The Big Red opened its 1994-95 season with an exhibition game against the
Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, and despite a terrific effort (especially on
offense), Cornell came out on the short end of a 3-2 score.  The scuttle-
butt going into the game was that freshman Jason Elliott had been doing so
well in practice that he was a serious threat to take the goaltending job
away from Andy Bandurski and Eddy Skazyk.  The scuttlebutt may have something
there; Elliott started on Saturday and had a pretty strong game between the
pipes, stopping a few breakaways and even a penalty shot along the way.  He
was overshadowed by the brilliant performance of Wilfrid Laurier goalie Mike
Crawford, who all but single-handedly won the game for the Golden Hawks, but
still, it looks like there's going to be a hot competition for the Big Red
goaltending spot(s) this year.
 
Other aspects of Cornell's game deserve special mention as well.  The offense
put up a total of 44 shots on goal, which must sound a little unreal to those
Big Red fans who have seen the team over the last few years.  That, I be-
lieve, is the team's highest total since a game at Dartmouth in January of
1991.  The defense continues to improve, and the special teams did quite well
also, despite going only 1 for 12 on the power play.  All in all, a good per-
formance for the Big Red against an older and bigger team that had already
played a dozen games this season.
 
Elliott got a chance to strut his stuff eight minutes into the first period,
when Golden Hawk forward Matt Turek streaked across the blue line on a break-
away.  The goaltender stood his ground, snuffing the threat with a nice pad
save.  Seconds later, Cornell freshman Ryan Smart led a breakaway going the
other way, but Crawford was able to stop that one with a quick glove save.
The fun really began at 16:55 of the first period, when the Hawks' Mike Dahle
raced up the ice on what looked like a clean break, only to be hooked down
from behind by Chad Wilson.  Wilfrid Laurier elected to take the penalty
shot, and Dahle tried to stuff a forehand shot between Elliott and the right
post, but Elliott was equal to the task.  This was the first penalty shot at
Lynah since Joe Nieuwendyk's last game back in February 1987.
 
Wilfrid Laurier did score moments later, however.  Elliott stopped a blast by
Izmit Kulafofski from the right side, and Dahle's rebound try hit the post,
but with the goaltender scrambling to get back into position, Turek flipped
the loose puck into the net.  Elliott faced another breakaway a couple
minutes into the second period and once again turned the shot aside with his
pad.
 
A pair of Cornell penalties gave Wilfrid Laurier a 1:40 5-on-3 advantage
midway through the second, but a solid penalty kill (helped in no small
measure by Elliott's three big saves) kept the Hawks off the board.  This
gave the team a big lift and also got the crowd into the game, and it was
only a matter of time before Cornell would light the lamp.  In fact, it
wasn't very much time at all, as the Big Red tied the score at the 11:56
mark.  Dan Dufresne dumped the puck into the Wilfrid Laurier zone, where Tony
Bergin tracked it down, firing a pass to Jake Karam in the left circle.
Karam paused, then wristed a shot past Crawford's glove.  Two minutes later,
Mike Sancimino had a breakaway down the right side but couldn't get the shot
over Crawford's shoulder.
 
Wilfrid Laurier regained the lead at 4:04 of the third period.  Kulafofski
took a shot that Elliott blocked with the pad, but Kulafofski kept hacking at
the puck, eventually lifting it into the net.  The Big Red tied the score
again at the 10:40 mark, on a rush up the ice by Tyler McManus.  Crawford
blocked McManus' first shot, but the Cornell winger was able to whack the
rebound over the fallen goalie.
 
However, a missed assignment at center ice led to a breakaway for James
White, and he notched the game-winner with 4:09 left, flipping a shot over
Elliott's shoulder from the slot.  After that goal, Wilfrid Laurier went into
a defensive shell, and it looked for a while like Cornell was going to make
them pay for that decision, but a late penalty snuffed the Big Red's hopes.
Crawford weathered a furious Cornell attack and played a superb game, ending
up with 42 saves.  Elliott had 23 for the Big Red.
 
So what are we to make of this Cornell team?  A lot remains to be seen, of
course, but outside of the score, it was a reasonably successful debut.
While only two shots got past Crawford, the offense was teeing off on him
regularly, and they had numerous opportunities that they were thisclose to
converting.  Again, the defense has improved, although Elliott still had to
face more breakaways than were absolutely necessary.  And speaking of
Elliott, he played a solid game, especially for a freshman, and he may evoke
memories of that other Eliot who was a goaltender for Cornell -- Darren, who
backstopped the Big Red to the ECAC tournament championship as a freshman and
was an All-American as a senior.  Admittedly, that may be a bit of a high
standard for this year's Elliott, but if he keeps playing like this, he'll be
in the lineup before long... maybe even this coming weekend.
 
So, despite the loss, Cornell looked pretty good.  As a final point, if
you're looking for an omen, the last time the Big Red lost an exhibition game
was at the beginning of the 1987-88 season -- and they went on to win 19
games that year, still the best record of the McCutcheon era.
--
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!!                                                  DJF  5/27/94
"I had a terrible time in college, until I finally figured out what my
 problem was.  I had been highlighting with a black magic marker."
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