1 that fell in the middle of a five-game homestand to close the calendar year. The homestand, however, did feature a thrilling 3-2 comeback over No. 4/4 SUNY Geneseo and a 5-2 non-conference defeat of Bryn Athyn. Although the Knights rolled into the MAC with a 7-1-0 record at the time and jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second period, Mitch Atkins ’19 and Ford leveled the score at 2-all with late goals in the second and third periods, respectively. The winning tally found the back of the net with just one second remaining in regulation on a deflection on the doorstep of the net by Spencer MacLean ’20.
The second half of the season began with a split in both the Boston Landing Collegiate Invitational and a home-and-home series with No. 15/15 Buffalo State. At the Warrior Ice Arena, the new practice facility of the NHL’s Boston Bruins, Elmira logged a 3-1 win over Connecticut College but was unable to climb out of a four-goal hole in a 4-3 loss to Nichols College in the title game.
The following weekend saw the Bengals shutout the Soaring Eagles on their home ice in Buffalo, New York, but EC responded by edging another ranked opponent in a close matchup. Powell netted consecutive goals that gave the Purple and Gold a 2-1 lead early in the third period, but it was MacLean who once again played the hero. At the 12:31 mark in the stanza, the 6-foot-5-inch forward from Kleinburg, Ontario, was positioned perfectly in the right faceoff circle to collect a rebound and fire the puck into a wide-open cage for a 3-2 triumph.
The win over Buffalo State was the first of a season-best eight-game unbeaten streak that ranged from January 13 through February 16. The only blemishes during that span were a pair of draws against UCHC opponents Manhattanville and Stevenson. That stretch was a crucial one, as the subpar start to the conference slate had Elmira essentially playing with its playoff hopes on the line each night. Early-season losses against the likes of Nazareth on November 10 and Neumann on November 18 were avenged when the two sides met inside the Murray Athletic Center. On January 27, Elmira completed the series sweep of nationally-ranked Utica on home ice, thanks in part to a four-point performance from Ford and 36 saves from Sabourin. A season-ending loss to Lebanon Valley proved to be nonconsequential, as a 5-1 win over Chatham the night prior was enough to lock up the fifth seed for the UCHC Tournament.
With a ticket to the postseason punched, the Soaring Eagles were forced to hit the road against a pair of teams that they did not defeat in the regular season. The Valiants of Manhattanville won the regular-season series with a 5-3 victory and a 4-4 draw against EC, while the Purple and Gold skated to a pair of 2-2 ties against Stevenson. However, the resilient Elmira men traveled to the Playland Ice Casino, and Chris Moses ’19 tallied the game-winner midway through the third period in a 4-3 victory over Manhattanville in the opening round. Three days later, Ford earned a point on all five Elmira goals, as the Soaring Eagles rallied to knock off the Mustangs at the Reisterstown Sportsplex by a 5-3 final score.
The third time squaring off against the nationally-ranked Pioneers was not the charm the Soaring Eagles needed, however, as the Pioneers scored five power-play goals in a penalty-laden affair and hoisted the inaugural UCHC Championship following an 8-3 victory.
Powered by arguably one of the best lines in the county, Elmira’s offense finished third in the UCHC by scoring an average of 3.36 goals per game, up from 3.04 the year prior. As a trio, Cuce, Ford, and Powell combined to score 58.5 percent (55 of 94) of the team’s goals, accounted for just over half of EC’s point production and all three registered at least one point in 19 of 28 games played this season. In the competitive UCHC, Ford, Powell, and Cuce were ranked first, second and tied for fourth place, respectively, in points. For the first time in over two decades, multiple Soaring Eagles finished with 40-plus points in a season, and, with 50 points, Ford became the first Elmira skater since Dave Evans ’97 in 1996-97 to reach the half-century mark.
A sophomore from New Lenox, Illinois, Ford headlined the Elmira offense with an astonishing 2017-18 campaign. After a respectable freshman year in which he amassed 20 points (10g-10a), he evolved into one of the best forwards in all of Division III in his second season. He logged at least one point in 23 of EC’s 28 games, had multiple points on 14 occasions and posted career-highs with five points in aforementioned wins over King’s and Stevenson. Ford ranked second nationally and first in the UCHC in points (50), points per game (1.79), goals (25) and goals per game (0.89). With such a sparkling résumé, the 6-foot-1-inch forward was elected an All-UCHC First Teamer, a CCM/American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) All-America Second Teamer, an All-USCHO Third Team honoree and the 2017-18 Elmira College Male Athlete of the Year.
Powell, the center on EC’s top line, trailed only his classmate on the UCHC leaderboards with 44 points, while tying for second in the league in assists (28) and third in goals (16) – all of which are career highs. The Merrimack, New Hampshire, native, also led the circuit with four game-winning goals, including the winner in a 3-2 nail-biter with Nazareth at the MAC on January 26. His 15 multi-point outings were highlighted by a two-goal game in the 3-2 victory over No. 15/15 Buffalo State and a two-goal, one-assist effort in the 4-3 UCHC quarterfinal upset over Manhattanville. Powell leads Elmira skaters with 71 career points heading into his junior campaign, making both him and Ford likely candidates to break into the 100-point club in 2018-19.
