PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville men's hockey team will begin its quest for a fifth ECAC West Conference Tournament championship this week, as the fourth-seeded Valiants host fifth-seeded Elmira in a first-round matchup on Wednesday, February 20 at 7:30 p.m. at Terry Conners Rink in Stamford, Conn.
 
Tickets for the game are $7.00 for adults and $3.00 for non-Manhattanville students (with valid ID), while all Manhattanville students who come to the game with a valid student ID will be admitted free of charge courtesy of the Manhattanville Athletic Department. Fans that can't make it to Stamford for the game can watch live on GoValiants.TV, with live stats also available by clicking here.
 
Manhattanville (13-9-3, 6-6-3 ECAC West) secured a top-four spot in the conference tournament with a 5-1 win over Elmira (10-15-0, 5-10-0 ECAC West) on Tuesday afternoon in Stamford, and was relegated to fourth after Neumann took two games from Nazareth over the weekend. The third-seeded Knights (16-6-3, 8-6-1 ECAC West) and sixth-seeded Golden Flyers (6-18-1, 1-14-0 ECAC West) will meet up in the other first-round matchup on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
 
The Valiants will be making their 14th consecutive appearance in the ECAC West Tournament this week. Manhattanville is 9-9 all-time in the conference tournament, but is an excellent 8-4 in the last eight seasons and has won four ECAC West Tournament titles (2005, 2007, 2008, 2010) during that time.
 
Manhattanville and Elmira have met seven times in the conference tournament – the most games of any Valiant conference foe – and the Valiants have a 4-3 edge in all-time meetings. Manhattanville has taken the last three postseason contests between the two schools, including an epic 4-3 (OT) win to capture the ECAC West Tournament championship the last time the teams met on March 6, 2010.
 
This season the Valiants have had the Soaring Eagles' number, as Manhattanville swept the season series with Elmira for the first time ever. The Valiants took a pair of games in Pine Valley during the first semester, posting a 5-2 win behind two goals from senior assistant captain Scott Hudson (St. Albert, Alta./Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL)) and a 7-5 victory thanks to a pair of goals from junior Louie Balzano (Staten Island, N.Y./New York Apple Core (EJHL)) and three points from senior co-captain Ron Smith (North Delta, B.C./Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL)). Last Tuesday, the team completed the sweep with a dominating 5-1 win that featured a 46-26 edge in shots and a pair of goals from junior Luc Van Natter (Fort Erie, Ont./Aurora Tigers (OPJHL)).
 
Manhattanville brings into the postseason a potent and varied offensive attack that ranks 12th in Division III by averaging 3.72 goals per game, led by the potent trio of Hudson, Van Natter and freshman Matt Coleman (Brentwood, N.Y./Springfield Pics (EJHL)). Hudson is the team's leader in scoring and ranks third in the conference with 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points, and enters Wednesday just one point away from becoming the fourth player in program history to record 100 career points. Van Natter is second on the squad with 10 tallies and had 14 assists for 24 points, while Coleman's 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) are tops among all ECAC West rookies and rank him 14th nationally among first-year players.
 
On the blue line, sophomore Anton Racklin (Gothenburg, Sweden/Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL)) and junior Adam Young (Edmonton, Alta./Grande Prairie Storm (AJHL)) lead a Valiant defense that allows 2.76 goals per contest (T-27th in Division III). Racklin also is tied for 12th in the country with 19 points on five goals and 14 assists, while Young has five goals and six helpers as well.
 
The goaltending situation has changed throughout the year for the Valiants, with sophomore Alex Scola (Exeter, N.H./Woodstock Slammers (MJHL)) earning the start in each of the last three games. On the year, Scola is 4-2-1 with a 2.51 goals against average and .921 save percentage in place of classmate Brian Fleming (Saint John, N.B./Northern Cyclones (AJHL)), who has made 19 starts this year with a 9-7-2 record and a 2.78 goals against average.
 
Elmira enters the week with the 21st-ranked offense in Division III, averaging 3.48 goals per game. Sophomore Josh Burnell is the team's points leader with eight goals and 16 assists for 24 points, including 15 points in 14 conference games. Freshman Michael Collins is tied for second in the conference and 18th in Division III among rookies with 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists), and he is followed by classmate Greg Whittle with eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points.
 
Elmira's biggest issue this year has not been the offense but the defense, as the Soaring Eagles enter the week ranked 70th out of 72 teams in Division III by allowing 4.76 goals per contest. Sophomore Ryan deMelo and senior Darren McDonald have essentially split time in the crease this season: deMelo has posted a 5-6-0 record with a .886 save percentage and 3.72 goals against average in 16 games (nine starts), while McDonald is 5-8-0 with a 4.54 goals against average and .872 save percentage in 13 starts.
 
The winner of Saturday's game will advance to the semifinal round of the ECAC West Tournament, which will take place on Saturday at Utica and Hobart. The top-seeded Pioneers will host the lowest remaining seed at the Utica Memorial Auditorium beginning at 7 p.m., while the second-seeded Statesmen will welcome the highest remaining seed to the Geneva Recreation Center for a 7:30 p.m. start.