Last year, a loss in the Florida College Classic Championship game sent Cornell was a precursor to a spiral that lasted much of the second half.
The Big Red swept Merrimack the next weekend, but then only won two more games in the regular season. Cornell lost the Florida College Classic Championship game again this season, but is 4-0-1 since then, including wins over St. Lawrence and Quinnipiac.
Senior goalie Mitch Gilliam and the Big Red defense have been good this season, but the biggest different for Cornell has been its offense, which averaging just under three goals per game.
A strong season by sophomore Mitch Vanderlaan and the addition of puck-moving freshman defenseman Yanni Kaldis has helped, but on Saturday’s game against St. Lawrence it was sophomore Brendan Smith’s first collegiate goal that was the game-winner.
The win against the Saints was an important one for Cornell, as St. Lawrence is tied with Union for first place. However, the Big Red are tied with Colgate for the least amount of conference games played, meaning it should be in good position to move up the standings over the last month of the regular season.
Mayor’s Cup goes back to Union
Union and Rensselaer have alternated victories in the annual Capital District Mayor’s Cup since the game was first instituted in 2013. That trend continued Thursday, as Cole Maier scored in overtime to give the Dutchmen a 3-2 win over the Engineers.
The win marked the first time Union has swept RPI in the regular season since the 2012-13 season. It was the third straight win for Union, who heads to St. Lawrence and Clarkson this weekend.
Harvard rebounds
Getting swept on a weekend is never pretty. But a winless weekend followed by allowing eight goals? That’s downright ugly.
However, Harvard followed up Tuesday’s 8-4 loss to Dartmouth with a 3-0 win over Brown and a 1-1 tie with Yale on Saturday. Goalie Merrick Madsen, who was pulled in Tuesday’s loss, finished the weekend with 52 saves.
The Crimson are still one of the best, if not the best, teams in the league. However, its three-game losing streak last weekend may come back to haunt it in what figures to be a close race for the Cleary Cup.