A 2016-17 ECAC West All-Rookie Team and 2017-18 All-UCHC Second Team selection, Cuce is the final piece of Elmira’s high-scoring trifecta. The 5-foot-9-inch sophomore recorded career-highs across the board with 14 goals and 25 assists for 39 points. He ranked among the UCHC’s top-five in points, goals, assists, and game-winners (3), after collecting points in 21 contests this season. His year began on a high note in the season-opening thriller against the nationally-ranked Statesmen, as he netted EC’s second and third goals in the 3-2 upset. He secured his first career hat trick with a season-high three goals on the road against King’s during a season-long eight-game point streak, before dishing out a combined five assists in the first two rounds of the conference tournament.
Elmira’s offense also received consistent contributions from the second line. MacLean (11g-8a) and Anthony Parrucci ’20 (7g-11a) were two of the seven Soaring Eagles to post double-digit seasons with 19 and 17 points, respectively. A fearsome, hard-hitting duo on the ice, they saved their best work for conference play with 14 points apiece against UCHC foes. The spotlight didn’t faze MacLean, either, as he potted all three of his game-winning goals against ranked opponents, while his tying goal in a 2-2 draw with Stevenson late in the regular season secured an important point in the UCHC standings.
Juniors Mitch Atkins ’19 and Chris Moses ’19 skated vital minutes and provided much-needed leadership on a team that lacked seniors in 2017-18. Atkins, who graduated a year early, opened a season-long five-game point streak midway through the year with a goal in the 3-2 triumph over No. 4/4 SUNY Geneseo. Moses’ five tallies were sixth on the team, and four of them came in important matchups in the second half. Elmira went 5-1 in games where Moses picked up a point, including the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the UCHC Tournament.
Brent Lafayette ’19, one of three assistant captains alongside Parrucci and Moses, along with Patrick Schmelzinger ’20, a short-statured yet gritty forward, appeared in 26 and 24 games, respectively, and both picked up four points. Several underclassmen forwards will be battling for expanded roles when they hit the ice again next winter, including freshmen like Anthony Mangano ’21, Aleksi Ojala ’21 and Joe Smith ’21.
With its entire crop of blueliners scheduled to return in 2018-19, the Soaring Eagles will have a mixed group of young guns and seasoned veterans to protect the defensive zone. Team captain Blake O’Neill ’19 is the elder statesman of the bunch and will be heading into his senior campaign after racking up 12 points (4g-8a) in 28 games as a junior. He did a tremendous job of tutoring his linemate, freshman Ryan Blais ’21. Blais, a superb two-way defender, finished third in the UCHC in defenseman scoring with 22 points (2g-20a), making the Woonsocket, Rhode Island, native the program’s highest-scoring blueliner since former All-American Karl Linden ’11 produced 29 points in 2008-09. As a result, the league credited Blais with a spot on the All-Rookie Team.
In addition to O’Neill and Blais, sophomore Harry Kramer ’20 was the only other defender to appear in all 28 games this season. In his second year, the former ECAC West All-Rookie Team honoree accumulated nine points (2g-7a), with goals coming against conference foes King’s and Neumann in the second half of the UCHC schedule.
Classmates Spencer Carter ’20 and Calvin Hughson ’20, as well as freshman Adam Eby ’21, each logged 20-or-more games under their belts. Carter affectionately earned the nickname “Teddy Bear,” after netting his first career goal in EC’s first-ever Teddy Bear Toss game. When he lit the lamp in the first period against Lebanon Valley on December 2, nearly 400 stuffed toys flooded the ice. The following week, the Soaring Eagles brought the bears downtown to the Catholic Charities of Chemung & Schuyler Counties, who distributed them to children in need during the holiday season.
The Soaring Eagles entered the year with a major hole to fill in goal but will head into next season with significant depth in the crease thanks to standout freshmen seasons from Anzevino and Sabourin. Of the pair, Anzevino finished his debut campaign as the team’s leader in minutes played (966:16), saves (453), goals-against average (2.79) and wins (9). The product of South Hackensack, New Jersey, strung together a six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) from January 20 to February 24, a run in the second-half of the conference slate that helped propel the Purple and Gold into the UCHC Tournament and through to the title game. In the semis, he tied a season-high with 43 saves against Stevenson, one of three starts in which he turned aside 40-or-more shots.
At 6-foot-4-inches, Sabourin brought a different skill set to the cage but was equally as impressive in his first season with the Soaring Eagles. The Cantonsville, Maryland, native was 5-5-1 with a 3.00 goals-against average, and 323 saves in 660:57 minutes on the ice. After making a season-high 42 saves in his first start against Hobart in the opening contest, he went on to record victories over nationally-ranked opponents Buffalo State and Utica in January.
One of only five rising seniors, Charl Pretorius ’19 has shown on multiple occasions that he can step up when called upon. The pride of Pretoria, South Africa, earned his first career win this season with a 21-save performance in a 7-4 triumph over King’s on November 4. At the conclusion of EC’s season, Pretorius returned home and suited up for South Africa in the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Division III World Championships, where he was elected the tournament’s top goaltender.
Underestimated in 2017-18, no one will overlook the Soaring Eagles next season with a roster that returns all but one player, an offense powered by the highest-scoring line in the conference and an up-and-coming defensive unit. Elmira took the first step by nearly doubling its win total and returning the conference tournament, and EC faithful will look to see if the team can ascend the rankings in the years to come.
