Aviators fall to Nordiques in tight, defensive duel

LEWISTON, Maine – The Elmira Aviators (20-33-3-1) had their offense stiffened by the Maine Nordiques (33-18-4-2), losing 3-1 Friday night at the Colisee.

Off the heels of a thrilling overtime victory Thursday night, the Aviators started Friday’s contest brightly, creating chances in the attacking zone.

However, early penalties put Elmira on the back foot, and the Nordiques scored the opener on the power play. The Aviators finished the first period trailing 1-0. They trailed 2-0 after one on Friday night but faced just a single-goal deficit Thursday thanks to excellent goaltending.

Elmira netminder Wesley Jefferson-Swint II made 16 saves on 17 shots in the opening frame, including some stops on premiere chances for Maine.

Jefferson-Swint finished Friday with 33 saves on 36 shots, finishing the series with back-to-back 30-plus save performances.

The Aviator offense was on fire in the second period on Thursday, but had trouble finding the juice Friday. Elmira and Maine went scoreless in the middle period with both sides failing to register double-digit shots on goal.

In the third period, the Aviators finally got on the board with a game-tying goal from Jack Kohlmann. Charlie Vincent delivered a tape-to-tape pass on Kohlmann’s stick as he was driving the net, and the 2006-born forward slotted it home for his fourth goal of the season.

The Nordiques would later answer with another power-play goal and never looked back. Maine tallied an empty net goal to secure a 3-1 victory and series split with Elmira.

Next weekend, the Aviators will play their final series of their inaugural season against the Northeast Generals. Northeast will play host at the Canton Ice House.

Game 1 is scheduled for Friday, April 4 at 7 p.m. and Game 2 is Saturday, April 5 at 7 p.m.

The games can be streamed on NATV and listened to on Big Foot Country Legends.

Mac Young is the play-by-play voice of the Elmira Aviators. To contact him, email [email protected].