By: JERRY REILLY, Sports Information Director
BOXSCORE
FREDONIA, N.Y. -- Elmira scored twice on special teams and held off Fredonia State, 2-1, Tuesday at the Steele Hall Ice Arena.
Brendan Sanders had a short-handed goal while Kevin Willer scored on a power play as the No. 11 ranked Soaring Eagles improved to 9-5-1.
Mike Monfredo had the Fredonia State goal. It came at 15:40 of the third period and set up a nail-biting finish.
The Blue Devils pulled their goaltender for the final 90 seconds and earned a 6-on-3 skating advantage when Elmira was called for having too many men on the ice with 6.7 seconds left.
Elmira won the ensuing faceoff and froze the puck behind their net.
The loss dropped the Blue Devils to 6-5-3 while the Soaring Eagles improved to 8-0 when leading after two periods.
Elmira sophomore goaltender Matt Milne made 25 saves in only his second game of the season. Among them were key stops during a Fredonia State power play midway through the second period.
Milne robbed Fredonia State's
Mike Muhs with a glove save, then blocked a one-timer by
Brian Doust. The Blue Devils started the power play by hitting the post.
The teams played nearly non-stop until 15:40 of the first period, when Fredonia State's
Mat Hehr was penalized for tripping. The Blue Devils were in the process of killing that penalty when Muhs was called for holding at 16:52. That gave Elmira a 5-on-3 advantage for the next 48 seconds.
Bradley Nunn made the first big play of the sequence when he blocked a hard, low slapshot. Goaltender
Mark Friesen followed with a pad save and then blocked another shot off his chest before covering the puck (he finished with 19 saves). In the end, the Blue Devils killed off both penalties – their 26th and 27th consecutive kills dating back to the Nov. 18 game vs. Oswego.
Elmira's Regan MacLean was called for elbowing with 29.7 seconds left in the period. Muhs missed the open left corner during the early portion of the power play before the first intermission.
Elmira killed off the rest of the penalty at the start of the second period, then saw its third straight power-play chance go awry after Fredonia State's
Brett Mueller left for interference. It upped Fredonia State's streak of successful kills to 28 straight.
Shortly after the kill, the Soaring Eagles took advantage of a turnover deep in the Fredonia defensive end. Sanders stole the puck, skated hard at the net, drew Friesen off his line, and flicked the puck into the open side at 14:42 for a 1-0 Elmira lead. It was his sixth goal of the season.
Fredonia State's success at killing penalties came to an end at the start of the third period. Doust and
Ryan Edens took penalties on the same play -- Doust for cross-checking and Edens for boarding -- 43 seconds into the period. Willer converted the 5-on-3 opportunity with his 10th goal of the season, his sixth on a power-play.
Monfredo broke through for the Blue Devils at the 15:40 mark when he scored on a rebound of a shot by
John O'Connor.
Declan Gunovski earned an assist when he kept the puck in the offensive zone and found O'Connor near the left circle. It was Monfredo's second goal of the season.
The Blue Devils pressed the action but were unable to net the equalizer. They are back at home 7 p.m. Friday vs. Neumann.
