BIG RED DOES IT WITH DEFENSE
ALBANY, N.Y. – One of Cornell’s strategies in its ECAC Hockey championship game was easily identified early in the first period. On each of the first three shifts for Union’s top forward group of Jason Walters, Adam Presizniuk and Mario Valery-Trabucco looked across the ice and saw Cornell counterparts Sean Collins, Joe Scali and either Dan Nicholls or John Esposito.
The line, centered by Collins, was sent over the boards during stoppages or changes on the fly and the Big Red wanted that matchup. They’ve been checking the opponent’s top line since the middle of the season and did a great job on Union’s top group, which entered the game with 120 points on the year, but had none in this game.
The Big Red scored two power-play goals, added an empty-netter and won 3-0. It was Cornell’s third straight shutout, and the seventh of the year for goalie Ben Scrivens. He is now the all-time leader in shutouts in Cornell history – ahead of the likes of David LeNeveu, Dave McKee, Ken Dryden and Brian Elliott.
As has been the case all season for the Big Red, and is emphasized by the coaching staff, the best defense that Cornell can play is to possess the puck in the other team’s end of the rink. They did that right from the start and didn’t let Union establish any momentum.
“Their best defense was working us down low. We were spending amounts of time in our zone with them wearing us down,” Union coach Nate Leaman said.
Dominating possession starts with dominating faceoffs, and Cornell won 39 draws to Union’s 23. Collins, the checking-line center, won nine and lost just three on the night.
“Faceoffs are always a key,” Collins said. “When you can have puck possession, especially against their top line, obviously it minimizes their opportunities.”
Cornell also did a great job of backchecking, lifting sticks and deflecting passes. Turnovers at both blue lines were extremely rare for the Big Red and things went their way.
“It starts with keeping it simple, especially against a top line. We have to stay above them and make smart plays and smart decisions in the neutral zone, and not turn the puck over to give them chances,” said Scali, a senior.
Cornell turned in the kind of effort that wins games in the postseason. The team’s shutout streak is now three games, and stretches over 11 and a half periods overall. Ben Scrivens gets the headlines and credit, but the tactical approach and on-ice execution by the likes of Collins, Scali and Nicholls makes it all possible.
SENIOR MOMENTS
To say that third-place or consolation games are meaningless is inconsiderate toward the players for which they carry great meaning. Brown’s senior class has been through some difficult times, injuries, a head-coaching change and four-straight losing seasons.
They played hard, they played for each other and they came together one last time to get a win over St. Lawrence. They did so in front of senior goalie Dan Rosen, a starter through most of his first two seasons before injuries and the emergence of Mike Clemente relegated Rosen to back-up duty over the last two years.
Rosen backstopped a 21-save shutout, the second of his career, and was emotional about how his team played.
“It just meant a lot,” Rosen said. “We were all just hugging and crying in the locker room, especially me because this team just gave it all out for me today and it really meant a lot after all of the injuries, particularly our class here, to have everybody kind of come together and get a win in our last game was really special.”
On the Saints’ side, there was an opportunity for one last game on the ice for walk-on defenseman Pat Kelliher, who played the second game of his entire career and right wing Drew Weaver, who played in one game in his first three years and in 13 games as a senior prior to Saturday’s tilt. Those players are contributors, even though they might not show up in the box scores following Friday and Saturday night games.
“Both of them kind of came to grips with it in their junior years and we encouraged them to stick around,” St. Lawrence coach Joe Marsh said. “They’re good guys and they add a lot to the team. They weren’t just cheerleaders, they were practicing hard every day. You have to rebuild your team, you can’t just reload it, and I think those kids are pretty important. There’s a lot of walk-on kids that we’ve had that have been pretty good players.
“They sort of set a certain tone and the other guys notice that. They’re around and they appreciate the effort that they put in and they know that their job is tough because they don’t get as much ice time and the opportunity to play in games. Yet they carry on the fight pretty well and I think the guys respect them for it.”
