The Big Red's 1993-94 season ended last Saturday night when arch-rival
Harvard completed a quarterfinal (and season) sweep, marking the first time
Cornell has ever lost four times in the same season to the Crimson (and the
first time the Big Red has lost to the same opponent four times in one
season since 1912). This was also the first-ever quarterfinal series in
which the Big Red was swept. Cornell finishes the year with an 8-17-5
overall mark.
Box scores and more notes below:
ECAC Quarterfinal Game 1
Harvard 5, Cornell 4
Cornell 2 0 2 -- 4
Harvard 2 2 1 -- 5
First period -- Scoring:
C Jake Karam (Geoff Bumstead, Chad Wilson), 4:36 (PP) 1-0
H Steve Martins (Cory Gustafson, Lou Body), 6:55 1-1
C Geoff Lopatka (C. Wilson, Brad Chartrand), 17:44 2-1
H Ian Kennish (Stuart Swenson), 18:25 2-2
Penalties:
H Sean McCann (tripping), 3:00; C Andre Doll (holding), 14:34; H McCann
(elbowing), 18:45
Second period -- Scoring:
H Ashlin Halfnight (Body, Kirk Nielsen), 12:57 (PP) 2-3
H Martins (Ben Coughlin, Tripp Tracy), 19:58 (PP) 2-4
Penalties:
C Chartrand (interference), 6:26; C Jason Kendall (roughing), 10:23;
H Swenson (roughing), 10:23; C Jamie Papp (slashing), 11:17; C Char-
trand (high-sticking), 19:20
Third period -- Scoring:
H Gustafson (Tom Holmes, Perry Cohagan), 1:16 2-5
C Tony Bergin (Doll, Shaun Hannah), 10:59 3-5
C C. Wilson (Vincent Auger, Lopatka), 14:23 4-5
Penalties:
C Kendall (roughing), 3:58; H Body (roughing), 3:58; H Brian Farrell
(slashing), 4:20; H Marco Ferrari (interference), 7:56; C Dan Dufresne
(high-sticking), 11:51; C Steve Wilson (slashing), 12:54; H Farrell
(slashing), 12:54; C Kendall (roughing, roughing), 19:43; H Martins
(roughing, roughing), 19:43
Shots on goal: Cornell 8-5-9 -- 22, Harvard 8-7-7 -- 22
Power plays: Cornell 1 of 4, Harvard 2 of 5
Goaltending:
C Eddy Skazyk (16 shots, 11 saves), Andy Bandurski (in at 1:16 of third
period, 6 shots, 6 saves)
H Tripp Tracy (22 shots, 18 saves)
Notes:
I frankly was expecting the talented Crimson to run away and hide in
this one, but as they had in their previous two meetings with Cornell,
Harvard struggled for a while before opening things up on the power
play in the second period. And even then, the Big Red was able to get
close again toward the end of the game. However, one of the marks of a
great team is the ability to put a W on the board even on an off night,
which is essentially what Harvard did in this one.
The Crimson served notice just 30 seconds into the game that their
speed and talent advantage would play an important role. With goal-
tender Eddy Skazyk drawn to the left side of the net, a Harvard player
rolled a pass in front of the net to a wide-open teammate (sorry,
didn't catch the name or number of either), who had most of the net to
shoot at but wound up pushing the shot wide left. That play was open
for most of the night and would make some appearances later. It was
also quickly apparent that this game would feature the extracurriculars
that are common whenever these two meet, as Kirk Nielsen ran Skazyk two
minutes in after the goaltender had made a save. Nielsen received the
appropriate amount of shoves and threats from the Cornell defenders.
Harvard team captain Sean McCann got the first penalty of the game at
three minutes of the first period when he went off for tripping. The
Crimson rattled Cornell for a while with an aggressive penalty kill,
but as Richard Hungerford mentioned, the Big Red nailed them with a
pick and roll to score the game's first goal at the 4:36 mark. Jake
Karam and Geoff Bumstead combined on the play, with Karam skating deep
to the left side before unleashing a high shot that sailed over Crimson
goalie Tripp Tracy's shoulder. This was the first time in their last
five meetings, dating back to December of 1992, that Cornell had had
the lead against Harvard.
It didn't last long, as the Crimson tied things up at 6:55 of the
first. Tom Holmes somehow spotted a wide-open Steve Martins to the
right of the Cornell goal, and Holmes sent a long pass through the
Cornell defense for the one-timer into the open net. McCann almost
gave Harvard the lead with 4:15 left in the first, when he had Skazyk
dead to rights from about ten feet away but inexplicably waited for a
few seconds. ("Aah, this shot's too easy -- I'll let him get set")
When he did fire a high one, Skazyk was able to deflect it over the
net.
