Dutchmen, Big Red battle to 2-2 draw

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bruce Squiers

Union College’s Adam Presizniuk slides on the ice after hitting the Cornell goal in college hockey Saturday night at the Messa Rink.

Union and seventh-ranked Cornell were both coming off lackluster wins Friday night. Neither Dutchmen coach Nate Leaman nor Big Red coach Mike Schafer were happy with the lack of energy their teams displayed.

Both coaches were in more jovial moods Saturday night. And they had every reason to be after their teams skated to a 2-2 ECAC tie at Messa Rink. Normally, tie games don’t elicit positive responses from both teams.

But Leaman and Schafer saw much more passion and effort from their teams than they did the night before, even though they were both winners. Union beat Colgate, 3-1, while Cornell edged Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2-1.

Leaman not only called out his team after Friday’s game, but he also wasn’t happy with the fans sitting on their hands. It was a much different atmosphere on Saturday.

“Our fans were terrific tonight,” said Leaman after the Dutchmen (3-0-3 ECACH, 7-3-5 overall) extended their unbeaten streak to eight games (4-0-4) and remained the only team to be unbeaten in league play.

“It’s inspirational to the team when they stand and cheer between whistles for great hockey, or a great play or a great save. I thought it was a great hockey game. Part of that was the atmosphere in the rink.”

The Big Red (6-2-1, 7-2-2) had a similar problem against the Engineers. They managed just 19 shots on goal, and Schafer wasn’t pleased.

He was much happier after Saturday’s game.

“I told our guys, for as blah as the game was last night, I thought this was a good college hockey game, and both teams battled it out,” Schafer said. “I was more pleased with the point we got tonight than the two points we got last night. As a coach, you expect your guys to come out and play with energy and enthusiasm. You only play so many games. It’s always a mystery why you get those blah games.”

Dutchmen forward Jason Walters could sense a different attitude among his teammates.

“I thought we came out with a lot more energy,” said Walters, who scored the game’s first goal at 12:56 of the second period when his shot deflected off Cornell defenseman Braden Birch and past goalie Ben Scrivens. “The fans really helped. It was a loud building with the support we had, and the support Cornell brought.”

Brandon Nash tied it during a two-man advantage when he fired a shot from the top of the slot past goalie Keith Kinkaid with 3:43 left in the second. But just over a minute later, Mario Valery-Trabucco took a John Simpson pass and fired a shot from the right circle past Scrivens to regain Union’s one-goal lead.

“It was a nice pass from John Simpson,” said Valery-Trabucco, who was stopped on a short-handed breakaway moments earlier. “I didn’t know he knew I was there. I just called for it. Once I got it, I tried to settle it down, and shot it in.”

Riley Nash tied it with 5:55 left in the third period. He was going to the net when Patrick Kennedy sent the puck from the left wing. Nash made a nice tip over Kinkaid’s left shoulder.

“I saw Pat hold up a little bit at the blue line,” Nash said. “I knew we had a trailer, too, on the weak side. I just tried to get to the net. That’s what we’ve been working on, our three-on-twos. Pat made a nice pass.”

Cornell 0110 — 2

Union 0200 — 2

First Period — None. Penalties — Kennedy, Cor (charging), :35; Boileau, Uni (holding), :35; Wakita, Uni (interference), 11:29; Krueger, Cor (roughing), 15:28; Presizniuk, Uni (contact to head-roughing), 15:28.

Second Period — 1, Union, Walters 6 (Valery-Trabucco, Presizniuk), 12:56. 2, Cornell, B. Nash 2 (R. Nash), 16:17 (pp). 3, Union, Valery-Trabucco 7 (J. Simpson, Stuart), 17:26. Penalties — Yanovitch, Uni (tripping), 14:24; Matheson, Uni (hooking), 15:01; Krueger, Cor (holding), 19:26.

Third Period — 4, Cornell, R. Nash 3 (Kennedy, M. Devin), 14:05. Penalties — M. Devin, Cor (hooking), 2:51; Scali, Cor (tripping), 4:47.

Overtime — None. Penalties — None.

Shots on Goal — Cornell 8-10-6-3 — 27. Union 10-10-9-1 — 30.

Power-play opportunities — Cornell 1 of 3; Union 0 of 3.

Goalies — Cornell, Scrivens 7-2-2 (30 shots-28 saves). Union, Kinkaid 4-1-2 (27-25).

A — 1,468. T — 2:23.

Referees — Tim Kotyra, Bob Ritchie. Linesmen — Justin Prusak, Dan Taggart.