Andrew McNiven’s third period goal snapped a 1-1 tie, as Cornell secured home ice for the first round of the ECAC playoffs by defeating Union, 2-1.
The Big Red finished the regular season at 13-11-5 overall and 11-8-3 in the ECAC and will play Princeton in a best-of-three series starting next Friday.
The Skating Dutchmen (12-16-4, 8-12-2) finished ninth and will play on the road at second-place St. Lawrence.
Cornell took a 1-0 lead after the first period on a tally by Matt McRae at 12:11. Stephen Baby’s shot hit the post, and McRae knocked in the rebound for his third goal of the year.
Jason Ralph tied the game for Union when he pounced on a rebound from Kurt Goodjohn’s shot and backhanded the puck past Cornell goaltender Matt Underhill at 17:30 of the middle period.
In the third period, McNiven received a pass from Larry Pierce and fired a bullet past Union goaltender Brandon Snee for the game winner at 13:01 of the last period.
The Skating Dutchmen pulled Snee for an extra skater with 1:36 remaining but was unable to score the equalizer.
Underhill made 21 saves, while Snee turned aside 31, including 15 in the second period.