The Big Red dropped a pair at Lynah over the weekend to run their losing
streak to six games. With Princeton gaining a point in the standings cour-
tesy of their tie with Harvard, Cornell will need some help if they are
going to avoid staying at home (off the ice) for the playoffs.
Clarkson 3, Cornell 0
Clarkson 2 1 0 -- 3
Cornell 0 0 0 -- 0
First period -- Scoring:
Cla Todd Marchant (Marko Tuomainen, Shawn Fotheringham),
0:35 1-0
Cla Tuomainen (Marchant, Steve Palmer), 18:52 2-0
Penalties:
Cor Christian Felli (cross-checking), 6:25; Cla Hugo Belanger (high-
sticking), 7:09; Cla Guy Sanderson (interference), 12:22
Second period -- Scoring:
Cla Palmer (Chris de Ruiter), 16:47 3-0
Penalties:
Cla Steve Dubinsky (elbowing), 6:59; Cor Bill Holowatiuk (cross-
checking), 11:41; Cor Felli (delay of game), 13:51; Cla Marchant
(tripping), 19:36
Third period -- Penalties:
Cla Palmer (slashing), 5:34; Cla Brian Mueller (holding), 10:37;
Cla Patrice Robitaille (slashing), 15:34; Cor Geoff Bumstead (hitting
after whistle), 15:34
Shots on goal: Clarkson 10-17-9 -- 36, Cornell 7-6-7 -- 20
Power play: Clarkson 0 of 3, Cornell 0 of 6
Goaltending:
Cla Chris Rogles (20 shots, 20 saves)
Cor Eddy Skazyk (36 shots, 33 saves)
Notes:
With Clarkson playing so well lately (at least, before Saturday night
at Starr Rink), this result is not surprising, but at least Cornell's
defense put together a good game. I suspect that the coaching staff
concentrated on the defensive end of things this week in practice,
because Cornell was doing a good job clearing rebounds away from the
net and not allowing second shots -- something that has plagued the Big
Red this season. The downside of this blue-line orientation was that
it hurt Cornell's already anemic offense. The Big Red had very few
chances to test Golden Knight goalie Chris Rogles, who was called on to
stop only 20 shots to get the shutout, his third of the year. This was
the fourth time this season that the Big Red had been held scoreless.
Cornell's list of walking wounded continued, as Tyler McManus was out
again, recovering from a throat infection, and Shaun Hannah missed the
game with the flu. On the positive side, Jason Vogel was back from his
shoulder injury (for a while, anyway -- more on that later), and Russ
Hammond also played. Goaltender Andy Bandurski dressed for the game as
well, although he didn't see any action.
Clarkson played OK, showing that they had plenty of talent. They did
not play a superb game, but then, they didn't really need to. Though
the Knights have had a tendency to play down to the level of their
opponent, I don't think that happened Friday night. I got the impres-
sion that if Cornell had been able to put up more of a challenge,
Clarkson would have had no trouble responding to it. This is a
considerably better and more together Knight team than the one that
nearly lost to the Big Red up in Walker a few months ago.
The Golden Knights wasted no time in getting things started, as they
had a 1-0 lead 35 seconds after the opening faceoff. Marko Tuomainen
dug the puck out from behind the Cornell net and shovelled a weak pass
out in front. As Cornell goaltender Eddy Skazyk was turning to find
the puck, Todd Marchant got his stick on it and pushed the biscuit
across the goal line. A flustered Cornell team was having trouble
hanging on to the puck in their own zone, but as the period went on,
the Big Red started getting it all together, and they gained a lot of
confidence after killing off Clarkson's first power play. Midway
through the period, the Big Red got a little pressure going in the
Knights' zone -- at least, until Clarkson co-captain Steve Dubinsky
flipped the puck into the netting behind the Clarkson goal, causing a
stoppage in play. I felt Dubinsky should have been called for delay of
game, as his flip looked deliberate, but referee Scott Hansen just
signalled for a faceoff. (By and large, however, Hansen and fellow ref
Michael Saba, two guys I don't recall seeing before, did a good job in
this game)
Cornell's Ryan Hughes rang one off the right post on a breakaway with
about three minutes left in the first, and as it turned out, that would
be the Big Red's best chance of the night. It was Clarkson coming up
with the late goal, however, and this was probably the one that broke
Cornell's back. The Golden Knights took advantage of a Cornell defen-
sive breakdown to work a give-and-go, as Tuomainen dished off to
Marchant and sneaked by a couple of defenders. Nobody picked him up,
so he was in perfect position to the right of the net to bat home Mar-
chant's return pass with 1:08 remaining in the period. After the first
period was over, Bandurski went out on the ice and skated around to
loosen up while the teams were heading to the locker rooms. I suppose
he was just testing his ankle, because Skazyk would stay in the net the
whole game for Cornell.
