Having opened the 2003-04 season hosting Western Michigan and giving the
Cornell fans two things they hadn't seen at Lynah all last year -- a tie
and a loss -- the Big Red began league play with a trip to Ivy foes Yale
and Princeton and with some questions in the wake of their opening-weekend
performance. The team responded with a vengeance, scoring 13 goals in
recording a sweep -- the only ECAC club to do so this weekend. Senior
captain Ryan Vesce was the big gun for Cornell, as he picked up nine
points. while freshman goaltender David McKee continued to improve,
notching his first collegiate win and following that with his first
collegiate shutout. Boxes and some more notes/thoughts below:
Friday, November 7
Ingalls Rink
New Haven, CT
Cornell 6, Yale 2
Cornell 2 3 1 -- 6
Yale 1 0 1 -- 2
First period -- Scoring:
C Chris Abbott (Cam Abbott), 4:48 1-0
C Byron Bitz (Mike Iggulden, Mike Knoepfli), 10:18 2-0
Y Mike Grobe (Joe Callahan, Robert Burns), 13:54 2-1
Penalties:
C Bitz (hooking), 7:52; Y Grobe (holding), 10:43
Second period -- Scoring:
C Mitch Carefoot (Ryan Vesce), 0:59 3-1
C Vesce (Charlie Cook, Matt Moulson), 3:34 (PP) 4-1
C Moulson (Bitz), 15:31 5-1
Penalties:
Y Callahan (hitting from behind), 3:12; Y Joe Zappala (holding), 9:56;
C Cook (tripping), 16:39; C Knoepfli (obstruction-interference), 18:38;
C Jon Gleed (cross-checking), 19:33
Third period -- Scoring:
C Shane Hynes (Knoepfli, Moulson), 11:42 (PP) 6-1
Y Mike Klema (Brad Mills, Zach Mayer), 16:00 6-2
Penalties:
Y Nathan Murphy (hitting from behind), 2:22; Y Vin Hellemeyer
(elbowing), 10:04; C Gleed (roughing), 13:42; Y Burns (roughing),
13:42; C Jeremy Downs (roughing), 19:35; Y Ryan Steeves (roughing),
19:35
Shots on goal: Cornell 5-12-8 -- 25, Yale 5-11-10 -- 26
Power plays: Cornell 2 of 5, Yale 0 of 4
Goaltending:
C David McKee (24 saves, 26 shots)
Y Josh Gartner (19 saves, 25 shots)
Officials: Matthew Smith (R), Robert Melanson (AR), Paul Simeon (AR)
Attendance: 3,486 (sellout)
Despite a win and a tie in their last two trips, coach Mike Schafer's Big
Red teams have found the Yale Whale to be an unfriendly place, picking up a
victory there only one other time in the past eight years. However, it
didn't take long for Cornell to light the lamp in this one, as they struck
just 4:48 into the first period. During a Yale clearing attempt, Greg
Hornby knocked a defender off the puck, and Cam Abbott tracked it down in
the corner, sending a pass out in front of the net to his twin brother
Chris. Chris caught Yale goalie Josh Gartner leaning the wrong way and
fired the puck home through the pads.
Later in the period, Byron Bitz got sent off for hooking, but the Cornell
penalty kill kept the Elis from threatening, and Bitz came out of the box
just as the Big Red forced a turnover. On a 2-on-1 with Mike Iggulden,
Bitz let a shot go that hit the post but bounced into the net at the 10:18
mark. Yale was able to cut the deficit to one at 13:54 of the first. As
Mike Grobe skated toward the left circle, Hornby slid to block the expected
shot; Grobe stick-handled around him and let a wrister go that a screened
David McKee never saw.
The Big Red took command of the game with three goals in the second period,
the first coming just 59 seconds after the intermission. Ryan Vesce took a
pass from Mitch Carefoot and headed toward the left side of the net, then
suddenly sent the puck back to Carefoot, who had a mostly empty net to
shoot at. Vesce got a goal of his own at the 3:34 mark, following up a
Matt Moulson rebound, and then Moulson made it 5-1 at with 4:29 left in the
second, deflecting a pass from Bitz past a lunging Gartner.
Shane Hynes converted another Cornell power play at 11:42 of the third
period, as he got his stick on a Mike Knoepfli shot and tipped it over
Gartner. Mike Klema beat McKee low with four minutes remaining, but that
would be all the Elis would get on this night. Yale wound up outshooting
Cornell, but McKee had a solid game with 24 saves. Gartner stopped 19 shots.
