NEW HAVEN, Conn. — With a Yale defenseman right on his back, Cornell’s Brian Ferlin knew he’d have to pick his spot and shoot as the clock ticked away in overtime.
The Big Red junior didn’t miss, as his breakaway goal with 17.1 seconds left in the extra period quieted the roaring crowd at Ingalls Rink and gave No. 13 Cornell a 3-2 win over No. 10 Yale.
It was the first overtime win of the season for the Big Red, who completed a regular-season sweep of the Bulldogs after a 2-1 win in Ithaca, N.Y., back on Nov. 23.
“I think all of our eyes lit up when we saw [Ferlin] get the puck at the top of the circles,” Cornell forward John Knisley said. “He’s one of the faster guys on our team. He made it look easy just skating down the ice.”
Knisley and Jeff Kubiak each scored their first goals of the season for the Big Red, while Andy Iles made 38 saves in net.
Gus Young and Anthony Day scored for Yale, who got 26 saves from Alex Lyon.
Cornell’s Cole Bardreau and Yale’s Kenny Agostino each had breakaway chances in a wild back-and-forth overtime period.
“That whole overtime went three-on-one one way and then two-on-one the other way and then a one-on-oh going back the other way,” Big Red coach Mike Schafer said. “It was crazy. That’s what happens when you get to four-on-four hockey – mistakes can be made.”
Ferlin’s goal came with each team skating four players thanks to matching roughing penalties against the Bulldogs’ Rob O’Gara and Cornell’s Dustin Mowrey.
Joakim Ryan jumped on a loose puck in the Cornell zone and then sprung Ferlin up the right wing for the game-winner.
“It was a little bit of an odd-man rush as soon [and] as I picked it up, I saw I had one man to beat so I just turned on the jets,” said Ferlin, who blew by the Bulldogs’ Ryan Obuchowski and beat Lyon on the right post.
Yale (10-6-4) appeared to have a goal with 4:35 left in regulation following a scrum in front of the Cornell net, but the officials never signaled for a goal and that call was upheld following a video review.
“I’m extremely disappointed in the results, but I’m proud of the way our guys played,” said Yale coach Keith Allain. “In some regards, we did things better tonight than we’ve done all year long. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always translate into wins. I’m happy with the way we played the game, all 64-and-a-half minutes.”
Cornell (11-4-5) took a 1-0 lead on Knisley’s goal at 2:02 in the first. The Bulldogs wasted little time tying it as Young’s score at 4:47 capped off a good offensive zone shift by Yale.
It was Young’s second goal in as many games. The Yale defenseman also had several good plays throughout the opening period, staying with streaking Bardreau along the boards and getting his stick in the way of an attempted centering pass.
Bardreau was on the puck minutes later, taking a pass from the goal line and trying to shove it in from the left post, but Lyon was there with a pad save.
Yale took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission thanks to a Cornell turnover in the neutral zone. Frankie DiChiara grabbed the loose puck and broke up the left wing before zipping a pass across to Day, who ripped a high shot past Iles at 19:50.
Kubiak’s first collegiate goal tied it at 5:24 in the second. Lyon made the initial stop, but the puck slid under him and straight to the freshman at the top of the crease.
Day was helped off the ice after going down along the boards in the Cornell zone midway through the second. He did not return.
Stu Wilson had a chance to give Yale the lead later in the period, taking a pass on the right post and cutting across the top of crease, but Iles dove on the puck and managed to get a whistle despite losing his stick.
The Big Red goalie made another big save later in the period on a Bulldogs’ power play, coming out of the net to challenge DiChiara and knock down the freshman’s shot from between the circles.
“I loved our effort tonight – you can’t discount that,” Yale senior Jesse Root said. “With that kind of effort, you’re going to get results most other nights. Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way tonight.”
