Box Score

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Senior forward Sean Collins had a goal and an assist, and the Cornell men's hockey team rallied from a two-goal deficit before holding on for a 3-3 tie on Saturday night against #6/8 Colorado College at World Arena. Sophomore goalie Andy Iles made 21 saves, including a game-saver at the final buzzer of overtime to help the Big Red wrap up an impressive undefeated weekend at the highest-ranked opponent it will see in the regular season. Cornell won the teams' first meeting on Friday, 3-1.
 
#13/14 Cornell (9-4-2) rallied from a two-goal deficit to storm ahead in the third period on a strike from junior forward Greg Miller, but then Colorado College (12-7-1) answered with an extra-attacker goal with 29.1 seconds remaining in the third period to force overtime and ultimately send the game to a deadlock. Jaden Schwartz scored the goal as part of his two-goal, one-assist effort in a return to the lineup after a six-game absence to serve as Team Canada's captain at the IIHF World Junior Championship.
 
Miller's goal capped a stretch of three straight goals for Cornell with 8:06 remaining in the third period. An outlet pass from senior defenseman Sean Whitney found sophomore Kirill Gotovets – normally a defenseman, but playing forward on this night – at the red line. Gotovets one-touched a pass back to Miller as he sprinted out of the Cornell zone to create a two-on-two rush. Miller beat his defender wide to the right, then ripped a shot over Tigers goalie Joe Howe's blocker to put the Big Red in front for the first time on the evening. It was Miller's 50th career point and gives him the team lead in points with 16.
 
Freshman forward Joel Lowry and Collins scored the other Cornell goals to erase CC's 2-0 lead. The home-standing Tigers struck first on their first power play opportunity of the game. Gabe Guentzel worked the puck down to Jaden Schwartz at the bottom of the left circle. The sophomore forward then threaded a pass through a maze of the sticks in the slot to his older brother, Rylan, at the top of the slot. He snapped a shot over Iles' glove to give CC its first lead of the weekend.
 
While the Big Red only had four shots on goal in the first period – the first not coming until John Esposito's offering at the 8:33 mark – the visitors nearly knotted the score before the first intermission. Working on the power play, Collins set up Cole Bardreau breaking down the slot for a point-blank chance with 1:20 remaining, but Howe snagged the attempt with his catching glove.
 
Cornell then killed off a penalty to start the second period only to find itself shorthanded again a matter of moments later. CC's high-powered power play didn't falter, producing another goal to push its lead to 2-0. Rylan Schwartz worked the puck to the left side for a shot from Scott Winkler that Iles saved, but Jaden Schwartz crashed the net on the weak side and slammed in the rebound.
 
The Big Red refused to fold, though, answering 3 minutes, 44 seconds later with freshman forward Joel Lowry's third goal of the campaign at the 6:33 mark. An active stick from Sean Collin foiled a CC breakout and sent the puck back to Lowry behind the defense at the bottom of the right circle. He attacked the net only to have his shot stopped by Tigers goalie Joe Howe, but the puck deflected in off the skate of a CC defender.
 
Collins then scored the Big Red's equalizing goal. Senior captain Keir Ross kept the puck in at the right point, finding freshman forward John McCarron along the wall. McCarron found Collins spinning open down the slot and delivered a perfect pass, which Collins turned into shot that sailed past Howe's blocker at the 14:47 mark. It was his fifth goal of the season and second of the road trip. McCarron, fresh off his first collegiate goal Friday, had two assists on the evening.
 
Cornell wrapped up the non-league portion of its schedule with a 3-3-1 record, returning to ECAC Hockey play in first place with a 6-1-1 league mark for 13 points. The Big Red concludes a stretch of six straight games away from home at Quinnipiac (Friday, Jan. 13) and Princeton (Saturday, Jan. 14) before returning to Lynah Rink for Ivy League showdowns with Dartmouth (Friday, Jan. 20) and Harvard (Saturday, Jan. 21).