>Cornell looked good early, and spent some time in the offensive zone.
>Junior defenseman Ryan Boyd gave Union a 1-0 lead with a long shot
>from the blue line.  It was Boyd's first career goal.
 
This was actually a nice play set up by Union. The puck was carried
deep into the Cornell zone and, with about 6 players 5 feet in front
of Elliot, slipped through the pile where Boyd was waiting. He did
a little one-time wrister that went right by Elliot.
 
>Cornell's Kyle Knopp (have to love watching this guy play)
 
I kept on calling this guy an annoying little gnat - which is
actually a compliment. You love him if he's on your team, but
hate him if he isn't. He's a little guy that can just sneak up
behind you, steal the puck, and be halfway down the ice before
you know it.
 
>A few times in the second,
>Cornell looked completely rattled, letting Union skate right by them.
 
This was quite amazing. Union hasn't really made anyone look bad
in a long time - maybe since Cornell last came to Schenectady. You
know you're doing something right when you keep the puck in the
offensive zone for almost 2 minutes. That's what Union did and
clearly kept Cornell off-balance. It resulted in the eventual
game-winning goal.
 
>Union came out in the third looking like they were happy to go on
>defense and it looked like we were in for 20 minutes of Cornell
>buzzing around the zone with Union trying to hold on.  Cornell got
>within one just two minutes in on a Ryan Smart five hole shot that
>Koenig normally stops with ease.
 
I figured that Cornell would come back and tie it - especially if
they scored within the first few minutes. But the third period
was unlike a typical Union one-goal win. They managed a lot of
offensive pressure and had about 3-4 quality shots against Elliot.
There's a reason why Elliot should be (is he?) an All-American.
He showed that with some good saves in the 3rd period.
 
All in all, I think I've seen Union's best game of the season.
Yes, we're only in December, but the combined effort they showed
was incredibly impressive. If you knew that one of these teams
was the defending ECAC champs and the other lost 13 players to
graduation, I think you'd have a hard time deciding which was which.
 
Andy Weise
SUNY Potsdam '93
Union College '95
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.