PINE VALLEY, N.Y. — The Elmira College men’s ice hockey team earned its first-ever United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) win, as the Soaring Eagles came out on top in a high-scoring 7-4 contest against King’s College (Pa.) on Saturday night at the Murray Athletic Center.
Eight different Soaring Eagles logged a point and five finished with multiple points, led by a career-high five points and four goals from Nick Ford ’20. Ford’s four tallies not only doubled his previous single-game best, but the sophomore forward finished just one shy of tying the program’s all-time record, a mark most recently reached 15 years ago in November of 2002 by Jarrett Konkle ’05.
His first linemate, Matthew Cuce ’20, also helped spark the offensive attack with a career-high four assists, three of which led to goals from Ford. Classmates Connor Powell ’20 (2g-1a) and Spencer MacLean ’20 (3a) each contributed a season-best three points, while first-year defender Adam Eby ’21 collected a pair of assists in his collegiate debut.
EC never trailed throughout the entire 60-minute contest, but had to contend with a feisty Monarchs squad early on. The Purple and Gold needed just 1:18 to record their first goal of the night, as Ford tucked the puck inside the right post to beat a sprawling Link Ferch, making his first start in goal for the Monarchs. Less than five minutes later, Powell buried his first of two scores, both of which came on the power play. However, King’s made good on both of its first-period power plays to keep the score even at 2-all at the first intermission.
The Soaring Eagles began to distance themselves from the Monarchs – a first-year program skating in just the second game of their inaugural season – by outscoring King’s 4-1 in the second period. Once again, Ford needed little time to open the scoring in the period, as he deposited his second goal of the game past the Monarchs’ goalie a mere 53 seconds into the frame. He bookended the second period with his hat-trick goal, which came with only 54 seconds remaining on the clock. After several bodies piled up during a lengthy scrum in the crease, the puck squirted out to Ford on the left side of the net and the New Lenox, Illinois, native fired it top shelf to give Elmira a 6-3 advantage. Sandwiched in-between his two second-period goals were a goal from freshman Jamie Dorsey ’21, the first of his career, and a play-power one-timer off the stick of Powell.
Elmira took its largest lead of the contest, 7-3, midway through the final period, as Anthony Parrucci ’20 fed Ford for his fourth and final goal at the 8:57 mark of the third.
Despite a shaky start between the posts, EC goaltender Charl Pretorius ’19 settled in nicely as the game progressed and reached a career milestone of his own in his first start of the 2017-18 campaign. The South African product made 21 saves, 11 of which came in the third period, while playing all 60 minutes to secure his first collegiate victory in front of a crowd of over 1,000 at the MAC.
In Their Own Words…
Head Coach Aaron Saul ’98 shares his thoughts on getting EC’s first UCHC win of the year…
“We needed the points. I think that everyone in the locker room was disappointed last night. As bad as we played last night, we still had a chance to win, which made it hurt a little more. We knew what was on the line tonight. We had to get points in our league and we did that. Overall, I thought we played pretty well.”
Coach Saul talks about Nick Ford’s five-point performance in the victory…
“Nick really rededicated himself in the offseason. He did a great job in the offseason by dropping weight; he lost almost 30 pounds. You can tell because he is a little bit faster and sharper. He had a great night tonight.”
Coach Saul on about the opportunity to get more skaters playing time tonight…
“Those guys that were in tonight were chomping at the bit to get some playing time. They have been great in practice. We had a couple of injuries up front, so it’s nice to get some other guys in the lineup. Early in the year, you want to try and play everybody so they gain more experience as they go along. It was great for Charl Pretorius to get his first win tonight after being in the program for the last three seasons. Last year he played pretty well when Sal Magliocco ’17 got injured, so it’s great to finally see him get his first win.”
Coach Saul talks about how Elmira’s start to its conference slate will affect the team moving forward…
“We have some things to improve on. It is a different feel this year. You can tell in the locker room how hard the guys play for each other. In these four games, we blocked more shots as a team than in any four-game stretch all of last year. There is great team unity and leadership. We need to get better and move forward. These next four games on the road are going to be a good test for us.”
News and Notes
Elmira evened its overall record at 2-2 and its UCHC record at 1-1 with the win over King’s.
EC is 2-1 inside the Murray Athletic Center on the young season.
The Soaring Eagles lead the all-time series against King’s 1-0 after winning their first-ever meeting.
Seven goals, 13 assists and 56 shots are all season highs for the EC offense.
The Purple and Gold also scored a season-high two goals on the power play and have converted with the extra attacker at least once in all four games this season.
Ford notched single-game career highs with four goals and five points.
Ford is the first Soaring Eagle to post five points in a game since Cuce did so on November 27, 2016, in a home victory over Nichols.
Ford is the first EC player to score four goals in a single game since former All-American Kevin Willer ’12 did so in a 6-3 victory over Manhattanville on November 5, 2011.
Following his five-point performance, Ford paces EC with nine points (6g-3a) through the first four games of the season.
Cuce’s four assists and MacLean’s three assists both mark a single-game career highs, respectively.
Cuce is the first EC skater to dish out four assists in a game since January 17, 2009, when both Karl Linden ’11, a former All-American, and Dave McKenna ’09 matched the feat in a 10-1 blowout of Morrisville State.
Rookies Eby (2a) and Dorsey (1g) each logged the first points of their careers, while fellow freshman Justin Robertson ’21 made his collegiate debut.
Pretorius, making his sixth career start, won the first game of his career versus King’s.
Up Next
The Soaring Eagles will continue UCHC play on Friday, November 10, at 7:00 p.m., when the EC men travel to Rochester, New York, to face the Nazareth College Golden Flyers.