The Big Red regained the lead at 17:44 of the first, after Tracy had
blocked Geoff Lopatka's try off a faceoff. Tracy dropped the puck
right in front of the net, and Lopatka got to it and flipped it past
him. The lead lasted all of 41 seconds, as the Crimson's fourth line
produced only their third goal of the year. Ian Kennish hacked at the
puck a couple of times, forcing Skazyk to come up with two point-blank
saves, and then with Skazyk still down on the ice, the Harvard forward
lifted the third shot over him. Things began to get chippy in the
second period, and Brad Chartrand was sent off for interference at the
6:26 mark. Cornell had a great penalty kill on this one, as the
vaunted Crimson power play (clicking at 33% going into the game) was
scrambling, missing passes, and generally could not mount much of a
threat.
Cornell was not so fortunate on their next penalty, as Harvard took the
lead for good with a power play goal at 12:57 of the second. With a
screen set up in front of the Cornell net, Ashlin Halfnight slapped a
low one from near the blue line that went through Skazyk's pads as he
was dropping to the ice. (_The Boston Globe_ apparently likes to give
Harvard the short end as far as hockey coverage is concerned; among
other things, they referred to Halfnight as "Ashley") Cornell's Vin-
cent Auger had a terrific play that nearly resulted in a goal with five
minutes left in the second, as he stole a pass at his own blue line,
skated the length of the ice, and backhanded one from the right side
that Tracy was barely able to get the glove on.
A high-sticking penalty on Chartrand with 40 seconds left shook the Big
Red up a bit (and by the way, the officiating of John Murphy and Mike
Noeth was textbook inconsistent), but they appeared ready to cruise
into the locker room one goal down. However, Martins put an end to
that hope with two seconds remaining, when he ended a rush up the right
side by flipping a shot off Skazyk's chest that went into the net as
the goaltender fell down. When Cory Gustafson got to a rebound in the
crease and stuffed it past a sprawling Skazyk at 1:16 of the third, it
looked like the lights were out in this one.
But wait... the Big Red changed goaltenders for the fourth straight
game, as Andy Bandurski came in after the Gustafson goal, and the move
apparently had some effect. It didn't hurt that the Crimson lapsed
into lethargic play for a while, which eventually cost them at the
10:59 mark. Tracy sticked aside a drive by Andre Doll, but Tony Bergin
quickly sent the rebound into the net over the goalie's shoulder. At
14:23 of the third, Chad Wilson scored off a 3-on-2 break to bring Cor-
nell to within one. Tracy went down to block an attempt by Auger, and
with the goalie still on his knees, Wilson chipped the puck over him
and into the net. The breakaway, incidentally, was set up when Murphy
chose not to call a penalty on Dan Dufresne despite his choke-hold on a
Harvard player near the penalty box. Crimson head coach Ronn Tomassoni
was not pleased.
Harvard woke up and skated with the Big Red (boy, that sounds strange)
over the last five minutes to preserve their lead. Bandurski was
pulled with 30 seconds remaining, but the Big Red was unable to get off
a shot on net during that time. In the game's final 15 seconds,
Martins and Jason Kendall got into a nice little brouhaha in the corner
near the Harvard net, which earned both of them double minors for
roughing. After they were finally separated, Kendall hollered at the
Harvard bench while being escorted off the ice (he was sent to the
locker room while Martins was sent to the penalty box -- considering
that the box is on the Harvard side, that was probably a good idea).
Harvard won the final faceoff and ran out the clock. There was no
handshake after the game, which was probably the referees' decision --
they were standing at center ice motioning the teams to go into their
respective locker rooms. Bandurski stopped all six shots he faced in
relief; Skazyk had 11 saves, and Tracy finished with 18.
ECAC Quarterfinal Game 2
Harvard 5, Cornell 3
Cornell 2 0 1 -- 3
Harvard 2 1 2 -- 5
First period -- Scoring:
C Geoff Lopatka (Jamie Papp), 4:17 1-0
H Brian Farrell (Steve Martins, Chris Baird), 12:22 (PP) 1-1
H Sean McCann (Martins), 13:30 1-2
C Mike Sancimino (P.C. Drouin, Geoff Bumstead), 17:07 (PP) 2-2
Penalties:
C Jason Kendall (interference), 6:27; C Steve Wilson (cross-checking),
7:17; H Martins (roughing), 8:00; C Dan Dufresne (interference), 11:22;
H Perry Cohagan (tripping), 14:42; H Martins (boarding), 16:17; H Lou
Body (holding), 19:15
Second period -- Scoring:
H Ben Coughlin (Martins), 19:44 2-3
Penalties:
H Derek Maguire (cross-checking), 6:47; C Drouin (charging), 11:46;
H Maguire (roughing), 11:46; C S. Wilson (cross-checking), 19:44
Third period -- Scoring:
H Martins (Maguire, Baird), 0:56 (PP) 2-4
C Dufresne (Lopatka, Brad Chartrand), 13:48 3-4
H Martins (Baird), 17:15 3-5
Penalties:
H McCann (holding), 2:36; C Mike Sancimino (misconduct), 19:42;
H McCann (misconduct), 19:42
Shots on goal: Cornell 11-5-9 -- 25, Harvard 13-11-10 -- 34
Power plays: Cornell 1 of 6, Harvard 2 of 4
Goaltending:
C Andy Bandurski (out at 17:34 of third period, 34 shots, 29 saves)
H Aaron Israel (25 shots, 22 saves)
Notes:
This one was much like the Friday night game: the teams traded goals
and played evenly in the first, Harvard scored late in the second to
take the wind out of Cornell's sails, and there was a fair amount of
cheap-shotting on both sides. Steve Martins was the star in this one,
as he scored twice and assisted on the other three Harvard goals.
