ROCHESTER, N.Y. — For guiding the Elmira College men’s ice hockey team to a birth in the inaugural United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) Tournament Championship, Nick Ford ’20 was tabbed as the league’s Player of the Week and Gennaro Anzevino ’21 earned Goaltender of the Week accolades in the conference’s final weekly awards of the season. In addition to recognition from the UCHC, both Ford and Anzevino were named EC Athletes of the Week.
Ford paced the fifth-seeded Soaring Eagles with eight points on five goals and three assists in the two triumphs. The New Lenox, Illinois, native opened postseason play with three points (1g-2a) in Elmira’s thrilling 4-3 victory over the No. 4 seed Manhattanville College in the UCHC quarterfinals on Wednesday, February 21. The second-year forward followed that outing with one of his best games of the season in the semifinal round against second-seeded Stevenson University. Ford tied a season-high with five points (2g-3a), as he had a hand in all five of the Purple and Gold’s scores in their 5-3 triumph over the Mustangs on Saturday, February 24.
By adding eight points to his season total over the weekend, Ford has 48 points (24g-24a) on the year. He is tied with Brady Fleurent of the University of New England for the Division III lead in that category.
Between the pipes for the Soaring Eagles, freshman Anzevino played like a seasoned vet in EC’s two playoff victories. In the pair of bouts, the 5-foot-9-inch backstop made 74 saves with a .925 save percentage and a 3.00 goals-against average. In the 4-3 quarterfinal win over the Valiants, Anzevino made 31 saves, a game-high 14 of which came in the crucial third period. The product of South Hackensack, New Jersey, then tied a season-high with 43 saves against Stevenson in a complete-game effort. Of his three goals allowed, just one was on even strength.
Anzevino has been fantastic late in the season, as he is unbeaten in his last six starts (5-0-1). His nine wins this season are the most by a Soaring Eagle goaltender since Sal Magliocco ’17 won 11 games as a rookie in 2013-14.
Ford and Anzevino will look to carry their momentum into the UCHC Tournament Championship Game on Saturday, March 3, against No. 10/9 Utica College. The bout, which will be the third between the Soaring Eagles and Pioneers this season, is slated to begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Adirondack Bank Center in Utica, New York.
