ELMIRA, NY – The Elmira College Soaring Eagles Men’s Ice Hockey team defeated the visiting Huskies from the University of Southern Maine on Friday evening, 5-1, to open New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) play. After Kerfalla Toure ’26 got the scoring started midway through the period, the Soaring Eagles wouldn’t look back as it skated to success in its conference-opener.
Freshman Kyle Curtin ’26 got the start in net for Elmira, making 31 saves on the evening in his Soaring Eagle debut.
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: No. 11 Elmira 5, Southern Maine 1
LOCATION: Elmira, NY | Murray Athletic Center
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (2-1-0, 1-0-0 NEHC), Southern Maine (0-2-0, 0-1-0 NEHC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The game played scoreless through the first 14 minutes of play as the Soaring Eagle freshman Curtin was faced by a high-tempo offensive attack from the Huskies where he made eight saves in the early-going. After Graham Denomme ’23 was sent to the penalty box for a boarding call, the Soaring Eagles would hold strong on the defensive end and increase its penalty kill percentage to .888%.
Fresh out of the penalty, it would be Toure, who in just his first game and third shift of the season would score to put Elmira ahead on assists from Larry Niland ’23 and Nathan Young ’25. For Niland and Young, it was their first points registered on the season. In the first, Southern Maine led the shot battle 11-9, along with the faceoff battle (11-5).
In the second, the first 14 minutes of the period was quiet for both teams from an offensive standpoint until Janis Vizbelis ’24 scored his third goal of the season in as many games after USM’s Christopher Morrison was sent to the box on a hooking call. Just 20 seconds into the advantage, Vizbelis was able to net one past Huskie goaltender Mason Palmer on assists from Amedeo Mastrangeli ’24 and Elmira native Bailey Krawczyk ’24.
Despite trailing in the shot battle through one period, Elmira was able to outshoot the Huskies 18-6 in the second to take a 27-17 advantage in shots for the contest.
Just 24 seconds into the third, Young would add to his season debut with an unassisted goal to go along with his previous assist which extended the EC lead to 3-0. Five minutes later, it was Chance Gorman ’24 who scored after connecting with the crossbar to put EC ahead 4-0 on Denomme’s second assist of the contest.
After Curtis Judd netted one past Curtin with under five minutes remaining to trim the EC lead to 4-1, it was Utica transfer Brendan Schultz ’24 who scored the first of his time in the Purple & Gold on an assist from Gorman at the 17:32 mark to increase the Elmira lead back to four.
The game would conclude with Elmira skating to a 5-1 victory as Curtin would finish the game with 31 saves in net.
UP NEXT:
Elmira returns to the ice tomorrow afternoon as its faced with another USCHO-Ranked opponent when they welcome the No. 7 Beavers from Babson College. Puck drop inside the Murray Athletic Center is set for 4:00 PM.
