The crowd at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, New York, was as loud as ever as the Cornell Big Red (9-1-2, 7-1-1 ECAC) played host to the Clarkson Golden Knights (7-7-3, 0-6-2 ECAC). Through a series of intense penalty kills and goals from unlikely sources, the Big Red were able to defeat the Golden Knights by a final of 5-4.
The action began following a Cornell forecheck when Cornell captain John Knisley wristed a shot past Clarkson goaltender Greg Lewis for his first goal on the season. Eric Freschi and Holden Anderson were credited with assists.
Following Knisley’s goal and a Cornell power play, Clarkson center Sam Vingeault got the Golden Knights on the board when he took an A.J. Fossen pass from just outside the crease over the head of Mitch Gillam. The goal for Vingeault was his fifth on the season, notching his team leading 14th point.
“He’s been an impact player,” said Clarkson coach Casey Jones when asked about Vingeault’s role on the team. “We’ve watched him evolve in the last month to get some consistency in his game.”
Still in the first with 6:30 to go, Gillam made a trio of acrobatic saves just seconds apart, the first coming on a wrist shot from Christian Powers to Gillam’s right. On the rebound, James Haan got a shot from point blank up into Gillam’s chest, where it was tapped by A.J. Fossen toward the net allowing Gillam to make a diving backhanded save.
A slow start to the second period was highlighted by a scrum around the Clarkson net, resulting in an excellent effort from defenseman Aaron Throw, who got himself into perfect positioning to block a pair of Cornell shots, including one from Anthony Angello as it trickled onto the goal line.
With just 10 seconds remaining in the second, Cornell’s leading scorer, Anthony Angello, stole the puck at center ice and took it right back toward Greg Lewis. An undefended Angello capitalized on the one-on-one opportunity with just .4 seconds left, giving Cornell a 3-1 lead entering the third period.
Cornell wasted little time breaking the game open in the final period. Just 30 seconds in, Kelly Summers was called for cross checking. The Big Red entered the night with a 24 percent power-play success rate, and that strength was backed up when Alec McCrea found the net from the blue line on a feed from Jeff Kubiak, his first collegiate goal.
“It’s a special feeling,” said McCrea when asked about his achievement. “I didn’t know it went in at first, but when I saw it there was a big relief.”
After a pair of Clarkson power plays, Cornell responded with yet another score, this one courtesy of Mitch Vanderlaaan, his fourth on the season.
With the game seemingly out of reach, it took just 23 seconds for Christian Powers to respond for Clarkson, as the Golden Knights drove across the ice before James deHaas and Troy Josephs found Powers.
“Every game in the league right now is hard,” said Cornell coach Mike Schafer. “It’s a battle and it’s a grind, so we’re happy getting the win tonight and the sweep.”
