@CORNELL 2, Yale 2 (OT…SOL) … Box Score | Game Recap | Video Highlights
@CORNELL 3, Brown 1 … Box Score | Game Recap | Video Highlights
The weekend didn’t start the way we expected. Playing before another sellout crowd, I expected the team to be really juiced up, but I was disappointed in how they prepared and with our leadership. Yale bent but didn’t break. We limited our opponents to only ten shots, and one would think that would have been enough.
The game started great for us. Off the opening faceoff, junior forward Dalton Bancroft was fed the puck and one-timed a shot off the glove of the goaltender to score just eight seconds into the action. It was the fastest goal during my 30 years behind the Cornell bench, and just two seconds slower than Bob Murray’s record six-second shot vs. Yale in 1974. Often, when we score early, we think it might be easy, but it wasn’t. This quick goal didn’t deflate the visitors, and they scored on two power-plays, the first one at 11:59 of the first period as we were killing a 5-on-3 penalty. Last weekend against North Dakota, we killed off all our penalties against the best (at the time) power-play team in the country.
At 8:47 of the second period, the Bulldogs took a 2-1 lead on a power play that we believed Yale was offside, but I didn’t dare contest. Five minutes later, senior defenseman Hank Kempf fired a shot on goal that was deflected by senior forward Jack O’Leary into the net to tie the score 2-2.
The third period was scoreless, although we kept firing shots on net. We had 12 shots-on-goal to Yale’s none. The game ended, 2-2, sending us into 3-on-3 play for the 5-minute overtime, which was scoreless leading to a shootout. Two weeks ago, I told the Coach’s Club luncheon how I dislike shootouts, and that they don’t belong in college hockey. Well, we still have them. We out-shoot a team 33-10, and then it gets to be a skills competition. Yale scored once and we didn’t; they get the extra point. Senior goaltender Ian Shane had 8 saves and the Yale net minder 31. The Bulldogs were 2-for-3 on the power play and we were 0-for-1.
Saturday was a very similar game. We generated a lot of chances, and their only goal took a weird bounce off our goalie and their player. We continued to generate opportunities, but it took a great play and a great finish by junior forward Dalton Bancroft to score with 53.3 seconds left in the game.
Brown took a 1-0 lead with 1:22 left in the first period, batting home a rebound from a shot off the near half-wall. At eight minutes into the second period, Bancroft scored off his own rebound. The rest of the period remained scoreless as did most of the third period.
With just over a minute left, senior forward Kyler Kovich carried the puck from our defensive zone around the Brown net and dropped off to sophomore defenseman Ben Robertson. He made a backhand pass to Bancroft on the left side of the crease. Bancroft finished top-shelf at 19:06, to give us the lead and 17 seconds later, Bancroft fed sophomore forward Ryan Walsh for an empty-net goal at 19:23 to seal the victory, 3-1.
Ian Shane made 18 saves, while Brown’s netminder stopped 28 shots. We were 0-for-4 on the power play, and they were 0-for-2.
It was a good win for us. I thought we were getting frustrated not scoring goals. Both nights, we had many chances, but their goaltenders played well making some big saves. Brown is a hard team to play; they always are. I was happy for the win.
Next weekend, we travel for the first time this season. We take a 3-0-1 record to New England to face an excellent Dartmouth team on Friday night, and then the always tough evening at Harvard on Saturday. Love to see as many of you as possible. We will need your support this weekend.