Cornell Falls to Yale in Overtime

Photo by D. Salisbury

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Sean Backman's goal at 3:17 of overtime spoiled a career night from Cornell goaltender Ben Scrivens, lifting Yale to a 2-1 victory over the Big Red in a men's hockey game on Saturday night at Lynah Rink. The win, coupled with Union's 4-3 loss at Harvard, moves the Bulldogs into first place in the ECAC Hockey standings, with Cornell and Union tied for second, two points back.

Colin Greening had the lone goal for the Big Red (14-7-3, 12-3-2 ECAC Hockey), with Riley Nash and Patrick Kennedy adding assists. Scrivens stopped a career-high 52 shots in the loss, easily surpassing his previous career best of 45.Cornell finished 0-for-2 on the power play on the night.

For Yale, Mark Arcobello tied the score in the second period, with Denny Kearney, Kevin Peel, Jimmy Martin and Brian O'Neill each picking up a single assist. Netminder Billy Blase made 19 saves in scoring the win for Yale, which improved to 16-6-3 on the year and 12-4-2 in ECAC Hockey action.

Cornell drew first blood in the game, with Greening scoring at the 6:49 mark of the first period. Brendon Nash made an outlet pass from the side of the Cornell goal to the Yale blue line, where Kennedy collected the puck and carried it into the Yale zone. There, he spotted Riley Nash streaking down the opposite side of the ice, and made a pass that was slightly behind the junior. Nash deftly kicked the puck to his stick with his left leg and drew Blase toward him before passing across the crease to Greening. Greening caught Blase shifting over to the weak post and slid across the crease and slotted the puck past the outstretched right leg of Blase.

Cornell held the 1-0 lead through the first period, with the frenetic pace leading to plenty of back-and-forth action. Cornell's Scrivens stopped all 13 shots he saw during the first frame, while Blase made 11 stops on 12 shots.

The second period was a different story, however, as Yale pelted the Cornell goal with 20 shots, while Cornell managed just four pucks on the net. Yale was aided by a pair of penalties against the Big Red, putting six shots on goal during those two power plays. Still, Scrivens was up to the task, but the Bulldogs finally broke through for the tying goal with just over six minutes left in the period. Kearney had the puck behind the Cornell goal and played it out to Arcobello just in front of the crease, and Arcobello's shot went high into the top corner of the net, tying the score at one.

The score remained tied through the end of the second period, and again into the third. Again, Yale held a decisive edge in shots in the third period, out-shooting Cornell 13-4, but Scrivens stood strong and stopped all 13 shots faced. Blase, saved all four shots he saw, as the game headed into overtime. In the extra session, Yale kept putting the pressure on, out-shooting Cornell, 8-0, and it was that eighth shot that finally beat Scrivens. O'Neill had the puck on the half-wall in the Cornell end and found Backman open between the circles, where his one-timer slipped through the pads of Scrivens for the game-winner.

Cornell has a quick turnaround on its current string of five games in nine days, heading to Hamilton on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. contest against Colgate. A win against the Raiders would lift Cornell back into a tie with Yale atop the ECAC Hockey standings.

Game Notes
- Scrivens' 52 saves on Saturday night surpassed his previous high of 45, set during a 0-0 tie against Massachusetts on Nov. 30, 2007, at Lynah Rink.
- Scrivens made 19 saves in the second period, one save shy of tying his single-period high of 20, set during the third period of the 2008-09 season opener at Princeton.
- Riley Nash had a point in both games this weekend, his first two games since missing four due to injury.