SEEN AND HEARD AT TIMES UNION CENTER
• There’s not much room behind the net at the downtown rink in Albany which means wide shots and caroms can get to dangerous parts of the ice in a hurry. The Big Red made quick plays around the net on both of their power-play goals. On the first, Tyler Roeszler skated in quickly to grab the puck behind the net after Mike Devin’s point shot missed the net. Roeszler’s quick pass to the front of the net was finished by Joe Devin. In the second period, a point shot by Brendon Nash was stopped in front, Riley Nash joined the loose puck scrum and poked it free to Sean Whitney, who used his long reach to swing in the second Big Red goal.
• There was some symmetry between this, the last final in the downtown Albany rink, and the 2002 league championship game, the last in Lake Placid. Championship-game coaches Nate Leaman of Union and Mike Schafer of Cornell were also behind the benches in Lake Placid. Leaman was an assistant on Harvard’s bench as the Crimson went on to defeat Cornell, coached by Schafer, 4-3 in overtime.
• Cornell radio play-by-play man Jason Weinstein was carrying two game-ready sticks in the media work area Saturday evening. I asked if he was playing defense for the Big Red and he said, “We’ve already got seven defensemen dressed, don’t think we need eight.”
• Twice in the second period defensemen cleared pucks over the glass from their defensive zone. The first was by St. Lawrence’s Derek Keller while short-handed 1:59 into the period. A little more than two minutes later Brown’s Scott Van Der Linden did the same on a backhand attempt. Those would be penalties in the pro game, and my guess is that they will be next year in college hockey after the rules committee meets this summer.
• Cornell’s seniors made their third straight appearance in Albany, and won their first title of their careers. This tournament wasn’t about NCAA Tournament qualification or seeding to them. It was about winning this title and this trophy.
• Brown senior Aaron Volpatti played his last collegiate game and left a mark on the team’s record book. He entered the contest with 103 penalty minutes, and needed a handful more Saturday to break the team’s single-season record of 108. Aware of this fact, Volpatti chatted with referee Chip McDonald during pre-game warm-up and encouraged McDonald to throw on an extra 10-minute misconduct if he gets the chance. Volpatti was called for a slashing minor and 10-minute misconduct with 3:33 remaining in the third period.
• Union may not have experience playing in this particular game, but there are a lot of hockey miles on this roster. Union has 18 players on its roster older than Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews (born, 4/29/88), who played college hockey at North Dakota three years ago. Ten of those 18 are eligible to play in future seasons, and that doesn’t include freshmen Jeremy Welsh (4/30/88) and J-S Bergeron (5/1/88) – born one and two days after Toews.
• The two-day attendance was 12,208 – the third-highest total in the eight years the tournament has been held in Albany.
PLUSSES AND MINUSES
Assistant referees Brett Reed and Dave Brown did a nice job stepping between Cornell’s players following their first goal and ushered the celebrations away from the crease of Keith Kinkaid and also away from Union’s bench. Nice job managing that.
A number of youth hockey teams are in town for a tournament and were in attendance, wearing their team jerseys and sitting together in rows in the lower bowl. Two different adult men asked members of one team to move out of the assigned seats that the men purchased. These kids were about 10 years old, and they moved them away from their friends. Plenty of seats in adjacent rows and sections were available.
INCH’S THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT
3. Dan Rosen, Brown – Hard to tell that Rosen had not started in a game since Jan. 22 and had appeared in just two others since then. He was sharp throughout and tracked the puck well in earning his second career shutout, first since his sophomore year.
2. Joe Scali and Sean Collins, Cornell – These checking-line players were matched up head-to-head against Union’s impressive top line and limited the chances against.
1. Riley Nash, Cornell – The junior center seemed to have the puck on his stick for every shift. He dictated possession in the Union zone, the overwhelming theme in Cornell’s championship victory.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
G – Ben Scrivens, Cornell
D – Mike Schreiber, Union
D – Justin Krueger, Cornell
F – Colin Greening, Cornell
F – Adam Presizniuk, Union
F – Riley Nash, Cornell
Most Outstanding Player: Ben Scrivens, Cornell
WHAT’S NEXT
Cornell will wait to see where it will play next weekend in the NCAA Tournament and will likely be joined in the national tourney by league foe Yale. Union’s growth as a program continues, and while they didn’t earn either league championship, it will be remembered as the best program so far in Union’s Division I history.
