Males’s Hockey Defeats Duluth in Season Opener

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No. 12 Cornell males’s hockey (1-0-0, 0-0 ECAC) dropped the puck on its 2023-24 season with a hard-fought 4-1 win in opposition to No. 11 Minnesota Duluth (3-1-2, 0-0 NCHC). It was the Bulldogs first lack of the season.

“I believed that was an enormous win for us,” stated head coach Mike Schafer ‘86. “They’re a great hockey staff…they received guys who could make performs, [but] I believed our guys did a great job.”

It was all Crimson from the start, conserving the puck primarily within the Bulldogs’ defensive zone, with two nice scoring possibilities. Nonetheless, the sport switched up fairly fast, with the subsequent couple of minutes being saved primarily within the Crimson’s defensive zone.

The primary energy play alternative was awarded to Crimson after a Carter Loney holding penalty just below midway into the interval. Coming into the sport, Duluth had taken the second most penalties within the NCAA with 35.

With eight seconds to go within the energy play, Duluth ahead Anthony Menghini was known as for hooking, placing the Crimson on a quick five-on-three benefit and an prolonged energy play alternative. The Crimson had been lastly in a position to money in after a couple of high quality possibilities, and it was sophomore ahead Dalton Bancroft who gave the Crimson its first objective of the 2023-24 season, and a 1-0 Cornell lead.

The Crimson wasn’t even in a position to soak in its first objective earlier than they discovered the again of the web as soon as extra. Simply 14 seconds after its first tally, Cornell doubled its lead when junior ahead Jack O’Leary used his robust puck-carrying expertise and located senior ahead Kyle Penney, who buried a backhand shot previous the Duluth netminder.

From there, it was all Cornell, dominating offensive zone time and forcing Duluth’s Zach Stejskal to make some good saves. The Crimson had been firing on all cylinders, almost extending its result in three when junior ahead Kyler Kovich almost backhanded it over a sprawling Stejskal with simply over 4 minutes left within the first.

With 4 minutes remaining within the first, Cornell had outshot the Bulldogs, 11-3. Whereas its offensive surge was spectacular sufficient by itself, the Crimson held their very own in opposition to the bodily Bulldogs, knocking Duluth gamers off of pucks and laying some massive hits at middle ice.

As time dwindled within the first, it was the Bulldogs that had an offensive surge of their very own, forcing Shane to make essential saves to maintain them off the scoresheet. With 1:09 left within the first, the Crimson as soon as once more had the person benefit when Duluth’s Cole Spicer went to the field for cross-checking. Bancroft had an awesome alternative to make it 3-0 on the ability play, however the puck ricocheted off the crossbar and out. The two-0 rating held till the buzzer sounded off on the primary interval.

At the beginning of the second, proper as one Duluth penalty wrapped up, the Bulldogs’ Ben Steeves landed within the field after a tripping penalty. Cornell earned its fourth energy play of the evening. This time, the Bulldogs’ pesky forechecking prevented the Crimson from establishing itself within the offensive zone till lower than a minute remained within the man benefit, and time in the end ran out earlier than the Crimson may get a high quality probability.

Each groups got here out of the gates within the second robust, alternating possession, nevertheless it was in the end the Crimson that had extra possibilities on objective. Shane, who went untested within the first moreover the 4 pictures that Duluth placed on objective, made some key stops nearly midway into the interval to maintain the Bulldogs scoreless.

Quickly got here yet one more alternative for the Crimson to get its third objective, when O’Leary separated himself from the Duluth skaters and had a breakaway probability however misplaced management of the puck, permitting Stejskal to poke it away.

The highly-skilled Duluth energy play was put to the check when freshman ahead Jonathan Castagna went to the field for roughing. The Bulldogs had some good possibilities proper off the bat, however Shane stood robust, making a stellar glove save on Duluth’s Spicer from the slot. The Crimson had a shorthanded strive, stopping it, the Bulldogs’ took a penalty of their very own, permitting for four-on-four play for lower than a minute. The four-on-four tilted in favor of the Bulldogs, who put a few prime possibilities on internet however couldn’t discover the reply to Shane.

On its transient energy play after Castagna’s penalty expired, the Crimson went to work. As soon as once more, Bancroft discovered the puck on his stick and fired it in the direction of the web, connecting with freshman ahead Ryan Walsh who tipped it masterfully previous Stejskal. It was his first collegiate objective.

“It was fairly cool,” Walsh stated. “[We] come out Lynah’s packed….[the] first shift was positively nerve wracking however after that [I] simply began to play hockey and [it] turned second nature.”

Duluth had one other probability to show its energy play ability as freshman defenseman George Fegaras went to the field on an interference name. It was the Crimson that received the primary scoring probability, nonetheless, when Walsh broke out on a two-on-one, passing to senior ahead Gabriel Seger who’s shot was deflected simply large.

The Bulldogs lastly transformed on the ability play when Duluth’s Steeves backhanded a shot over Shane, who was down after chaos across the crease. Cornell proceeded to problem the play for goaltender interference, however a fast assessment confirmed the Duluth objective and stripped Cornell of its sole timeout.

After its first objective, the momentum shifted in favor of the Bulldogs, who started to eat away at Cornell’s lead in pictures on objective. Shane stood tall in internet, stopping a handful of pictures, together with one which deflected straight off his helmet with only a couple minutes remaining within the body.

The third interval was cut up fairly evenly between the 2 groups, with each goalies making some stable saves, however Cornell continued to carry the sting in pictures over Duluth. The interval’s greatest scoring probability was by the Bulldogs, who fired a puck throughout the crease to a ahead ready on the again door, however a sprawling left pad save by Shane preserved the Crimson’s two-goal lead.

In contrast to the 2 prior durations, the primary half of the third noticed itself to be penalty-free, rewarding each groups with some long-awaited five-on-five play.

After the back-and-forth play, the Crimson had been lastly in a position to money in with simply over 4 minutes remaining. This time, it was O’Leary who netted his first objective of the season off of a Castagna feed and prolonged the Crimson’s result in 4-1.

The Crimson completed the final minute of the sport on the penalty kill, as Seger was known as for delay-of-game on what seemed to be a faceoff violation. Shane and the Cornell penalty killers had been as much as the duty, stopping a late flurry of Duluth pictures, in the end closing out the victory.

The second of the two-game sequence is about for tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Lynah Rink.

“That was the primary sport and we received to come back again with the mentality that we misplaced that sport,” Schafer stated. “When individuals lose, you face adversity and you’ve got a distinct sort of focus. And profitable groups have an actual dangerous style of their mouth once they win or lose, they need extra. They wish to show themselves and I feel that’s the place we’re…we’re one sport [in] and we have now one thing to show to ourselves as a hockey staff.”