Box Score PINE VALLEY, N.Y. – The #15/14 Manhattanville men's hockey team took only 12 shots but did so with frightening efficiency, as five of them found the back of the net in the team's 5-2 victory over Elmira in an ECAC West Conference matchup on Friday night at the Murray Athletic Center.
 
Senior assistant captain Scott Hudson (St. Albert, Alta./Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL)) had a pair of goals to lead the Manhattanville offense, while junior linemate Luc Van Natter (Fort Erie, Ont./Aurora Tigers (OPJHL)) led all players with three points on a goal and two assists. Senior Brendan Turner (Tisdale, Sask./Lloydminster Bobcats (AJHL)) and junior Adam Young (Edmonton, Alta./Grande Prairie Storm (AJHL)) also scored for the Valiants in the win.
 
The Valiants picked up the victory despite being outshot by a decisive 32-12 margin, and yet made the most of their opportunities against Elmira keeper Ryan deMelo, who made only seven saves. Conversely, sophomore Brian Fleming (Saint John, N.B./Northern Cyclones (AJHL)) had another solid outing, turning aside 30 of 32 shots to earn the win.
 
Manhattanville did not come out of the gates with a lot of shot attempts, but that did not matter as the visitors scored on their first two shots on goal to open up a 2-0 lead 11 minutes into the contest.
 
The first goal came as a result of an Elmira miscue in the defensive zone less than two minutes in, as Van Natter corralled a giveaway at the offensive blue line and fed Hudson in the slot for a put away, the senior's fourth goal of the year. Then the Valiants caught some luck at the 11-minute mark to double its lead, as a dump into the offensive zone took a strange bounce and came right to Van Natter in the slot, where he beat deMelo over the shoulder to double the lead.
 
But Elmira started to take control offensively after Van Natter's tally, and got one back with 4:45 remaining, as Greg Whittle picked up a pass in the slot and beat Fleming for the goal.
 
For the frame, Elmira posted a 13-3 edge in shots, but the Valiants still went into the intermission with the one-goal lead.
 
The second period was a back-and-forth frame, with both teams having great opportunities only to be stymied by the netminders. Yet despite outshot 11-4, Manhattanville pulled off some late-period magic to increase its lead.
 
With the seconds ticking down, Young found the puck off a scramble in front of the Soaring Eagle net and punched it past deMelo with no time left on the clock. And while not quite as dramatic as the game-tying goal of Lem Randall '10 with one second left in the 2010 ECAC West Championship game, Young's second of the year still gave the visitors a two-goal cushion headed into the third.
 
In the third frame, Elmira kept coming at the Valiant net looking to cut into the lead, but instead it was Manhattanville to score first and increase its advantage. With 7:31 gone by in the frame, Turner and sophomore Mark Rivera (Belmar, N.J./Springfield Pics (EJHL)) went in on a two-on-one and Rivera fed his linemate for the score and a three-goal lead.
 
Elmira got one back with 2:34 remaining on a score by Carter Shinkaruk, but Hudson sent the home fans streaming to the exits early by potting an empty-net tally with 22 seconds left on the clock to seal the win.
 
The Manhattanville penalty kill extended its successful streak of kills to 27 with a 3-for-3 effort, however the power play continued to be a struggle as the Valiants went 0 for 5 with the man advantage.
 
Manhattanville (6-2-1, 3-1-1 ECAC West) and Elmira (4-4-0, 2-3-0 ECAC West) will complete their two-game weekend series on Saturday night, as the Valiants and Soaring Eagles face off at the MAC beginning at 7 p.m.