In the first winner-take-all game three between Cornell and Harvard in the rivalry’s history, No. 9 men’s hockey skated to a 5-2 win in its fifth meeting against Harvard this season, earning a trip to the ECAC tournament semifinals in Lake Placid.
After dropping game one on Friday night and bouncing back on Saturday, the Red hung on to beat the Crimson on Sunday, ending Harvard’s season and capping off an impressive 15-3 record at Lynah Rink.
Early Chaos
Hockey, especially playoff hockey, is best played on the edge of chaos. In game three’s first period, both teams did away with structure and played at a frantic pace.
After each whistle came a scrum — every hit was finished and both squads let up odd-man rushes.
This energy was perhaps best exemplified by freshman forward Reegan Hiscock’s goal that tied the game, 1-1, just over a minute after Harvard opened the scoring midway through the first period.
A Harvard defenseman, anxious to line up a streaking sophomore forward Charlie Major, missed Major and accidentally crushed a Crimson backchecker along the wall. This opened up a two-on-one opportunity, which wound up in the back of Harvard’s net. It was clear to both teams that this style of play could not be sustained.
After the first period, play settled down and, for the most part, both teams played structurally. When the Red’s defense faltered, freshman goaltender Alexis Cournoyer was a steady presence as the last line of defense, ending the night with 22 saves on 24 shots.
- Eli Kwait
Strong Second
When Harvard’s Ryan Healey skated off to the penalty box with 1:56 remaining in the second period, he looked particularly dejected, and Lynah Rink sounded particularly loud.
That’s because the call punctuated a period that was nothing short of dominant for Cornell.
The numbers don’t lie — the Red outshot the Crimson in the middle frame, 14-6, and the shot attempts skewed even further in Cornell’s favor, 31-12. Healey’s penalty was one of three Harvard penalties in the frame, especially notable considering Harvard entered Sunday averaging the fifth fewest penalties taken per game in the nation.
To the eye, the Red certainly had the edge in possession — it felt as if the entire second frame was played in Cornell’s offensive zone, with the Crimson pinned deep and on its heels. Cornell, as it often does, controlled the faceoff dot, leading 13-11 in total draws, including three straight wins leading up to the Red’s power-play tally.
That man-advantage goal was the first of two scores for Cornell in the second. Junior forward Ryan Walsh and sophomore defenseman Michael Fisher were the written beneficiaries of the Red’s offensive prowess in the frame, but were far from the only catalysts of it — that effort came from top to bottom.
- Jane McNally
Depth Proves Critical
Freshman forwards Chase Pirtle and Hiscock have served in various roles for head coach Casey Jones ’90 throughout the season, from healthy scratches to second line wingers.
While Pirtle has spent the majority of February and March slotted next to junior forward Tyler Catalano — the Red’s dependable fourth-line center — Hiscock has bounced around the Red’s lines and began the weekend series on Cornell’s third line. But after the Red’s game one loss, Casey Jones ’90 shuffled his lines and brought Hiscock alongside Catalano and Pirtle.
The creation of Cornell’s third line — sophomores Parker Murray and Charlie Major and senior Nick DeSantis — also came via trial-and-error.
Jones’ mixing and matching paid off on Sunday. The sextet dominated their Harvard counterparts, spending the majority of their shifts in the Red’s offensive zone. In the first period, Major and Hiscock combined to create Cornell’s first goal, and in the second, Cornell’s lead-taking power play came after Catalano drew a cross-checking penalty.
Defensively, the third and fourth lines were solid as well, with none of the six skaters on the ice for either of the Crimson goals.
- Eli Fastiff
Cournoyer Delivers
A day after earning his first career shutout — and two days after becoming the first freshman to start in net against Harvard in the playoffs — goaltender Alexis Cournoyer put together his best game of the weekend when the Red needed it most.
While the Ken Dryden Award winner allowed a pair of goals, he also made a series of highlight-reel saves, especially down the stretch. Midway through the second period, Cournoyer managed to locate a bouncing puck while in the butterfly. In the third, he stymied a Harvard breakaway with a pad save that brought the Lynah Faithful to its feet.
In what was essentially a one-goal game (the Red led 3-2 until scoring a pair of empty netters late in the third), any slip-up from Cournoyer could have proved the difference maker. But in a pressure-filled third period — one in which the Crimson fired a game-high 12 shots on goal — Cournoyer came ready to play.
- Eli Fastiff
