Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's hockey team closed out its non-conference portion of the 2009-10 season with a 3-1 loss to North Dakota on Saturday night at Lynah Rink. Blake Gallagher scored the lone goal for the Big Red, while Ben Scrivens stopped 23 shots in taking the night.

North Dakota got goals from Brade Malone, Chris VandeVelde and Jason Gregoire, with Gregoire adding an assist, and 15 saves from goaltender Brad Eidsness for the victory to improve to 13-8-5 on the year. Cornell fell to 10-5-3 on the season with the loss.

Both teams had their share of struggles on the power play for the evening, with Cornell going scoreless in seven attempts and the Fighting Sioux going scoreless in six opportunities.

North Dakota got on the board just 1:33 into the game when Malone fired a shot that hit the shoulder of Scrivens, popped in the air and landed behind the senior netminder in the crease before bouncing into the goal for the early lead.

The game would remain 1-0 until midway through the third period when the Fighting Sioux scored a goal that was protested strenuously by the Cornell bench. With Cornell defenseman Keir Ross bringing the puck out from behind the Cornell goal, North Dakota's VandeVelde put a hit on Ross, displacing him from the puck, and sent it across the crease to Gregoire in a 2-on-0 against Scrivens. Gregoire sent the puck back to VandeVelde, who easily slipped the puck into the net as Scrivens had to commit to Gregoire. Cornell coach Mike Schafer and the Lynah Rink crowd voiced their displeasure with the lack of a call against VandeVelde, but the officials would not be moved by their pleas.

Schafer pulled Scrivens for the extra skater with 2:35 to play, and Cornell fought to get back into the game. With nine seconds left on the clock, the puck popped out to Blake Gallagher at the top of the faceoff circle to the left of Eidsness, and the senior flung a wrist shot on net that beat the sophomore goaltender high, putting the Big Red on the board to avoid its first shutout of the season.

With Scrivens still out of the goal, Cornell took the ensuing faceoff, hoping for a last second miracle. Unfortunately, Gregoire stripped a Cornell player of the puck in the neutral zone and slotted it into the empty net with two seconds remaining for the final margin.

Cornell, which closed out the non-conference portion of the season at 3-3-1, will return to ECAC Hockey play next weekend, taking on St. Lawrence and Clarkson in a pair of games at Lynah Rink. Cornell and St. Lawrence will meet on Friday at 7 p.m., with the Big Red and Golden Knights facing off on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Game Notes:
- Gallagher's goal prevented the Big Red from being shutout for the first time this season. Cornell was last shut out by Yale in the ECAC Hockey championship game last season, 5-0.
- North Dakota's visit this weekend marked the first time a current member of the WCHA visited Lynah Rink since Dec. 29-30, 1979, when Denver traveled to Ithaca. Cornell won both of those games (5-4, 4-3) and went on to the Final Four later that season.
- North Dakota and Denver are the only two current members of the WCHA that have ever played at Lynah Rink.
- Cornell has now gone 28 straight power plays without a goal. The Big Red last scored a power-play goal on Dec. 29, 2009, against Colorado College in the Florida College Classic in Estero, Fla.