It was Friday March 14, 1986.  We were sitting in Section 4 of
the Loge, in the 5th row.  It was 3-3 at the end of regulation time,
Cornell vs. Yale, ECAC semifinals.  Two powerful offenses (Yale led by
future NHL-ers Bob Logan, Bob Kudelski, and Randy Wood, Cornell by
Joe Nieuwendyk, a sophomore at the time, along with some stellar senior
gunners (Duanne Moeser, Peter Natyshak) and some pesky freshmen (e.g.
Chris Grenier)).  The goalies were great, too ... it was Mike Schwalb
for Yale and Doug Dadswell for Cornell.
 
        The first overtime was a nail-biter for us Cornell fans.  Dadswell
was simply spectacular, stopping one quality shot after another, right
in front of our seats.  The teams changed ends for the second overtime.
Somewhere along, the line, the ref called Joe Nieuwendyk for what seemed to
us a bogus penalty, given that essentially nothing had been called since the
middle of the third period.  Cornell barely managed to kill the penalty,
and iced the puck just before Nieuwendyk was to step out of the box.
 
        ... and step out of the box he did!  He charged into the Yale zone
and stripped the puck from two hapless Yale defenders behind their goal.
He flipped a perfect pass to Moeser, 20 feet out in the slot, and Moeser's
top shelf glove-side slapper beat Schwalb to end an amazing game.  [This
was all happening right in front of our seats, by the way ...]
 
        I believe Dadswell had over 60 saves that night --- it was at least
50.  He was the star of the game, even though the ending was incredibly
dramatic.  Every time I see Randy Wood on TV (skating for the Islanders,
then the Sabres, and now the Maple Leafs, I believe), every time I see
his face, I remember his look of stunned dejection at game's end.
 
        Editor's note: Cornell won the ECACs that year with a 3-2 overtime
victory over Clarkson the next night.  Clarkson had upset the Scott Fusco-led
Harvard Crimson the same night Cornell beat Yale.  Freshman Chris Grenier
scored the overtime goal against Clarkson.  It was great to take the
title, but no live sports-watching experience I've ever had has compared
with that semifinal game against Yale.
 
 
                                                Dave Delchamps
                                                Cornell University
                                                Let's Go Red !!
 
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