The injury bug, which has been feasting on the Big Red this season,
took yet another bite at 6:59 of the second period. Vogel was checked
hard into the boards behind the Cornell net (Dubinsky was called for
elbowing on the play), and he reinjured his shoulder and was helped off
the ice. That would be the last the Lynah Faithful would see of the
senior forward this weekend. Clarkson was picking up the pace in the
second period, and they were peppering Skazyk from all angles, but the
freshman goaltender was coming up with some terrific saves. With 6:40
remaining in the period and the Golden Knights on the power play, Tuo-
mainen fired point-blank at the Cornell net, but Skazyk knocked the
puck aside with his pad. Shortly after that, Christian Felli was
called for delay of game for some reason (I didn't see what happened,
but I'm guessing he whacked at the puck after the whistle had blown or
something), and Clarkson found themselves with another power play.
They nearly converted it with less than five minutes left, as Brian
Mueller's pass from the left corner found Hugo Belanger near the right
side of the net, but Skazyk stayed with the puck nicely and blocked
Belanger's wrister.
However, the Knights finally broke through at the 16:47 mark with what
would be the final goal of the game. Hughes had the puck near his own
blue line, but Steve Palmer and Chris de Ruiter combined to knock him
off it, and Palmer skated through the Cornell zone, eluded Felli, faked
Skazyk down to the ice, and flipped the puck over him. The third
period was rather slowly played and except for the occasional penalty
was uneventful. Cornell was not able to do much in the offensive zone,
and Clarkson, with the game well in hand, was coasting. Skazyk wound
up with 33 saves in another pretty good performance. The victory was
the 99th of head coach Mark Morris' tenure with the Golden Knights.
The highlight of the game for me came between the second and third
periods, when I spotted somebody in a Cornell hockey jacket with the
number "16" on the sleeve. Since I knew P.C. Drouin was in the game, I
was a little curious -- well, it turned out to be Stephane Gauvin, a
former winger who graduated last year and is one of the most genuinely
likeable people you could ever meet. Several boosters, including
myself, dropped by to wish him well and to tell him we wished he hadn't
used up all his college eligibility :-)
St. Lawrence 8, Cornell 2
St. Lawrence 4 2 2 -- 8
Cornell 1 1 0 -- 2
First period -- Scoring:
S Mark McGeough (Gerard Verbeek), 7:47 1-0
S Spencer Meany (Mike McCourt), 9:20 2-0
S Dan Skene (Ted Beattie, Brian McCarthy), 13:20 (PP) 3-0
S Lee Albert (Greg Carvel), 16:25 (SH) 4-0
C Ryan Hughes (Bill Holowatiuk), 19:58 4-1
Penalties:
C Dan Dufresne (holding), 3:10; S John Massoud (hooking), 4:35; C P.C.
