ITHACA — How it went in is a bit of a mystery, but it was a huge goal for both Riley Nash and his Cornell teammates.
Nash scored his second goal of the game late in the second period on the power play off a scramble in front of the Harvard net to lead No. 14 Cornell to a 2-1 win over the 18th-ranked Crimson in front of a full house Friday night at Lynah Rink.
“(Harvard defenseman Alex) Biega was hacking and whacking down there, so I just spun around and tried to jam it home,” Nash said. “Maybe it went off (goalie Matt Hoyle's) pad and off (Colin) Greening's skate and in. I think it went off Greening's skate and a little bouncy ball in there.”
While who really scored the goal is a mystery, the play definitely started with Blake Gallagher getting free in the slot for a shot that was blocked by Harvard center Jimmy Fraser. But the shot stung Fraser, who struggled to get to his feet.
“I took it off the kneecap,” Fraser said. “I got up and couldn't put any weight on it. I tried to get back to the net but they were hacking away at it.”
The final hack turned out to be the most important for a team that's been waiting for one of its leading scorers to deliver.
Nash has been routinely forcing the issue all season, but had nothing to show for it but a single assist.
“You're always gripping the stick a little tight, especially when you haven't scored in a couple games,” Nash said. “Me and Greening finally had a good game where we reading better off each other a lot better.”
More importantly, the Big Red (3-0-2, 3-0-2 ECAC Hockey) was able to contain the Crimson (4-3-1, 4-3-1) all night and make sure that goalie Ben Scrivens had to make just 14 saves to earn the victory.
“It's nice to see Riley score a couple of goals and relieve some of the pressure on him,” Cornell coach Mike Schafer said. “The biggest thing is that going into the third, I think we did a tremendous job. It's been a couple years now since I've seen our team be able to go into the third and do a great job of maintaining our aggressiveness, but play solid defensive hockey.”
Yet for the second time in as many games at Lynah this season, the Big Red surrendered an early goal. Scrivens got mixed up with his defensemen on Peter Starrett's dump-in, allowing Michael Biega to skate on to the puck behind the net and tuck it around the right post before Scrivens could recover.
But unlike last Saturday's tie with Colgate, the Big Red had an immediate answer with Nash's first goal.
Greening and Locke Jillson worked the puck down low and along the right wing boards when the puck squirted free to Nash in the slot. He wristed a shot past Hoyle's blocker to tie the score at 1.
From there, Cornell put down the clamps defensively and drew three penalties in the second period before Nash scored the winner.
“In the second period, we took four penalties in a row and that really just-started their offense,” Crimson coach Ted Donato said. “... We didn't threaten enough offensively to be able to even draw penalties, and their goaltending and their defense is obviously very solid.”
The win keeps Cornell (3-0-2, 3-0-2 ECAC Hockey) undefeated heading into tonight's game against Dartmouth (5-2, 4-2). The Big Green moved into a tie for first place in the league with a 1-0 win over Colgate on Friday thanks to an Adam Estoclet goal.
Notes: The Crimson still has not won a game on the road this season, going 0-3-1 in game away from Bright Hockey Center. ... Sean Collins returned to the lineup after missing one game due to injury. ... Crimson defenseman Chad Morin is an Auburn native. ... Friday's scratches were forwards Jordan Kary, Tyler Mugford, Dan Nicholls, defensemen Jordan Berk and Sean Whitney and goalie Dan DiLeo. ... Friday night's other ECAC Hockey scores were No. 8 Princeton 2, St. Lawrence 1; Quinnipiac 4, Clarkson 2; Alabama-Huntsville 1, Yale 0.
Women's hockey
No. 6 Dartmouth 5, Cornell 4: At Hanover, N.H., the Big Green scored three unanswered goals in the third period to survive the upset scare. Rebecca Johnston had a hat trick for the Big Red, while transfer Stephanie Holmes added the other goal.
Sarah Newnam's second goal of the game came with 55 seconds remaining in the third period to clinch the game for Dartmouth.
