ELMIRA, N.Y. – Michael Richard accomplished the hat trick, scoring three goals while handing out two assists to lead host Elmira College to an 8-2 victory over Lebanon Valley in ECAC West ice hockey action Saturday evening.
Richard scored three of the Soaring Eagles first five goals as Elmira (6-7-1, 3-4 ECAC West) closed the game on a 5-0 run over the final 35:45.
Rusty Masters added two goals and three assists for Elmira while Dave McKenna notched two goals and one assist for the home team.
Senior Jeff Smith had one goal and one assist to lead Lebanon Valley (0-13, 0-8 ECAC West), which remained winless on the season.
Richard scored twice in the opening period as the Eagles built a 3-0 first-intermission lead. The Dutchmen then scored twice over a 23-second span early in the second stanza to cut the gap to one. Senior Alex Beatrice scored short-handed 1:39 into the period before Smith followed up with an unassisted goal. But Masters answered with a power-play goal for Elmira just over two minutes later, and Richard scored with 2:28 left in the period to give his team a 5-2 lead after 40 minutes of play.
The third period belonged to the Eagles, who out-shot the Dutchmen 19-1 in the stanza. McKenna scored twice over the opening eight minutes before Masters scored late to set the final score.
Sophomore goalie Kelly Curl made 36 saves in goal for the Dutchmen while Casey Tuttle stopped 10 shots for Elmira.
Lebanon Valley returns to action on Tuesday, when it hosts SUNY Geneseo at 7 p.m.
Lebanon Valley 0 2 0 - 2
Elmira 3 2 3 - 8
FIRST PERIOD
E – Michael Richard (Rusty Masters, Nicolas Dumoulin), 9:12
E – Russell Smith (Dave McKenna, Stefan Schoen), 17:36
E – Michael Richard (Rusty Masters, Andrew Bedford), ppg, 19:30
SECOND PERIOD
LV – Alex Beatrice (Jeff Smith), shg, 1:39
LV – Jeff Smith (unassisted), 2:02
E – Rusty Masters (Nicolas Dumoulin, Michael Richard), ppg, 4:15
E – Michael Richard (Rusty Masters, Justin Joy), 17:32
THIRD PERIOD
E – Dave McKenna (Stefan Schoen), 3:50
E – Dave McKenna (Rick Lynch, Greg Moore), ppg, 8:01
E – Rusty Masters (Albert Mitchell, Michael Richard), ppg, 12:11
Shots: Lebanon Valley 12. Elmira 44.
Saves: Lebanon Valley (Kelly Curl) 36. Elmira (Casey Tuttle) 10.
Penalties: Lebanon Valley 15 for 49. Elmira 14 for 36.
Power Plays: Lebanon Valley 0 for 11. Elmira 4 for 13.
Team Records: Lebanon Valley 0-13, 0-8 ECAC West. Elmira 6-7-1, 2-4 ECAC West.
[Photo - Senior Jeff Smith, who had one goal and one assist in Lebanon Valley 8-2 loss to Elmira on Saturday]
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