Drouin (tripping), 11:52; S Mike Allain (high-sticking), 15:36
Second period -- Scoring:
S Allain (McCourt, Jeff Kungle), 2:16 5-1
C Hughes (Geoff Bumstead), 2:27 5-2
S Verbeek (McGeough), 10:51 6-2
Penalties:
C Tyler McManus (cross-checking), 1:00; S Beattie (slashing), 1:19;
C Etienne Belzile (tripping), 8:51; S Burke Murphy (cross-checking)
9:50; S Chris Dashney (holding), 12:58; S Verbeek (roughing) 14:54;
C Brad Chartrand (roughing), 14:54
Third period -- Scoring:
S McCourt (Carvel, Albert), 5:11 7-2
S Jim Giacin (Brian Kapeller, Cade Blackburn), 16:47 8-2
Penalties:
S Blackburn (high-sticking), 4:33; C Tim Shean (high-sticking), 4:33;
S McGeough (tripping), 5:44; S Verbeek (roughing), 5:44; C Mark Scollan
(roughing, roughing), 5:44; C Joel McArter (hitting after whistle),
8:13; S Dashney (high-sticking), 11:25; C Drouin (roughing), 11:25;
S Burke Murphy (holding), 11:52; C Shaun Hannah (slashing), 13:10;
S Allain (slashing served by McGeough, elbowing), 17:35; C Christian
Felli (roughing), 17:35; S Beattie (high-sticking, misconduct), 19:56;
C McArter (high-sticking, misconduct), 19:56
Shots on goal: St. Lawrence 15-10-7 -- 32, Cornell 6-10-6 -- 22
Power play: St. Lawrence 1 of 6, Cornell 0 of 7
Goaltending:
S Paul Spagnoletti (22 shots, 20 saves)
C Eddy Skazyk (15 shots, 11 saves); Andy Bandurski (in at 0:00 second
period, 17 shots, 13 saves)
Notes:
The last time these two met, up at Appleton Arena in November, it was a
close game until St. Lawrence exploded for four goals in the third
period. This time, the Saints elected to get the explosion over with
early, as they put together a four-goal outburst over a nine-minute
span in the first period to blow the game open. Once again, injury and
illness were the story of the day for the Big Red, as Jason Vogel did
not start and Russ Hammond, who is still recovering from pneumonia, was
scratched from the lineup. Shaun Hannah dressed for the game, though,
as did Tyler McManus, who saw his first action in three weeks.
The Saints were flying from the moment the puck was dropped for the
opening faceoff, while Cornell was back on their heels and playing
sluggishly. A foolish holding penalty on Dan Dufresne at the 3:10 mark
almost proved costly, as St. Lawrence came close to scoring on the
ensuing power play. Etienne Belzile moved over to the right side of
the net to pick up the St. Lawrence player who had the puck, but mean-
while, another Saint had sneaked behind Belzile to the left side, where
he was perfectly positioned for the quick pass through the crease.
Fortunately for the Big Red, he flipped the shot over the net, and the
threat ended seconds later when a penalty on St. Lawrence negated the
power play.
Seven minutes into the game, Cornell goaltender Eddy Skazyk made a
spectacular save that fired up both his team and the Lynah Faithful.
He had lost his stick near the left corner of the Cornell zone, and
while he was retrieving it, a St. Lawrence player fired at the empty
net from near the blue line. Skazyk dove back to block the shot,
sliding through the crease, and a Cornell defenseman (Tim Shean, I
think) cleared away the loose puck. The joy was short-lived, however,
as the St. Lawrence onslaught began 47 seconds later. Gerard "Yes, I'm
Pat's brother" Verbeek blasted one from near the point that ricocheted
off the back boards, and with Skazyk at the edge of the crease to play
the first shot, Mark McGeough flipped the rebound behind him from the
right circle.
Half a minute later, Cornell had an opportunity to tie the game when
Ryan Hughes and P.C. Drouin skated into the Saints' zone on a 2-on-1,
but the defenseman snuffed Hughes' return pass to Drouin. It was 2-0
at the 9:20 mark, as Spencer Meany corralled the puck at center ice,
skated around Dufresne, and stuffed a shot between Skazyk's pad and the
left post. I think Skazyk got a little anxious at this point (the
defense wasn't playing as well in front of him as they had the night
before), and he started roaming a bit from the crease, almost paying
for it a minute later. With Verbeek bearing down on a loose puck in
the Cornell zone, Skazyk elected to come out and play it, rather than
face the potential breakaway (no other Cornell player was in the zone).
The goaltender flipped the puck behind the net -- however, a second St.
Lawrence player was waiting on the other side. Skazyk scrambled back
in time to block the shot, and he tried to cover the puck, but wound up
batting it to Verbeek, who shot wide left of the open net.
