ELMIRA, N.Y. – The second-ranked Oswego State men’s ice hockey team (12-2-0) out-shot Elmira (5-9-0), 43-23, en route to a 5-2 victory Friday night in Elmira. The Soaring Eagles pulled to within one midway through the second period, but Nick Rivait’s (So., Kingsville, Ontario) first collegiate goal with just over two minutes remaining gave the Lakers momentum heading into the third.
Paul Rodrigues (Sr., Etobicoke, Ontario) lit the lamp at 6:20 in the first period to put Oswego State on the scoreboard. Luke Moodie (Sr., Oakville, Ontario) picked up the assist for the lone marker of the frame.
Moodie netted his team-leading 12th goal of the season early in the second at 1:49 after cleaning a rebound following a Rodrigues shot. Jon Whitelaw (Sr., Huntsville, Ontario) also earned an assist on the play. Elmira answered back after winning the ensuing faceoff, though, as Carter Shinkaruk found the back of the net to make the score 3-1.
With 11 minutes left in the second, Chris Carr (So., Burlington, Ontario) hit David Titanic (Jr., Markham, Ontario) with a pass to push the Laker lead to two goals. However, the Soaring Eagles responded one again 33 seconds later when Tommy Sumi scored following a series of passes from Tyler Campbell and Liam Burtt.
As Elmira started to gain momentum throughout the course of the period, Nick Rivait picked a great time to score his first collegiate goal at the 17:52 mark with Chris Muise (Sr., Oakville, Ontario) being credited with the assist. Oswego State took a 4-2 lead into the locker room.
The Soaring Eagles came out flying in the third period, but Laker goalie Andrew Hare (Sr., Burlington, Ontario) set the tone right away by turning aside four Elmira shots. However, the home team was called for tripping at 3:44 in the third to jump-start Oswego State, as it did not allow a single Soaring Eagle shot for the duration of the game.
Elmira pulled goalie Darren McDonald with one minute remaining, but Whitelaw clinched the victory with an empty-net goal at 19:39. Rodrigues and Moodie earned assists on the play.
In a cleanly played contest, Oswego State was not called for a single penalty compared to four penalties called on Elmira. The Lakers finished the game 0-for-4 with the extra attacker.
Hare stopped 21 of the 23 shots he faced to earn his 10th win of the season, while Darren McDonald finished with 38 saves in the losing effort.
