Dave writes:
> A player on Cornell's team is called for a delayed penalty; the other team ha
> the puck and the ref's arm is raised.  Cornell then gets a goal, it counts, a
> the player getting the goal is none other than the person on whom the penalty
> was
> called.  Cornell's opponent then proceeds to have a 2-minute power-play.
> How can this happen?
 
Kenny Z. answers:
>Whoa!  If I'm understanding what you're saying, the above situation is
>impossible.
 
Wow, this is actually kind of funny because 1) Kenny is a ref :-), 2) the team
it happened to was none other than RPI, and 3) I was there, watching the whole
evil thing from the catwalk of the Field House.
 
The scene is March 1, 1986, Cornell at RPI.  The final regular season game.
RPI has the puck deep in the Cornell zone when the referee signals a delayed
penalty, causing RPI goalie Brian Jopling to head for the bench for the extra
skater.  An RPI player, I think Mark Jooris, digs the puck out and immediately
fires a NO-LOOK pass out to the point.  But there is no one there.
 
Years pass as the puck rolls slowly toward the empty net.  As 5400 fans scream,
Jopling turns to see what is happening.  He tries to get back to stop the puck,
to no avail.  Since RPI shot the puck into their own net, the goal goes to
the Cornell player who last touched the puck.  He was also the one who
committed the penalty!  I forget his name, although I do have around here
somewhere the official game sheet from that game.  Somewhere.  As Keith knows,
I don't throw ANYTHING away.  But I haven't seen it for 6 years and chances
of me finding it are next to impossible without turning this place upside
down.
 
The goal enabled Cornell to tie RPI and send the game into OT, where the Big
Red won, 7-6.  Coming in the final regular season game, it enabled Cornell
to move ahead of RPI and finish third in the ECAC with 28 points.  RPI
finished fourth with 27 and was swept at home by Clarkson in the 1986 ECAC
quarterfinals.  Cornell went on to beat Vermont in the quarterfinals and win
the ECAC championship, earning a bid to the NC$$ tournament.
 
Wow.
 
BTW, I wrote the game story for the Polytechnic (RPI school paper) on that
game along with most others for that season, being the versatile person I
am. :-)  I have those, too...somewhere...
---
Mike Machnik    [log in to unmask]   mikem@{beanpot,bubba}.ma30.bull.com