Hard fought
    fast -paced
    high intensity
    spirited
    all of the above, and more.

    In what ranks as the best college hockey game played at Meehan
Auditorium in many a year, the #15 Brown Bears scored the winning goal with
1:30 remaining in the five-minute overtime period to nip the #9 Cornell Big
Red, 2-1, in a key battle for ECAC and Ivy League supremacy.  Cornell is
thereby pinned with its first conference loss of the season, and Brown is
now 22-3-5 in its last 30 games played at Meehan.

    After trading goals in the first period, the two teams, skating with
confidence and authority, settled into playoff-style hockey.  Both
goaltenders, Brown senior Yann Danis and Cornell freshman David McKee
alternated spectacular saves as each squad tried to break the 1-1 tie.  The
Big Red had taken an early lead at 15:10 of the opening period when
sophomore forward Cam Abbott's shot from the right dot was rebounded
straight out into the slot where senior forward Greg Hornby fired the puck
into the net before Danis could recover.  Sophomore forward Chris Abbott
also assisted on the score.  Little more than a minute later, the Bears got
the equalizer on a power play at 16:21 as freshman forward Brian Inhacak
fired home a McKee rebound from the left post after junior forward Les
Haggett had taken the original shot.  Senior forward Brent Robinson also
earned an assist on the goal.

    The two teams continued their epic battle in overtime , and just when
you felt that the last thing that would happen in this tight-checking game
was a breakaway, the Bears' junior forward Mike Meech took a nifty pass from
Haggett in neutral ice and broke in on McKee who went down to prevent a
possible low shot, and Meech wristed the puck above McKee's prone body for
the victory.  Robinson was credited with his second assist on the play.

    It is also significant to note that the Bears' were whistled for two
penalties in the last five minutes of play -- one at 18:45 of regulation
which carried over into the OT frame, and the second when Meech took a
cross-checking penalty at the 0:44 mark of overtime.  Brown's second-ranked
penalty kill unit rose to the occasion in both instances to keep the game
deadlocked.  46 seconds after coming out of the penalty box, Meech redeemed
himself by scoring the winning goal at 3:30 of overtime.

    Brown's Hobey Baker candidate, Yann Danis, recorded 31 saves in the
contest, while Cornell's McKee stopped a total of 26 Bear shots.  Both
goalies turned in masterful performances.

    The only mar to this terrific match came when the Big Red made a hasty
exit from the ice as the coaches were shaking hands during the Bears'
exuberant celebration following the winning goal.  The Cornell players were
ordered back to the ice for the post-game handshake, but the snub was more
than obvious.  Hard to understand, because the match had been anything but
chippy and both teams seemed to have great respect for one another.

    Finally, the two games played between these two squads this season are
most likely just a prelude to a third game in March.  But for now, it
doesn't get any better.

    Tonight's contest was the last conference game of the month for the
Bears before they host Harvard in a 4:00 afternoon tilt on January 31st.
Brown will play four out-of-conference games in the interim, leading off
with UConn at Meehan next Friday, and UNH at the Whit on Saturday.


SCORING:
Brown:  1  0  0  1  =  2
Cornell:  1  0  0  0  =  1

PENALTIES:
Brown:  7/14 min.
Cornell:  4/8 min.

POWER PLAYS:
Brown:  1/3
Cornell:  0/6

SAVES:
Danis (Brown)  9  9  10  3  = 31
McKee (Cornell)  5  8  13  0  = 26


Bill Corrigan

LET'S GO BRUNO!