Midway through a St. Lawrence power play, Brian McCarthy fired from the
slot, but his shot bounced off the right post. He wound up getting an
assist anyway, as at 13:20 of the first period, Dan Skene wristed one
from the left point that hit the post and went into the net. With five
minutes left in the period, Cornell had another scoring chance, as a
long pass sprung Hannah on a breakaway, but Saints goalie Paul Spagno-
letti kicked the shot aside. Mike Allain was called for high-sticking
at the 15:36 mark, but it was the Saints striking for the short-handed
goal at 16:25, as Greg Carvel blocked a Hughes slap shot and dumped the
puck out of the zone for a streaking Lee Albert, who faked twice and
backhanded a shot to Skazyk's glove side.
It appeared that St. Lawrence would have no trouble maintaining their
4-0 lead against a tired Cornell team, but the Big Red struck with only
two seconds remaining before intermission, on a goal set up by a pair
of nice plays to keep the puck in the zone. Hughes dove to the ice to
poke the puck away from a St. Lawrence player, and then defenseman Bill
Holowatiuk kept the puck from crossing the blue line with some good
stick work, finding Hughes in the slot. Hughes spun and beat Spagno-
letti low.
Andy Bandurski replaced Skazyk in the net at the beginning of the
second period. Cornell's late goal might have given them some momen-
tum, except that they suddenly found themselves on the penalty kill a
minute into the second, when McManus was called for cross-checking on
what looked like a legal hit to me. A call on the Saints 19 seconds
later evened things out, but Allain put his team up 5-1 at the 2:16
mark, blowing through the Cornell defense on a breakaway and firing the
puck through Bandurski's legs. The Big Red responded eleven seconds
later, as Geoff Bumstead's shot hit the right post and flew out to the
slot, where an onrushing Hughes flipped it home.
Eight minutes into the second, Carvel crumpled to the ice in the corner
of the Cornell zone and was helped to the training room, although he
would return for the third period. McGeough and Verbeek combined to
put the Saints up 6-2 at the 10:51 mark as a Cornell penalty expired,
with McGeough coming in on a breakaway and firing a low shot that
Bandurski blocked. In the process, Bandurski lost his stick, and Ver-
beek flipped the loose puck over him and into the net. The Big Red
went on the power play two minutes after that, but Allain almost
single-handedly killed it off, as he was all over the ice intercepting
passes, blocking shots, and so on.
A hint of things to come happened with five minutes left in the period,
as Drouin got into heated discussions and shoving matches with both Ted
Beattie and Verbeek. Bumstead was also involved, but it was Brad Char-
trand getting the penalty call for Cornell. The Big Red hustled in the
offensive zone late in the period, and they had at least four good
scoring opportunities in the last minute of play.
The Saints' seventh goal came at 5:11 of the third, when Mike McCourt
sent a hard shot through a clump of players and past a screened Bandur-
ski, who was falling backward. By now, Cornell was plenty frustrated,
and the game got chippy. Mark Scollan earned himself a double minor at
5:44 for taking on McGeough and Verbeek at the same time (gotta admire
his spunk, I guess), and later in the period, when referee Harry Ammian
pulled Hannah away from Meany and sent him to the box for slashing,
Meany followed the pair down the ice, hollering what I presume were
insults at Hannah. St. Lawrence closed out the scoring with 3:13 left,
on Jim Giacin's hard wrister from the left circle. Bandurski got his
pad on the shot, but the puck rolled behind him and into the net. The
game ended with a flurry of punches and shovings at both ends of the
ice, which earned a couple of the participants misconducts. Bandurski
made 13 saves in relief of Skazyk, who had 11; Spagnoletti stopped 20
of 22 shots. The win gave St. Lawrence a sweep of the season series
for the first time since the 1988-89 season.
--
Bill Fenwick | Send your HOCKEY-L poll responses to:
Cornell '86 and probably '94 | [log in to unmask]
LET'S GO RED!!
"Getting married was the best way I knew how to tick off my father-in-law."
-- Bob Saget
|
