Cornell Victim to Late Brown Surge
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Big Red men's hockey team fought
off a two-goal deficit and held the lead heading into the final
eight minutes of Saturday night's game at Brown, but the host Bears
were able to score twice in a span of 1 minute, 19 seconds to skate
away with a 5-4 victory at Meehan Auditorium.
Senior captain Keir Ross had a goal and an assist, and junior
forward John Esposito had a pair of assists to push his point
streak to three straight games for Cornell (1-2, 1-1 ECAC
Hockey).
Much like Friday's game at Yale, the Big Red started off primarily
on its heels. But unlike the game against the Bulldogs, it was the
hosts who capitalized for an early two-goal lead. Jeff Ryan
deflected in on a Richie Crowley point shot to give the Bears a 1-0
lead 6:16 in, then Bobby Farnham roofed a shot on the power play at
the 11:54 mark.
The Big Red struck back with 4:59 to play in the opening frame on
Miller's second goal of the weekend.
With freshman forward Brian Ferlin and Esposito helping to keep
possession in the Brown zone, sophomore defenseman Kirill Gotovets
sent a pass across to the right circle for Miller, whose shot was
blocked out toward the point. Ross collected and fired a shot that
Miller tipped by Brown goalie Michael Clemente.
Ross then scored 1:15 into the second period to tie the game at 2
with his first goal since Feb. 19, 2010. Esposito pushed a puck to
Ferlin on the outside of the left circle in the Brown zone. Ferlin
wheeled a pass toward the slot that was poked away. Ross crashed
from the center point, bouncing a shot off a Brown defender inside
the left post.
The Big Red then took the lead on spectacular play from Ferlin, who
stripped Brown defenseman Dennis Robertson of the puck in the
neutral zone to set up a breakaway. With the Bears' other
defenseman cutting down the angle, Ferlin ripped a shot over
Clemente's catching glove at 12:57. The lead was short-lived,
though, as Matt Wahl beat a stick-less Iles after a mad scramble in
the Big Red slot to knot the score at 3.
Freshman defenseman Joakim Ryan potted his third goal of the young
campaign to put the Big Red back on top entering the third period.
Ryan and Esposito outhustled the Bears in the neutral zone, causing
a turnover to create a short-handed two-on-one. Esposito carried
into the zone on the right wing, then dished off to Ryan for the
finish inside the left post with 2:08 left before the second
intermission.
That lead held until the 12:04 mark of the third, when Brown
freshman Massimo Lamacchia created a turnover in the neutral zone,
then beat Cornell sophomore goalie Andy Iles with a shot over the
glove to tie the score at 4. Ryan Jacobson scored the winner two
shifts later, burying a chance from the slot after a pass toward
the front of the net slid by its original target.
Sophomore Dustin Mowrey made a solo rush up the middle to draw a
penalty on the next shift, but the Big Red couldn't convert, going
0-for-4 on the man advantage on the night.
Cornell pulled Iles for the final minute, with freshman forward
Joel Lowry making a glove save on an empty-net bid with 18 seconds
left. He then started a rush up ice and worked a give-and-go with
Esposito to set up a shot that flew just wide of the far post. The
Big Red regained possession and got shot off from the point in the
dying seconds that Miller tipped just wide.
The Big Red wraps up its four-game road swing to start the league
slate next weekend with a Friday visit to Harvard and a Saturday
date at Dartmouth.












