ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira Aviators (11-15-3-1) fell to the Northeast Generals (16-12-2-1) 3-2 at the LECOM Event Center Friday night.
The Aviators’ power play struggled mightily through much of Friday’s game.
Elmira had two five-minute major power plays, a penalty shot and five power plays overall against Northeast. The Aviators came up with just one goal in those opportunities.
Elmira’s lone power play goal came on its first chance. Max McGuire pounced on a rebound and directed it to the top shelf to give the Aviators an early lead and let loose an onslaught of teddy bears.
The fans at the LECOM Event Center certainly did their job for Friday night’s Teddy Bear Toss, bringing droves of teddy bears to toss on the ice. The bears are being donated to Toys for Tots.
The Aviators’ joy was short-lived as the Generals equalized just 35 seconds later.
Later in the first, Northeast’s Logan Poulin was given a five-minute major and game misconduct, ending his night. Elmira had no answer for Northeast’s stout penalty kill across the five minutes.
In the middle period, the Gens found themselves in deep water again. Forward Trey Janssen was assessed a major penalty for cross-checking close to the head-neck area. Not only did the Generals face another five-minute penalty, but a second forward was forced into an early exit.
Once again, the Generals killed off all five minutes of the penalty.
However, the Aviator’s fourth line helped reestablish the lead back at five-on-five. Greg Johnson buried the chance off an excellent feed from Shawn Lapperriere behind the net.
The Aviators entered the third period seeking an insurance goal and defending a slim lead. Ilya Baldin got a golden opportunity to deliver with a penalty shot, but came up short against Generals’ goaltender Keagin Wilson.
Like the Northeast penalty kill, Elmira’s defensive unit was excellent for most of the night. But in the third period, the Generals finally broke through.
In a net-front scramble, Jack Montaldo got the finishing touch on a frantic goal. Elmira players argued for a goaltender interference call, but the officials were not having it.
Elmira had two more power plays after Northeast equalized, but came up short again.
Immediately after the expiration of the latter advantage, the Generals took their first lead with Kody Moyer scoring the decisive goal.
Overall, it was a night of missed opportunities and frustration for the Aviators, as they lost a game on home ice that they had every chance to win.
Elmira will attempt to turn the page when it takes on Northeast for the final game of the calendar year, 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].