PINE VALLEY, N.Y. – The Elmira College Soaring Eagles Men’s Ice Hockey squad picked up arguably its biggest win of the season thus far, downing #15 Skidmore College at the Murray Athletic Center, 4-1. The Soaring Eagles used goals in each of the first two periods, followed by a pair of empty-net scores to close out the contest.
Nicholas Domitrovic ’24 picked up a pair of goals in the win for his fourth and fifth points over the past three games, while Kyle Curtin ’26 made 22 saves in net to improve to 4-1 on the season between the pipes. Larry Niland ’23 goal in the second period would go down as the eventual game-winner, scoring on a rebound from a Kerfalla Toure ’26 shot.
After struggling in the faceoff circle a week ago against SUNY Brockport, the Soaring Eagles were able to hold a 25-23 advantage through two periods.
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 4, Skidmore 1
LOCATION: Pine Valley, New York | Murray Athletic Center
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (6-4-0, 4-1-0 NEHC), Skidmore (8-3-1, 2-2-1 NEHC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Soaring Eagles came out with a pep in its step for what proved to be a high-pace game for both teams on each side of the puck. After a scoreless 16 minutes to begin the contest, Domitrovic was able to put the Purple & Gold on the board at the 16:09 mark after deflecting his shot into the back of the net off of a Bailey Krawczyk ’24 shot. Both Krawczyk & Graham Denomme ’23 would be credited with assists as Denomme won the battle against the boards prior to the shot. Denomme would have a successful day on the ice, posting five quality shots with a plus-minus of +2.
In the second, the game would once again remain quiet until EC scored quite similarly to its first conversion in the 16th minute of play. At the 15:07 mark, Toure would take a shot at the net before Niland cleaned up the original save from Thoroughbred goalkeeper Blaine Moore to put the Soaring Eagles ahead 2-0. Through two periods of play, Curtin would record 14 saves in net.
In the third, Skidmore would answer at the 1:30 mark to slash the Elmira advantage in half as Connor Wood scored an even strength goal on assists from Everrett Wardle and Danny Magnuson. As the teams battled back and forth and Skidmore began to control the faceoff battle, the Elmira defense was able to hold strong and limit the Thoroughbred attack despite having a powerplay opportunity. With Skidmore forced to pull Moore from net, Domitrovic would break loose to seal the deal with a goal assisted by Denomme at the 18:44 mark before Brendan Schultz ’24 retrieved the puck in the neutral zone off a Skidmore turnover with just four seconds remaining to score EC’s fourth goal of the contest, his second of the season.
In all, Elmira led the shots battle 40-23 while taking just two penalties in the contest compared to three for Skidmore.
UP NEXT:
The Purple & Gold return to the ice tomorrow against Castleton which marks EC’s annual Teddy Bear Toss game. Puck drop is set for 4:00 PM inside the Murray Athletic Center and those who bring a stuffed animal to the game will receive free admission.
