ROCHESTER, N.Y. — After opening tonight’s game with a goal in the first two minutes of regulation, the Elmira College men’s ice hockey team was unable to generate another goal, as the Soaring Eagles dropped a 5-1 decision on the road to Nazareth College. The win was Nazareth’s first within United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) action and EC’s second setback within league play.
It only took 1:51 for Elmira to score this evening, as second-year forward Spencer MacLean ’21 scored his first goal of the season. MacLean’s game-opening goal was assisted by Anthony Parrucci ’20, his second helper of the season, and rookie Adam Eby ’21, who registered his third assist in EC’s last two games.
The Soaring Eagles had a prime opportunity to expand their lead, as the Golden Flyers were dinged for a boarding penalty at the 4:06 mark of the first period. However, EC came up empty on the power-play chance.
Penalties would however play a role in the first-period scoring, as a handful of EC infractions granted Nazareth four power-play opportunities in the final 10:44, which the Golden Flyers connected on twice. J.R. Wojciechowski scored the first power-play goal at the 9:36 mark, before Ray Falso converted on a 5-on-3 power play with five minutes left in the opening 20 minutes. Brian Miller, Austin Romzek, Oliver Janzen and Falso were credited with assists on the two scores.
Elmira matched Nazareth in shots on goal in the second stanza, 12-12, but the Golden Flyers skated away with the only goal of the period. Miller scored his second of the season with 11 minutes left in the second period on assists from Jenzen and Romzek.
The Purple and Gold held a 10-to-8 advantage in shots on goal in the third period, but Elmira was unable to take advantage of the extra shots, as Nazareth added a pair of insurance goals to seal its 5-1 win. Romzek scored the first goal at the 8:28 mark on assists from Janzen and Romzek, while Janzen concluded a four-point evening with an unassisted empty-net goal with just 28 seconds left on the clock.
Elmira’s starting netminder, Jake Sabourin ’21, finished with 28 saves in 56:48 of action. The Catonsville, Maryland, native logged 11 saves in the first and second periods. Sabourin’s counterpart from Nazareth, Michael Tilford, made 31 stops in a winning effort.
News and Notes
MacLean scored his first goal of the 2017-18 campaign.
Parrucci has three points in EC’s last four games and heads into tomorrow’s contest with a two-game point streak.
Eby has produced three assists in his first two collegiate games with Elmira.
Elmira’s 23 penalty minutes are a season high.
EC’s record dropped to 2-2-0 when scoring first.
Up Next
The Soaring Eagles will look to bounce back from today’s defeat when they travel to face No. 7/11-ranked Utica College in UCHC action tomorrow night. The opening puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.