Saturday, November 8
Baker Rink
Princeton, NJ
Cornell 7, Princeton 0
Cornell 3 2 2 -- 7
Princeton 0 0 0 -- 0
First period -- Scoring:
C Ryan Vesce (Byron Bitz, Matt Moulson), 11:46 1-0
C Bitz (Vesce), 14:47 2-0
C Charlie Cook (Vesce, Moulson), 15:59 (PP) 3-0
Penalties:
C Bench (too many men on ice, served by Greg Hornby), 1:13; C Ryan
O'Byrne (checking from behind), 1:40; C Mike Knoepfli (obstruction-
hooking), 6:03; C Jeremy Downs (boarding), 9:02; P Jesse Masear
(obstruction-hooking), 15:21; P Patrick Neundorfer (interference),
19:05
Second period -- Scoring:
C Vesce (Shane Hynes, Knoepfli), 1:05 4-0
C Moulson (Vesce, Hynes), 16:24 5-0
Penalties:
C Cam Abbott (obstruction-hooking), 1:29; P Steve Slaton (cross-
checking), 1:29; C Downs (obstruction-hooking), 11:20; P Darryl Marcoux
(cross-checking), 13:59; C O'Byrne (interference), 17:39; P Dustin
Sproat (tripping), 19:12
Third period -- Scoring:
C Dan Glover (Jon Gleed, Vesce), 6:38 6-0
C Vesce (Mike Iggulden, Chris Abbott), 16:14 (PP) 7-0
Penalties:
C O'Byrne (cross-checking), 3:17; P Kevin Westgarth (elbowing), 6:56;
C O'Byrne (interference), 9:35; P Mike Patton (elbowing), 14:43
Shots on goal: Cornell 16-11-5 -- 32, Princeton 9-9-6 -- 24
Power plays: Cornell 2 of 6, Princeton 0 of 8
Goaltending:
C David McKee (24 saves, 24 shots)
P Eric Leroux (25 saves, 32 shots)
Officials: Jack Dunn (R), Paul Simeon (AR), Derek Zuckerman (AR)
Attendance: 2,338
Not content with a mere goal and assist against Yale the night before,
senior Ryan Vesce picked up the first hat trick of his career at Princeton
and had a hand in every Big Red goal. Vesce's seven-point effort was the
first by a Cornellian since Lance Nethery's two-goal five-assist game
against Penn in January of 1978, and was one off the Big Red record of
eight points in a game, shared by Nethery and four others. Not
surprisingly, Vesce earned ECAC Player of the Week honors. Oh yes,
goaltender David McKee recorded the first shutout of his career, matching
his predecessor David LeNeveu by doing so in his fourth collegiate start.
(I know, comparisons with LeNeveu are unfair, but I don't think McKee will
mind this one :-) BTW, Lenny's first shutout also came at Baker Rink.)
Vesce's fun took a while to get started, as a sloppy Cornell team gave the
Tigers four power-play opportunities in the game's first 11 minutes --
including 1:33 of 5-on-3 play. The Big Red defense and McKee did an
outstanding job, however, and all that extra-man time resulted in four
Princeton shots and nothing on the scoreboard. Vesce got things started at
the 11:46 mark, beating Tiger goalie Eric Leroux to the glove side. Vesce
then combined with Byron Bitz to put Cornell up 2-0 just over three minutes
later. Vesce took a centering feed from Bitz and wristed a shot that
Leroux stopped; however, Bitz collected the rebound and tapped it home.
The Big Red's third goal came a mere 1:12 later, as Vesce won a faceoff in
the Princeton end, drawing the puck back to Matt Moulson, who found Charlie
Cook near the blue line. Cook's slapper found its way through a screen and
eluded Leroux. A minute and five seconds into the second period, just as a
Cornell power play was ending, Vesce got his second goal of the night off a
nice feed from Shane Hynes. The Big Red made it 5-0 with 3:36 left in the
second, when Vesce found Moulson wide open deep to the left of Leroux and
Moulson converted a tough-angle shot.
Freshman Dan Glover showed he had learned the lesson of the night -- if you
want points, hang around Vesce -- as he recorded his first collegiate goal
6:38 into the third period. Off a faceoff, Vesce sent the puck over to
Glover, whose wrister beat a scrambling Leroux. Vesce himself closed out
the scoring at 16:14 of the third, getting the hat trick with a wrister
from the slot that nicked Leroux's pad and trickled over the goal line.
McKee stopped all 24 shots he faced, while Leroux finished with 25 saves.
Cornell hits the road again this coming weekend, traveling to Clarkson
Friday and St. Lawrence Saturday.
Bill Fenwick DJF 5/27/94
Cornell '86 and '95 JCF 12/2/97
LET'S GO RED!!
"For surely there is nothing more thrilling in this world than the sight of
a lone man, facing single-handedly, a half a ton of angry pot roast."
-- Tom Lehrer, on bullfighting
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