PINE VALLEY, N.Y. —Â Elmira College men’s ice hockey ended the regular season on a high note, defeating Manhattanville College by a 5-3 final score at the Murray Athletic Center. With the win, the Soaring Eagles concluded the regular season 7-4-1 (6-3-1 UCHC), while the Valiants dropped to 0-3-0 (0-3-0 UCHC).
Â
Elmira jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind back-to-back goals from Graham Denomme ’23 and Ryan Reifler ’24. Denomme netted an unassisted goal at 2:30, while Reifler buried a shot from the slot at 8:36. Reifler’s goal was assisted by Jared Smith ’24 and Amedeo Mastrangeli ’24.
Â
With the period coming to a close, Manhattanville answered with a goal from Mason Emoff at 15:08. Emoff went top shelf for the goal, which sent the Valiants into the first intermission trailing, 2-1.
Â
Momentum swung in Manhattanville’s favor in a big way to start the second period. Goals from Dylan Pollak and Connor Boyce at 00:21 and 1:42, respectively, gave the Valiants their first lead of the afternoon.
Â
Then, a slew of penalties midway through the second period provided the Soaring Eagles with a chance to turn things in their favor.
Â
On the power play, Elmira’s Jake Russo ’23 tapped in a rebound at 14:21 to tie the game at 3-3. A shot by Janis Vizbelis ’24 from the right dot was saved by Mac Vail, but it bounced high over his head to the left post, where Russo followed it up and punched it in. Mastrangeli was credited with the secondary assist.
Â
Just over one minute later, Reifler tallied his second goal of the game to give EC a lead it never relinquished. A centered pass from Jared Smith ’24 found Daniel Dimon ’24 in the slot. Dimon fired a shot that missed, but Reifler collected the rebound and buried it from the left post for the go-ahead goal. Reifler’s tally sent the Purple and Gold into the final intermission with a 4-3 lead.
Â
Elmira nearly doubled Manhattanville in shots in the third period, and that pressure, along with a solid defensive effort, kept the Valiants scoreless. Additionally, Smith added to his point total by scoring at the 14:02 mark to put the visitors away for good and seal a 5-3 victory.
Â
Ben Fleischman ’21 got the start in net for the Soaring Eagles. He made 31 saves in 60 minutes of action to preserve the win. Of his 31 saves, 15 were recorded in the second period.
Â
News and Notes
- Elmira ends the regular season with a 7-4-1 overall record.
- The Soaring Eagles will enter the UCHC playoffs as the fourth seed.
- Elmira held a 46-34 advantage in shots.
- EC went 1-for-3 on the power play.
- Manhattanville was 0-for-4 on the power play.
- Reifler (2g-1a) and Smith (1g-2a) tied for the team lead in points with three.
- Reifler scored today’s game-winning goal.
- Mastrangeli logged two points on assists.
- Russo scored EC’s lone power-play goal.
- Fleischman picked up his first win of the season.
Up Next
Elmira is back in action this Wednesday, March 31, when the Soaring Eagles host the Cougars of Chatham University in the quarterfinal round of the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) Tournament. A game time has not been announced at this time.
Â
