The first part of the ECAC West league play finished up this past Friday, and Elmira has taken firm control at the top of the standings. The Soaring Eagles withstood a comeback by Neumann to beat the Knights, 3-2, in overtime to post a perfect 5-0 record. They are now six points clear of the next closest teams in the standings.
Elmira’s John Clewlow tallied the game-winner 4:20 into the extra stanza to complete the road victory.
“Elmira had the momentum once we got to overtime,” said Neumann coach Dominick Dawes. “We got caught on a couple of long shifts. I called a timeout to settle us down. We had a ‘D’ who got caught pinching, and that was the end of it.”
In the other league game, Manhattanville continued its climb into the league hunt with a convincing 6-3 victory over visiting Utica. The Valiants scored two quick goals in the opening nine minutes of the first period, and then built a 5-1 lead by early in the third.
Marcus Van Slydow scored a pair of goals, the first multi-goal game of the senior’s collegiate career. Scott Hudson chipped in a short-handed goal and two assists for Manhattanville.
“Marcus is one of our more skilled defensemen,” said Manhattanville coach Eric Lang. “We had some good traffic in front of the net, and he hit it from the point.”
Saturday, three ECAC West teams hosted SUNYAC foes.
Elmira took out Fredonia 4-1, with all of the goals being scored in the second period. Brock Sawyer tallied the first and last goal of the period, the final one a short-hander, to bookmark Elmira’s lead.
Emotions boiled over during the final minute of the game, as a pair of game misconducts and a pair of game disqualifications were handed out, along with a slew of other minor and major penalties.
Hobart built a 3-0 lead on Geneseo midway through the second period, and then had to hold on as the Knights climbed back into the game. The Statesmen won, 4-2, as Marty Ausserhofer made 21 saves in net.
Utica played a very tight game against Buffalo State. As the third period began, the game was tied 3-3 and the Pioneers were killing off a five-minute major to Tim Coffman. Then the Utica offense kicked into high gear. and six different Pioneers ripped off goals to win the game convincingly. 9-3.
Jon Gaffney was the only multi-goal scorer for Utica in the game.
