Last night the Cornell Big Red Men’s Hockey Team took on and shut out the Princeton Tigers 4-0 in front of a full house. It seemed fitting seeing as this was the first Ivy League game of the season for Cornell.
Cornell started off the game strong with seven shots on goal in the first period. The game was incredibly fast paced, but ran smoothly. There were very few penalties and stops in the game. It was really enjoyable to watch and the fans were glued to the ice.
Head coach Mike Schafer commented on the great defensive playing in the 1st period. “The freshman are doing a good job of playing, but our upperclassman are doing a great job of coming out and doing better. Eric Axell, I think, was one of our best players tonight.”
At the end of the 1st period, Cornell was up 1-0 thanks to a goal by Ferlin assisted by Miller. Greg Miller has obtained a point during every game so far this season. And goalie, Any Iles, also had his own feat accomplishing his first career shutout game.
“It’s one of those things as a goalie you kind of want to get out of the way”, remarked Iles. But, he was grateful to his team commenting that it was not an individual achievement, but a team effort.
“There’s no better feeling as a team, when you come out there with a goose egg on the board” and in regards to the Big Red defense, “there’s no better feeling than someone laying their body on the line for the team”.
Missed opportunities seemed to be the theme of the 2nd period though. The score remained 1-0 entering into the final period of the game.
The third period was like a different team, offensively on the ice for Cornell. Sean Collins said that they “turned it on in the 3rd period” with 3 fast paced goals that left the Princeton Tigers in the dust.
Collins explained the final goal that put the Big Red over the top to beat Princeton 4-0. After Nick D’Agostino got a turnover he was able to “pass it up to Lowry, got between the defensemen’s stick, I got it, backhand, forehand, quick release, and beat him upstairs.” It looked as beautiful as it sounded.
Princeton’s goalie, Sean Bonar, may have let in 4 goals, but he was able to fend off 18 of the other attempts made by Cornell. Their offense took plenty of shots in the 1st two periods, but their momentum was halted in the third when the Big Red became hot.
Their next game is tonight against Quinnipiac in the 2nd game of their 3 game homestand.
