Box Score

ESTERO, Fla. -- The Cornell men's hockey team's struggles at the Florida College Classic continued Thursday with an opening-round loss to Massachusetts, 5-2, at Germain Arena.

Sophomore goalie Andy Iles made 25 saves in the loss, which also featured the end to another historic shutout streak. After consecutive shutouts in the Big Red's previous two games, Iles' shutout streak finally ended at 152 minutes, 36 seconds -- which ranks ninth in program history.
 
The Minutemen scored four goals in the third period, including the final three, to foil a strong start by the 13th-ranked Big Red. Junior defenseman Nick D'Agostino scored his team-leading eighth goal on the power play with 2:21 remaining in the first period to stake Cornell (7-4-1) to a 1-0 lead.

But UMass tied the score in the second, then pulled ahead on a controversial goal just 32 seconds into the final frame. Joel Hanley's shot from the left point was redirected into the net by Michael Pereira, though the Big Red instantly contested that the tally should be negated since Pereira used his skate to score. But there is no video review at the tournament, meaning the referees' initial ruling was also the final one, leaving the sour Big Red trailing 2-1.

Cornell showed promise by knotting the score at 2 with its second power-play goal of the contest. Freshman forward and Florida native Brian Ferlin set up D'Agostino for a one-timer for the top of the slot. The shot was blocked by a Minutemen defender, but kicked to a wide-open Greg Miller on the weak side. The junior forward converted for his third goal of the campaign with 11:16 still showing on the clock.

The story didn't improve any from there for Cornell, which has now dropped five consecutive games at the Florida College Classic since winning the championship in 2008. A penalty on the shift following Miller's goal left the Big Red shorthanded, ultimately leading to the winner by Steven Guzzo at the 11:01 mark. Iles stopped a shot from Colin Shea in the left circle, but had the puck knifed loose from beneath his pad to Guzzo in the slot for a slam dunk goal.

Conor Sheary gave UMass its first two-goal lead a little more than four minutes later on another tally that may have benefitted from video review. Sheary's shot from the right side on a two-on-two found its way through the legs of Iles. Cornell contended the puck clanked off the far post, but the goal judge flicked on the red light and later stuck to his guns in a conference with the referees. T.J. Syner then wrapped up the scoring with an empty-netter late.

Cornell will play in Friday's consolation game against Clarkson, which dropped Thursday's opener to Maine, 6-1.