Once again, the Big Red opened the scoring, this time at 4:17 of the
first period, although this one was the fault of Harvard goalie Aaron
Israel. Geoff Lopatka got off a soft rolling shot that Israel tried to
get the glove on. At that moment, a Cornell and Harvard player slammed
on the brakes at the edge of the crease, giving Israel a little shower.
I'm not sure whether that had any effect on him or not, but he wound up
hitting the puck with his glove and tipping it into his own net.
At 7:17 of the first period, Cornell's Steve Wilson was called for
cross-checking, and I'm wondering if this was the cause of the injury
to Ashlin Halfnight that Richard mentioned. For whatever reason,
Wilson got the crap beat out of him by the Harvard players, particu-
larly Martins and Sean McCann, from that point on. Anyway, with Jason
Kendall already in the box, this gave Harvard a 1:10 5-on-3 advantage,
but the Cornell penalty-killers were able to disrupt the Crimson
passing game enough to keep them from setting up any serious scoring
chances. Martins ended the 5-on-3 50 seconds later when he was called
for roughing. He and Wilson were really jawing at each other in the
penalty box, which probably made a later incident inevitable.
You can't keep Harvard's power play under wraps forever, and they broke
through on their next attempt. Chris Baird found Martins deep to the
right side of the net with a nice cross-ice pass, and the junior
forward dished to Brian Farrell in front of the net for the one-timer
at 12:22 of the first period. A minute and eight seconds later, the
Crimson were in the lead, thanks to McCann's bullet from the right
point that sailed over goaltender Andy Bandurski's shoulder. With 3:43
remaining in the first period, Martins caught up to Steve Wilson and
slammed him into the boards; Wilson dropped to the ice and stayed there
for three or four minutes before getting up and skating to the bench
with a little help. Martins got himself a boarding call.
At any rate, the Big Red tied the game on the ensuing power play, when
Mike Sancimino converted a breakaway, drilling home his own rebound
from the slot at the 17:07 mark. The second period saw Harvard have
the better of the back-and-forth action, but the Crimson for the most
part were just missing crucial passes in front of the Cornell net.
Bandurski made two or three outstanding saves during a flurry with five
minutes left in the second to preserve the tie, but the Big Red defense
finally cracked with 16 seconds remaining. A Cornell pass in front of
their own net was intercepted by Martins, who bounced one off Bandur-
ski's pads. Ben Coughlin stuffed the rebound into the net.
Steve Wilson was called for cross-checking after that one, and the
Crimson wasted little time in getting the game-winner early in the
third. Martins took a pass off the back boards and slapped one from
deep to the right side over Bandurski at the 56-second mark. The Big
Red closed to within one at 13:48 of the third. Lopatka skated the
length of the ice before getting off a quick shot that Israel blocked.
The rebound lay loose in the crease until Dan Dufresne hacked at it and
sent it into the net. But Harvard closed out the scoring with 2:45
left when Martins, who had a Cornell defenseman hanging all over him,
got off a rolling, one-handed shot that Bandurski couldn't handle.
The Big Red called timeout at the 17:34 mark, and Bandurski was out of
the net when play resumed. Harvard controlled the puck for most of the
rest of the game and iced it three times trying for the empty-netter
(which they never got, though Joe Craigen bounced one off the post as
time expired). Israel wound up making 22 saves, while Bandurski had
29.
A few players deserve special mention here at the close of the Cornell
season. Geoff Bumstead put three years of nagging injuries behind him to
have by far his best season in a Cornell uniform, leading the team in
scoring with 15-21-36 numbers and sparking linemates Jake Karam and Mike
Sancimino to solid seasons of their own. "Bummer" also led the team in
power-play goals. He will be sorely missed, as will classmate Shaun Hannah,
who had an injury-plagued senior year but was, as always, one of the most
exciting players on the ice when healthy. Among the up-and-coming players,
Vincent Auger showed some terrific skills during his freshman season and may
very well be a star in the making. Another freshman, Steve Wilson, was a
solid contributor on defense and will hopefully help anchor that troublesome
unit. Finally, keep an eye on Geoff Lopatka, who scored only three times in
the regular season but exploded for five goals and two assists over
Cornell's three playoff games.
And with a decent recruiting year, who knows...
--
Disclaimer -- Unless otherwise noted, all opinions expressed above are
strictly those of:
Bill Fenwick | Send your HOCKEY-L poll responses to:
Cornell '86 and '94 (.5) | [log in to unmask]
LET'S GO RED!!
"I've pushed and pushed on this foot pedal and nothing happens."
-- from a call to the Dell Computer Corp. technical support department from a
user who, as it developed, was trying to turn on the computer by stomping
on the mouse
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