After two losses and a tie so far in 2007, Cornell looked like it was going to get its first win of the new year. However, a duo of errors by goalie Troy Davenport and defenseman Jared Seminoff, the Yale Bulldogs were able to come away with a tie at Lynah Rink.
Playing with a one-goal lead, Davenport misplayed the puck behind the net, causing it to pop out front where Seminoff knocked it in.
“It was a bad bounce. Those are things you can’t control. I told my guys how hard they have to work to come back tomorrow night and change our luck.” Cornell boss Mike Schafer said.
The first period only saw eight total shots on goal, three from Cornell and five from Yale. A stingy Yale defense blocked six shots in the first stanza, and hard-hitting Cornell limited the number of quality Yale shots.
Despite the lack of on-target shots, Cornell took an early lead when a streaking Tony Romano caught a pass from Tyler Mugford, and proceeded to sneak a backhand shot over the near-post shoulder of Yale netminder Alec Richards.
“I scored a ton of goals like that in juniors last year. That’s a good spot for me,” said Romano.
Yale evened the score eight minutes into the second on a shot from defenseman Matt Cohen. The senior captain fired a shot from inside the circle that sailed over Davenport’s glove. Davenport, who has been hot and cold this season, finished the game with 15 saves.
Cornell took the lead again after an interesting series of events unfolded towards the end of the second stanza. Playing with a four-on-three advantage, Cornell was on the attack and a scramble in front of the net was signaled a goal by the goal judge, but no signal was given by the referees.
After a lengthy discussion, the play was ruled a delay of game on Yale since a Yale player other than the goalie covered the puck inside of its own crease. Cornell was awarded a penalty shot and Romano, a gifted stickhandler, took the shot.
His shot only found the pads of Richards, and the ensuing faceoff took place inside the Yale zone. Cornell won the draw and moved the puck to the point, where Mark McCutcheon ripped a slapshot that was saved by Richards, only to have the rebound stuffed in by senior captain Byron Bitz.
“I think it was very big. We thought the first one was in there where the guy covered it, and Tony’s almost slid across the line. So I think it was important to get that one or else we would have missed three chances,” Bitz opined.
Cornell maintained its one-goal lead for much of the third period, limiting Yale’s quality chances and keeping the puck in the offensive zone. But the Cornell error with under two minutes remaining tied the game at 2.
The overtime featured several decent chances by both squads, and a pair of coincidental penalties but no goals.
Cornell faces off at home against Brown, while Yale travels to Hamilton, N.Y., to play the Colgate Raiders.
