ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira Aviators (4-8-0-0) were blanked by the Maine Nordiques (7-3-1-0) 4-0 at the LECOM Event Center Friday night.
Friday’s game is the second straight game in which the Aviators were shut out. They’ve been outscored 13-0 over their last two games, both on home ice.
The Nordiques got on the front foot with two first-period goals. Maine did well to get bodies in front of Elmira netminder Vladimir Pechenin to create their opening tallies.
Maine Nordique goalie Lukas Fursten was outstanding for his squad, stopping all 34 Aviators’ shots on goal.
Friday night’s shutout is Fursten’s third of the season in just his ninth game. He is now tied for the league lead in shutouts with Oklahoma’s Billy Stuski.
The Aviators had their best chance to get on the board with over a minute of five-on-three power play time in the third period. However, Matthew Maglio’s stick snapped on a one-time attempt, and the Aviators never got anything going on that chance.
Ultimately, it was another disappointing night on home ice for the Aviators, dropping to 4-8-0-0 on the season and 1-2-0-0 at home.
Elmira will get the chance to get back on its feet against Maine at the LECOM Event Center on Saturday at 7 p.m. The game can be streamed on NATV or listened to on WINGZ93.
Mac Young is the play-by-play voice of the Elmira Aviators. To contact him, email [email protected].