SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Elmira College men’s ice hockey team fell in the Semifinal Round of the New England Hockey Conference tournament on Friday evening to the Thoroughbreds of Skidmore College, 4-1. For the evening, Jared Smith ’24 would score the lone Soaring Eagle goal, via the power-play in the second period on assists from Chance Gorman ’24 and Ryan Reifler ’24. Between the pipes, Kyle Curtin ’26 would make 31 saves, allowing three goals.
With the loss, the Soaring Eagles will await the results of the NCAA Division III Selection Show, which will be held on Monday, March 4, 2024 at 10:00 AM ET, and ultimately determine their future fate.
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: No. 8 Elmira 1, No. 12 Skidmore 4
LOCATION: Saratoga Springs, New York | Saratoga City Rink
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (19-7-1, 11-6-1 NEHC), Skidmore (19-6-2, 12-5-1 NEHC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The puck would spend a good amount of time inside the neutral zone to begin the contest, as there were zero recorded shots on goal during the first 3:48 until Soaring Eagle netminder Kyle Curtin ’26 recorded his first save of the evening.
- Over the course of the next few minutes, Skidmore would continue to receive opportunities, as Curtin would make nine saves in a three minute period of time.
- At the 7:49 mark in the first period, the Thoroughbreds would earn a power-play opportunity after Birch Gorman ’27 was sent on a tripping call. As the power-play wound to a close, Cole Tucker ’25 would be sent to the penalty box on a interference call, earning a 5-on-3 opportunity for the next eight seconds. Eventually, the Thoroughbreds would break through, as Kaeden Patrick found the back of the net on Skidmore’s 13th shot with 9:30 remaining in the opening period to take a 1-0 lead.
- The Soaring Eagles would receive its first advantage of the contest with 6:37 remaining in the opening period after Will Dow-Kenny was sent to the penalty box on a holding call. During the power-play, the puck would spend the majority of the time in Elmira’s offensive zone, but five separate shots would come up empty before Skidmore returned to full strength.
- As the period wound to a close, the Thoroughbreds would find the back of the net with 32 seconds remaining as Jaden York fired a shot past Curtin, giving Skidmore a 2-0 lead at the end of the opening period while leading the shots on goal battle 16-5.
- Just over three minutes into the second period, the Thoroughbreds would be sent into its second penalty-kill of the evening, as Dow-Kenny was sent to the box on high-sticking, followed by a bench minor which gave Elmira a 5-on-3 opportunity for the next two minutes of play.
- After a handful of opportunities on the net came up empty-handed, the advantage would come to an end for the Soaring Eagles as Tate Brandon made six saves during the duration of Skidmore’s penalty-kill.
- Approaching the midway point of the second period, the Soaring Eagles would earn another power-play opportunity as Jacob Franczak was sent off following a high-sticking call. Elmira would make the most of its opportunity, as Smith found the back of the net on assists from Gorman and Reifler to pull Elmira within one with 10:17 remaining in the second.
- It wouldn’t take long for the Thoroughbreds to answer back, as Zach Frisk scored past Curtin with 6:01 remaining in the period, on assists from Danny Magnusen and Ethan Heidepriem, as Skidmore was able to retake its lead of two.
- The Purple & Gold would force Skidmore into another penalty-kill with just over three minutes remaining following a tripping call, but would surrender just under half of its advantage opportunity as Nicholas Domitrovic ’24 was sent off on a roughing call. Following an unsuccessful even strength opportunity, the Soaring Eagles would head to its own man-down situation, where they would successfully kill off the penalty to end the second period.
- Through two periods, Curtin would increase his save total to 22, while Elmira slightly led the faceoff battle 24-23.
- The third period would see the Soaring Eagles sent to the box on three separate occasions in the first 8:44, as Shane Haviland ’24 and Tyler Schwindt ’26 were each sent off on tripping calls, with C. Gorman being sent off on a holding penalty. The Soaring Eagles would fend off each of the three penalties.
- The period would go quiet on both sides for the majority of the frame, until the Soaring Eagle were forced to pull Curtin with just over two minutes remaining. From there, Jaden York would score the empty-netter for the Thoroughbreds, which ultimately put the game away and sent Skidmore away with a 4-1 victory.
UP NEXT:
Selections for the 2024 NCAA Division III Men’s Ice Hockey Championship will be announced at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time, Monday, March 4, 2024, via web stream on ncaa.com. The Soaring Eagles will await the results to determine its future fate.
