@Union 4, CORNELL 1 … Box score | Game Recap | Video Highlights
CORNELL 6, @RPI 0 … Box score | Game Recap | Video Highlights
It was an exciting weekend to say the least. We were inconsistent on a weekend when we needed two wins. Friday night was disappointing given the way we have been playing during the last month and with a healthier roster.
The game started well; we scored quickly at 1:29 of the first period. Senior defenseman Tim Rego took a pass from classmate Sullivan Mack and fired a shot over their winger’s shoulder for a back door goal. Five minutes later, Union scored a power-play goal, and the momentum shifted. We didn’t show great discipline all night, and took four more penalties, including a 5-minute major penalty. The good news is that the penalty kill was successful, and we didn’t give up any more power-play goals. However, Union scored twice in a span of 25 seconds (14:08, 14:33) to take a 3-1 lead into the first intermission. We replaced goaltenders with junior Remington Keopple. In the second period, we couldn’t score that second goal. At 12:12 of the second period, the home team made it 4-1, and it became a long night, but no more goals were scored during the game.
Senior goaltender Ian Shane made only two saves before being replaced by Keopple who stopped 11 shots. The Union goalie made 19 saves. We only gave up 17 shots, but it was not the night we needed or expected with a potential first-round bye on the line. We were 0-for-1 on the power play, and Union was 1-for-5.
Saturday was a different day and we played like a different team. We came out firing on all cylinders and played really well for 60 minutes. Eighteen players register points, including Keopple, who made his second start.
As we did the night before, we came out quickly and scored less than two minutes into the game. Senior forward Kyler Kovich roofed a shot over the goaltender’s left shoulder to take a 1-0 lead. Both teams were scoreless on the power play, and we held a 13-8 lead on shots for the first 20 minutes of play.
We went up 2-0 halfway through the second period. Sophomore defenseman George Fegaras fired a shot, and junior forward Nick DeSantis slammed home the rebound.
The third period was a good one for us. At 4:49, junior forward Dalton Bancroft ripped a terrific shot off a pass from senior forward Sullivan Mack to make it 3-0. Just 47 seconds later first year forward Charlie Major fired a hard shot to the blocker side of the goaltender that found the back of the net. Keopple received the first assist of his career, as he started the play on the breakout.
RPI substituted their goaltender, but at 10:55, sophomore defenseman Ben Robertson collected his own rebound off a wraparound attempt and scored to make it 5-0. The final goal came at 11:32, as Sullivan Mack beat the RPI goalie to wrap up the scoring for the night.
Keopple started in net and posted his first shutout with 21 saves, while two RPI goalies stopped 34 shots. Both teams were 0-for-2 on the man-advantage.
Reflecting on the game, it was a good response after the outcome at Union. Now, we are getting ready to play a single elimination playoff game against Yale in the first round of the ECAC playoffs. Saturday will be an exciting day of college hockey at Lynah Rink. The ECAC Women’s Championship game is at 3:30 and our playoff game with Yale is at 7:30.
We finished in sixth place (10-9-4) in the ECAC, four points out of fourth place. Yale finished in eleventh place (5-14-3). In the two regular-season games against Yale, we tied 2-2 at Lynah but lost the shootout and won, 5-3, in New Haven. The winner of this single playoff game goes on the road to the ECAC quarterfinals.
We look forward to a great “home” crowd at Lynah Rink on Saturday.