Box Score
 
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Sophomore defenseman Mathieu Brisson had a goal and an assist, and the Cornell men's hockey gutted out a 4-4 tie with ECAC Hockey's first-place team, Union, on Saturday night in front of a standing-room only crowd at Messa Rink.
 
Freshman forward John McCarron also had a pair of assists, the first after a hard hit to set up the first goal early in the contest. McCarron knocked a Union player off the puck on a breakout just outside the Dutchmen zone, then tapped the puck to senior forward Sean Collins to set up a two-on-one with freshman forward Joel Lowry. Collins opted to keep the puck and whistled a shot off the glove of Union goalie Colin Stevens and into the net to give the Big Red a 1-0 lead just 3 minutes, 26 seconds into the game.
 
But Union found its rhythm on the power play, which entered the game converting at a 25.2 percent clip – fourth-best in the nation. The Dutchmen had the game's only two power-play chances in the first period, connecting on both to regain the lead. Kelly Zajac orchestrated both goals, first finding Wayne Simpson for a one-timer from the slot at the 12:13 mark, then finding Kyle Bodie for a slam-dunk from the right post at 16:57.
 
The Big Red, which killed off Union's third power play, had just 32 seconds to work with on the man advantage on the back end of a four-on-four.
 
The second period was a wild one, with the Big Red scoring three straight goals to storm ahead. At the 5:48 mark, sophomore defenseman Kirill Gotovets sent a pass to sophomore forward Dustin Mowrey on the left side, gaining the offensive zone. Mowrey waited for help to arrive, then feathered a pass to freshman forward Brian Ferlin cutting down the middle. Working on his backhand the whole way, he scooped a shot past Stevens' glove to knot the score at 2. Mowrey now has nine points in his last eight games.
 
Junior forward Greg Miller then put the Big Red ahead at 13:01. With the puck in the right corner, Miller zipped a pass to Brisson at the center point. Brisson whistled a shot just wide of the right post, but a lively carom off the endboards left Stevens scrambling. Miller converged from the corner and slid a shot from the sharp angle over the line.
 
Cornell's lead doubled just 1:40 later on Brisson's second goal of the season. After an extraordinary shift by the line of sophomore Rodger Craig, junior Erik Axell and junior Vince Mihalek, Brisson's shot from the point sailed through traffic and eluded Stevens' glove. Craig and Axell drew assists.
 
Ending the scoring flurry less than a minute later was a goal by Union's Shayne Gostisbehere – his third point of the night – but the Big Red still had a 4-3 lead entering the final frame. Cornell was strong protecting its lead in the final stanza, yet Union was still able to pull even on a fluky goal. Sophomore goalie Andy Iles was dragged out of position by Wayne Simpson after making a save at the left post. Simpson whipped a pass across the vacant goal mouth, but it found Zajac on at the bottom of the right circle. His shot kicked off a Big Red defender who was on the ice and into the net, tying the game with 2:32 left in regulation.
 
Iles made 24 saves for the tie, a result which leaves the Big Red with just two losses in its last 11 games (4-2-5). The deadlock also leaves Cornell in second place in the league with 21 points, three behind Union – though the Big Red has a game in hand, which will played Saturday, Feb. 11 when Yale visits Lynah Rink. Colgate and Harvard are tied for third place, one point behind the Big Red.
 
The game was the 50th all-time meeting between the teams. Cornell has the series lead, 29-14-7. The Big Red returns to action on Friday, Feb. 10 with a chance to clinch the Ivy League title with a victory over visiting Brown.
 
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