RPI vs. Cornell
Friday, February 26,1999-Houston Field House, Troy,NY
attendance: 3890
officials: Mike Noeth, Jack Dunn, Brian Shea
-1-
P 2:49 CU Powell cross check
G 2:54 RPI (1-0) St. Hillaire(Murley,Riva) ppg
G 10:58 RPI (2-0) Shepherd(St. Hillaire)
P 12:34 RPI McPherson (rough)
P 14:17 CU Rutter (high stick)
P 17:39 RPI Gardiner (boarding)
-2-
G 1:47 RPI (3-0) Dupee unassisted
G 9:12 RPI (4-0) Dupee(Murley)
G 9:41 RPI (5-0) Gardiner(St. Hillaire,Shepherd)
9:41 CU timeout
9:41 CU golaie change (underhill out, Burt in)
P 11:24 RPI Murphy (unsportsmanlike conduct)
P 11:24 CU Stienstra (unsportsmanlike conduct)
P 11:53 RPI Reigstad (hitting from behind)
G 12:49 CU (5-1) Ladouceur(Knopp,Moynihan) ppg(4x3)
P 13:45 RPI Shepherd (roughing)
G 13:50 CU (5-2) Moynihan(Burgoyne) ppg
P 14:14 CU Rutter (slash)
G 14:41 RPI (6-2) Murley(Pothier,Gardiner) ppg
P 20:00 CU Moynihan (rough)
-3-
P 3:16 RPI Gardiner (delay of game)
G 4:15 CU (6-3) Kozier(Hovey,Knopp) ppg
P 4:44 CU Oates (elbow)
G 5:16 CU (6-4) Stienstra(Burgoyne) shg
18:30 CU goalie out
G 18:43 CU (6-5) Rutter(Knopp) (6x5)
18:43 RPI timeout
18:43 CU goalie in
19:15 CU goalie out
G 19:40 RPI (7-5) Shepherd(St. Hillaire,Pothier) eng
saves 1 2 3 t
RPI(Laing) 14 13 8 35
CU(Underhill,Burt) 10 5 5 20
Going into this game, RPI stood in sole possession of 3rd place
in the ECAC with 23 points. Princeton sat in 4th with 21 points.
Colgate and Yale were tied for 5th with 20 points and Cornell was in 7th
with 19 points. The final 4 games of the season finds the Engineers
facing Cornell and Colgate at home and Yale and Princeton on the road.
This had to be one of the more unusual games of the season. RPI jumped out
to a 5-0 lead and just managed to hang on for a victory as Cornell
came storming back. The victory wasn't secure until RPI scored an
empty netter at 19:40 of the 3rd.
RPI totally dominated the first 8-9 minutes of the first period.
The Engineers went up 1-0 on a power play goal just 6 seconds into their
power play. At about the 10 minute mark, Cornell started getting into the
game and the remainder of the first period was relatively even, although
RPI managed a second goal when Doug Shepherd beat a shaky looking Matt
Underhill on a blast from the top of the right faceoff circle.
RPI started looking shaky (as usual at the start of the "dreaded" 2nd period,
but quickly reversed themselves when Keith Dupee scored an unassisted
goal about 2 minutes in. Dupee scored his second of the night at 9:12
to put RPI up 4-0 and Pete Gardiner made it 5-0 just 29 seconds later.
At this point, the big question was whether Cornell could hold RPI
to single digits.
BUT THEN... Cornell calls a timeout. I don't know what Mike Shafer told
his team but this timeout marked the turning point in the game. Actually,
I suspect what RPI coach Dan Fridgen might have told his team could have
been the cause of the reversal. Prior to this,
RPI had been playing very aggressively in the offensive zone, creating
all sorts of offensive chances and not letting Cornell's offense
get set up. At this point, RPI attempted to go into a defensive shell
and just sit on their unsurmountable 5 goal lead. It didn't work.
Once the Cornell offense didn't have to worry about playing defense much,
they concentrated on attacking (and attack they did). Cornell got on the board
on a 4 on 3 power play goal at 12:49 of the second. Referee Mike Noeth
(famous for his totally incompetent handling of last year's RPI/Cornell
quarterfinal playoffs) decided to polish up his incompetence again
(in anticipation of the playoffs?) when he stood 10 feet away from the boards
and watched a Cornell player punch Doug Shepherd, watched Doug Shepherd
punch back and then watch another player retaliate against Shepherd's punch by
cross checking him. Noeth called a 2 minute rough on Shepherd. Cornell
wasted no time when they scored their second goal just 5 seconds into the
power play. Just to prove that he has hasn't lost it (his incompetence),
Noeth then proceeded to call Cornell's Mike Rutter for slashing (I saw nothing
that even remotely resembled a slash) allowing RPI to score its 6th goal
on the ensuing power play. After RPI's 6th goal, the momentum started shifting
back in RPI's favor, but there was no further scoring as the second period
ended with RPI still firmly in control at 6-2.
The third period saw Cornell come on hard. Again, RPI tried to protect
its lead by dropping into a defensive shell. Cornell closed the gap
to 6-3 on a power play at 4:15 and even further to 6-4 when
they scored a shorthanded goal at 5:16. That was as close as they
could get until they pulled Ian Burt at 18:30 and scored on a 6 on 5
at 18:43 closing the gap to 6-5. Burt had to return to the nets for
the center ice faceoff. Alain St. Hillaire managed to win the center ice
faceoff and dump the puck into the Cornell defensive zone as RPI kept
the puck in for an important 30 seconds forcing Burt to stay in the nets.
Finally, Cornell cleared the zone and Burt headed toward the bench
at 19:15. At 19:40, Brian Pothier stole the puck in the Engineers zone and
found
Alain St. Hillaire and Doug Shepherd breaking into the Cornell zone
2 on 1 and an empty net. Shepherd netted his second goal of the night
as St. Hillaire added his 3rd assist (+ 1 goal) as the Engineers barely
squeak by with a 7-5 victory.
As tonights action ends, RPI's win gives them 25 points. Colgate and Yale
both win giving them both 24 points and a tie for 4th place. Princeton's
loss leaves them at 21 points and 6th place and Cornell's loss leaves them
at 19 and in 7th place.
RPI faces Colgate at home on Saturday.
Mark Lewin
RPI '69
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