Hockey shuts out top-ranked Cornell

The men's hockey team finished last weekend with mixed results. A thrilling 1-0 overtime victory against Cornell—ranked number 10 nationally and number one in the ECAC heading into the weekend—followed a frustrating 4-2 loss to Colgate on Fri., Feb. 9.

JULIA TIERNAN The Bulldogs shut out ECAC and Ivy rival Cornell on Sat., Feb. 10. The Big Red was number 10 in the nation and number one in the ECAC coming into the weekend.

The game against Colgate was a solid defensive struggle until the last three minutes of the first period, when both teams broke the defensive match with quick goals. Yale struck first as Jason Noe, CC '02, notched his fifth goal this season at 17:14 off a rebound from Luke Earl, JE '02. Before the end of the period, Colgate leveled the score at 1-1, Pat Varecka '01 sending a shot off Bulldog goalie Dan Lombard's, SM '02, facemask to Sean Nolan '01, who promptly returned the puck for his 19th goal of the season.

The second period saw a similar defensive struggle for the first 17 minutes until Lee Jelenic, TD '01, received a five-minute major for boarding that allowed Colgate to break the game open. During the penalty, Colgate had three power-play goals within a 1:26 span that left the score at 4-1 and secured them the lead. The Elis struck back in the third period when Jeff Hamilton, SM '01, scored his 14th goal this season, but to no avail—Hamilton's goal finished the scoring for the game. Cornell goalie David Cann '04 came up big at the finish, stifling five Bulldog scoring chances; Cann finished the game with 30 saves.

Hamilton's latest point gave him 14 goals to accompany his 23 assists on the season for a total of 37 points in just 23 games. Hamilton now has 155 Yale career points dating back to 1996, leaving him just five points shy of Yale's all-time scoring record of 160, held by Mark Kaufmann '93. Hamilton's 71 career goals are enough to place him third on Yale's all-time list and just one ahead of Kaufmann.

"I think with the amount of games we have left he should get [the record]," Nick Deschenes, MC '03, said. "It's amazing to be here and to play with him as a teammate."

Hamilton has at least one point in 17 of 23 games this year and is averaging 1.61 points per game. He returned to the Bulldogs this season after a medical redshirt season last year, in which he injured an abdominal muscle and played in just two games, against Dartmouth and Princeton.

The Bulldogs and Big Red played their Sat., Feb. 10 game at the New Haven Coliseum because a last-minute equipment failure left Ingalls Rink unable to keep ice frozen. The Bulldogs played brilliant defense and shut down Cornell for three periods and overtime. Lombard controlled Cornell's offense en route to a 24-save performance. The game was Yale's first shutout of the season.

Throughout regular play both teams missed numerous chances to break the tie. One of Yale's best opportunities came with Evan Wax's, DC '03, shot on Cornell goalie Matt Underhill '02 with 19:00 left in the third period. An undefended Wax attempted a shot on goal from just outside the crease, only to have the goalie, who was scrambling to get into position, get a glove on the it.

Deschenes finally broke the tie, earning Yale the win with a goal 2:14 into the overtime period. "I was fortunate to be in a good place at a good time; a rebound hit my shin pad and I was able to get the goal," he said.

The win solidified Head Coach Tim Taylor's position as one of the best coaches in Yale hockey history. With the win, Taylor now has 279 career wins at Yale, giving him one more than former coach J. Murray Murdoch and sole position as Yale's all-time winningest coach.

With six games remaining in the Bulldogs' season, the ECAC race remains wide open as the top 11 of 12 teams are within 10 points of each other. All of the Elis' remaining games will be against ECAC opponents. "We're in a good position to go on a run and hopefully secure a home-field advantage for the playoffs," Wax said.

The Bulldogs finished the weekend tied for eighth place with Princeton in the conference at 14 points. Just four points separate the Bulldogs from the fifth and final home playoff spot. The top 10 teams will make the playoffs.

Yale has four away games in its final six contests, traveling to Union and RPI the weekend of Fri., Feb. 16. The Bulldogs next return to Ingalls Rink on Fri., Feb. 23 to play Vermont and close out their home season against Dartmouth on Sat., Feb. 24.

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