Following a disappointing one-point weekend in the North Country, the Big Red had
to be hoping for at least a decent showing as they journeyed to Ann Arbor to
take on the #1-ranked Wolverines Tuesday night... but Cornell got much more than
that, as they were able to stay with Michigan all the way in a 3-3 tie.  It was
an up-tempo and physical game in which the Big Red never led but rallied from
one-goal deficits three times.  A key to Cornell's solid performance was the
special teams, as the Big Red did not allow Michigan to score on either their
own power play or Cornell's.  Don't laugh... when you're going up against a
short-handed unit that has scored 14 times in 20 games, keeping them off the
board is an achievement.
 
When Cornell played, and lost to, Miami back in November, the Big Red was
apparently in such awe of the highly-ranked Redskins that they were back on
their heels for most of the first period, and they soon found themselves down
3-0.  Confidence would not be a problem for Cornell on this night; head coach
Mike Schafer said after the game, "We played to win -- we challenged them."
 Michigan seemed a little flat early on, and the Wolverines were probably not
helped much by the officiating of Roger Graff, who called five non-coincidental
penalties in a two-minute span early in the first.  Three were on Michigan, and
the effect was to give the Big Red a few brief power plays.  At any rate, the
Wolverines had the biggest opportunity of the first several minutes of play, as
Cornell defenseman Jason Dailey lost the puck to Bobby Hayes at center ice.
 Hayes took off on a 2-on-0 short-handed break with Brendan Morrison, but goal-
tender Jason Elliott stood his ground and made a fantastic save of Hayes' quick
shot to keep the game scoreless.
 
Michigan got the only goal of the first period at the 16:09 mark while enjoying
a 5-on-4 advantage (though technically not a power-play goal because the Cornell
penalty expired just as the goal was scored).  Mike Legg left the puck at the
right point for Harold Schock, and as Legg headed toward the slot, Schock
unleashed a blast that was deflected on the way in.  Elliott came up with the
save, but Legg found the rebound and wristed it over the goaltender's pads.
 
Six of the ten penalties in the first period were on Cornell, and three of those
six were on Vinnie Auger.  Undisciplined play had been a factor in the Big Red's
loss at Clarkson, and rather than see this game degenerate into a repeat of that
one, Coach Schafer elected to bench Auger and another player for a while due to
their taking foolish penalties.  Chad Wilson tied the score at 3:46 of the
second on an assist from Kyle Knopp, who demonstrated why assists and goals are
both worth a point in the scoring stats, as he did everything but score this
one.  You might live several lifetimes without seeing Bubba Berenzweig, at 6-2
and 200 pounds, get knocked off the puck by somebody who goes 5-8, 180, but
that's exactly what happened here as Knopp put some intense forechecking
pressure on Berenzweig and forced him to turn the puck over.  Knopp then grabbed
the loose puck, spotted Wilson skating in from the left point, and fed him for
the quick shot that caught goalie Marty Turco off guard.
 
Michigan went back on top at the 8:14 mark, when Schock skated into the Cornell
zone on the left-wing side and fired a slapper that Morrison tipped into the air
behind Elliott.  Auger, though, came back from his benching to score the only
power-play goal of the night at 14:45 of the second, on a pretty give-and-go
play with Cooney.  Off a faceoff in the Michigan end, Auger fed the puck down
low to Cooney and broke to the net;  Cooney returned the pass, and Auger snapped
it home.  A couple minutes later, Ryan Moynihan found himself all alone in front
of the Michigan net, but he couldn't get his stick on the pass and the threat
was defused.
 
Schock cross-checked Jeff Oates in the head at the 18:02 mark and got himself a
minor, and the Cornell power-play unit put a big flurry on Turco, but he came up
with some great saves in the seventeen seconds before Cooney nullified the
man-up advantage with a cross-checking penalty of his own.  In the third period,
a big hit by David Adler on Botterill helped set up a 3-on-1 break led by Ryan
Smart, but once again, Turco stayed with the puck, made the save, and smothered
the rebound.  Moments later, during a delayed call on Cornell, Warren Luhning
got the Wolverines' third goal at 6:07 of the third.  Luhning dug the puck away
from the side boards and headed toward the net, skating around defenseman Jason
Kendall, deking Elliott to the ice, and lifting the puck over him.
 
With seven and a half minutes remaining, Cornell found themselves on another
3-on-1 when Jeff Burgoyne, Chad Wilson, and Jamie Papp broke into the Michigan
end.  With Papp heading for the slot, Wilson snapped a shot from the right side
toward the net, and Turco reacted to the shot by moving to his right, leaving
most of the net open.  However, Papp could not get his stick down in time to
redirect the shot, and the puck floated wide.  Papp was visibly frustrated by
this play, but Cornell was able to get the equalizer less than a minute later.
 This time, Darren Tymchyshyn broke in on a 2-on-1 with Matt Cooney, looked at
Cooney and faked a pass before uncorking a rising shot that flew over Turco's
shoulder and caught the net just inside the crossbar at 13:25 of the third.
 
The teams battled into overtime, and seconds into the extra period, Cornell had
a golden opportunity when a Michigan defenseman lost the puck right in front of
his own net.  Auger got to the loose puck and tried to send it ahead for Tym-
chyshyn, who couldn't get to it.  It was the Wolverines who came up with the
biggest chance of OT, though, and Botterill came within a half-inch of ending
the game.  Botterill and a teammate converged on the net, and the other player
fired a shot that hit a Cornell defender in front.  With Elliott down on his
side, Botterill got the loose puck and drew a bead on the mostly empty net, but
his shot squarely hit the left post and bounced harmlessly away.
 
Both goaltenders played superb games, with Elliott making 23 saves and Turco 19.
This was Cornell's best team effort since the win against Vermont back in
November and it shows what this team is capable of if they really put their
minds to it.  It was not a case of the Wolverines taking a breather; Michigan
played well also in extending their home-unbeaten string to 23 games (21-0-2).
But Coach Schafer summed it up best at the post-game reception (quote from Bob
Crespi): "The team's got a problem now.  They've finally played up to their
potential, so now they have to keep it up for the rest of the season."
 
They get their next chance on Saturday, at home against Army.
 
--
Disclaimer -- Unless otherwise noted, all opinions expressed above are
              strictly those of:
 
Bill Fenwick
Cornell '86 and '95
LET'S GO RED!!                                                  DJF  5/27/94
"So what's Cornell's strategy now -- go to the net?"
-- Grady Whittenberg, Cornell (WQNY) play-by-play announcer, following the
   clean-up efforts after Providence goalie Dan Dennis got sick on the ice
   during the first round of the Syracuse Invitational
 
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