After shutting out Brown University, 3-0, in the ECAC semifinals on March 19 in Albany, N.Y., Cornell won the ECAC Hockey Championship for the 12th time in school history by blanking Union College the next day in a 3-0 victory.

Cornell had a slow start in the ECAC semifinal against a Brown team that qualified for the semifinals after defeating Yale, the Ivy League champion team that was favored to win the tournament.Be aggressive: With aggressive play during the ECAC tournament, men’s hockey was able to earn two consecutive 3-0 victories. - By: Matt Hintsa

Cornell had one power play during the first period, compared to Brown’s two. However, both teams were unable to capitalize on chances, as the first period finished in a scoreless tie. 

During the second period, the Red came out with an aggressive offensive game and had numerous chances while maintaining the majority of the possession. With 4:25 to go in the second, Cornell was able to find the net after freshman right wing John Esposito assisted sophomore left wing Locke Jillson to give Cornell a 1-0 lead.

The Red then went to secure its spot in the final period after scoring two late goals and preventing the Bears’ offense from having any clear chances to score.

Esposito scored Cornell’s second goal with less than seven minutes left of regulation after a pass from senior defenseman Justin Krueger. Then junior center Riley Nash finished the job after tallying a goal with 6:01 left in the third period.

With the win, the Red improved its overall record to 20-8-4 and extended its unbeaten streak to five games.

Senior goalie Ben Scrivens went 23-for-23 in saves and increased his consecutive shutout periods to eight. Scrivens is one of the 10 players in the nation nominated for the most prestigious award in college hockey, the Hobey Baker Award.

“He always plays like this. He comes out ready to play in every game and he stops a lot of the shots he faces. He was really on his game,” said Nash. “He loves to communicate out there; he loves talking to us, letting us know what’s going on out there. We always know that he’s going to make the save and where the rebound is usually going to go. It’s pretty simple and it makes it easy on us when we know what he wants to do and he knows what we want to do.”

Cornell advanced to the ECAC final with the win to face Union, the team that advanced to the championship game after defeating St. Lawrence, 3-1.

At the ECAC championship, Cornell was not able to take advantage of two early power plays opportunities until a third power play allowed for a scoring chance with 4:51 left in the first period.

Junior defense Mike Devin passed the puck to junior forward Tyler Roeszler, who was behind the net and saw that Union freshman goaltender Keith Kinkaid left one side of the goal uncovered. Roeszler then sent the puck to junior forward Joe Devin, who was able to find the net and put Cornell ahead, 1-0, before the first intermission with a power play goal.

With 4:29 left in the second period, Union had a too-many-men penalty that eventually led to another goal for Cornell. Sophomore forward Sean Whitney scored with a puck from senior defenseman Brendon Nash.

The Red’s defense dominated the entire third period until Union’s goaltender was pulled, pushing the Red to its defensive zone. Union kept attacking until it a late play with 37.7 left in regulation created some confusion.

The Union players started to celebrate, believing that the play finished in a goal for their team. However, the official ruling declared that the puck never entered the goal. Union proceeded to attack the Red’s goal, until senior forward Patrick Kennedy of Cornell took possession of the puck and scored through the defenseless pipes to secure the victory and the title.

The Red’s defense was remarkable during the ECAC Championship run. Cornell played 11 straight shutout periods that began in the second period of the first game against Harvard in the ECAC Quarterfinals at Lynah Rink. During this span, Scrivens extended his shutout streak to 230:24, topping his 206:44 at the start of his junior campaign. He also broke David McKee’s mark established in the 2004-2005 season for most shutouts in the Red’s history; with the shutout to Union, Scrivens earned his 19th zero in a Cornell uniform.

“He hasn’t given up a goal in three games,” said Union coach Nate Leaman. “He is the best goaltender in the country. I’ve seen [David] McKee and I’ve seen [David] LeNeveu and I believe he’s better than both of them and they were both Hobey Baker finalists.”