I haven't seen anything on the Cornell-Minnesota game from the Mariucci
Classic on New Year's Eve, so here's the box score as near as I could tell
from the radio broadcast, along with a few notes:
 
Minnesota 5, Cornell 2
 
Cornell        0    2    0  --  2
Minnesota      2    2    1  --  5
 
First period -- Scoring:
     M Jeff Nielsen (Tony Bianchi, Joe Dziedzic), 3:24           0-1
     M Dziedzic (Nielsen, Bianchi), 7:11                         0-2
 
Penalties:
     M Jed Fiebelkorn (cross-checking), 16:40; C Steve Wilson (elbowing),
     17:39
 
Second period -- Scoring:
     C Mike Sancimino (Vinnie Auger, Mark Scollan), 1:21 (PP)    1-2
     M Chris McAlpine (Nielsen, Bianchi), 7:57                   1-3
     C Geoff Bumstead (Blair Ettles, Auger), 16:10 (PP)          2-3
     M C. McAlpine (Woog), 18:59                                 2-4
 
Penalties:
     M Bianchi (holding?), 0:45; C Jake Karam (misconduct), 7:20; C Jamie Papp
     (high-sticking), 10:30; M C. McAlpine (high-sticking), 10:30; C Shaun
     Hannah (high-sticking), 13:39; M Bianchi (holding), 14:28; M Eric Means
     (high-sticking), 15:36
 
Third period -- Scoring:
     M Bobby Dustin (C. McAlpine), 5:50                          2-5
 
Penalties:
     C Tony Bergin (roughing), 13:28; M C. McAlpine (roughing), 13:28;
     C Christian Felli (interference), 16:56; M Dziedzic (roughing), 16:56;
     C Wilson (slashing), 18:30; M Dan Hendrickson (slashing), 18:30; M C.
     McAlpine (roughing), 19:24; M Means (roughing?), 19:24
 
Shots on goal:  Cornell 1-10-10 -- 21, Minnesota 10-14-16 -- 40
 
Power play:  Cornell 2 of 5, Minnesota 0 of 2
 
Goaltending:
     C Eddy Skazyk (20 saves, 24 shots), Andy Bandurski (in at 0:00 of third
     period, 15 saves, 16 shots)
     M Jeff Callinan (19 saves, 21 shots)
 
Game notes:
     Going into the game, Cornell sported an undefeated road record (2-0-2),
     while the Gophers had not lost at the new Mariucci (3-0-2), so obviously
     something had to give, and it turned out to be the Big Red's road streak.
     This was the first time these two teams had ever played each other, and
     only the second time in their history that Cornell had faced a team from
     the state of Minnesota (the Big Red defeated Minnesota-Duluth in the
     Syracuse Invitational in 1968).
 
     The Big Red's troubles on offense have been well-documented, and their
     woes continued in the first period of this game.  Cornell got off the
     first shot on goal of the game, a high slapper from Geoff Bumstead about
     a minute and a half in, and then they rested on their laurel.  Minnesota
     responded with ten unanswered shots over the remainder of the period, and
     not surprisingly, they outscored Cornell 2-0.  The Gophers' first goal
     came about as a result of a turnover near the Cornell crease.  The Big
     Red controlled the faceoff after an icing call, but as defenseman Steve
     Wilson cut in front of the net, he had the puck poked off his stick,
     which led to Jeff Nielsen's stuff-in from the edge of the crease at the
     3:24 mark.  Linemate Joe Dziedzic padded the Gopher lead at 7:11 of the
     first, when his soft shot hit goaltender Eddy Skazyk in the leg and
     trickled through the pads.
 
     It looked like the game would become a Minnesota runaway, but the Big Red
     somehow kept the Gophers off the board for the rest of the period, and
     Cornell got back into it early in the second.  Vinnie Auger skated toward
     the Minnesota net from the left circle, then left the puck for Mike San-
     cimino, who was all alone in front.  Sancimino snapped one inside the
     right post behind goalie Jeff Callinan to put the Big Red on the board
     1:21 into the middle stanza.  Cornell started to pick up the pressure on
     offense, but at the 7:20 mark, Jake Karam grumbled something to one of
     the referees and earned himself a ten-minute misconduct, and Minnesota
     regained their two-goal lead 37 seconds later.  Bianchi took a shot that
     Skazyk blocked, but he gave up the rebound to Chris McAlpine at the edge
     of the crease, and the next thing you know, the puck was in the back of
     the net.  The Cornell players disputed this one, apparently arguing that
     McAlpine had kicked it in, but the goal stood.  From the radio announ-
     cer's description, the puck did go in off McAlpine's skate, but he didn't
     kick it, so the contact was ruled "inadvertent."  Anyway, the Gophers
     were up 3-1.
 
     The score stayed that way until there were under five minutes left in the
     second period, when Cornell suddenly found themselves in a 5-on-3
     situation, which they were able to convert.  Blair Ettles took a shot
     from the slot that missed the net, but Bumstead got the rebound off the
     back boards and fired it past Callinan, who was screened by two of his
     teammates.  The goal cut the Gophers' lead to one with 3:50 left in the
     period, and the momentum seemed to be going Cornell's way.  However, Mc-
     Alpine got one at the 18:59 mark that took the wind out of the Big Red's
     sails and all but took them out of the game as well.  He took a shot that
     forward Tyler McManus blocked with his leg, but McAlpine pounced on the
     rebound and fired a 60-footer from the slot that Skazyk never saw.
 
     When the teams came out for the third period, Andy Bandurski replaced
     Skazyk between the pipes for the Big Red.  If this was an attempt to
     shake up the Cornell team, it didn't work too well, as Minnesota closed
     out the scoring 5:50 into the period.  Once again, McAlpine figured in
     the scoring, as he fed Bobby Dustin, who caught Bandurski moving the
     wrong way and wristed one just inside the post.  The last seven or eight
     minutes of the game were marred by chippy play on the part of both teams,
     and it all boiled over with under a minute left.  A flurry in front of
     the Minnesota net ended with a Bumstead shot rolling through the crease,
     the net coming off its mounts, and a big shoving match near the slot.
     Bumstead wound up squaring off with Nick Checco, who dropped the gloves
     -- a move that, once upon a time, used to earn the guilty party a
     fighting major (not that it would have made much of a difference at this
     point).  At any rate, when all was said and done, Cornell ended up with
     another 5-on-3, but this one lasted only 36 seconds, and the Big Red
     didn't do much with it.
 
     Callinan was shaky in the Minnesota net at times, but he got the win,
     recording 19 saves in the process.  For Cornell, Skazyk had 20 saves, and
     Bandurski played well in relief, stopping 15 of 16 shots.  The Cornell
     power play may finally be coming around, as they went 2 of 5 in this
     game.  Combined with the third period of the Boston College game (in
     which Cornell had a pair of power-play goals), the Big Red has converted
     four of its last nine power plays, after converting just one of its first
     39 on the season.  Granted, Minnesota is not the world's greatest team in
     short-handed situations (killing off 74% of opponents' penalties going
     into this game), but there may still be hope yet for the Big Red's
     special teams.  Cornell will next take on Maine in the Mariucci Classic
     consolation game on January 2.
--
Disclaimer -- Unless otherwise noted, all opinions expressed above are
              strictly those of:
 
Bill Fenwick                        |  Send your HOCKEY-L poll responses to:
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LET'S GO RED!!
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