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ITHACA, N.Y. —
John Esposito continued his power-play prowess and
Andy Iles continued his string off surrendering just one goal per game in the men's hockey team's wild 3-1 victory over Clarkson on Friday night.
Esposito scored twice, including the winner on a second-period power play, as Cornell (5-3-1, 2-3-2 ECAC Hockey) never trailed. Iles made 22 saves before Esposito's empty-netter sealed the Big Red's second straight victory.
Following a tightly contested first period in which neither team could find the back of the net on a combined 14 shots, Cornell broke through at the 7:55 mark of the second period.
Cole Bardreau took a feed from
Joel Lowry at the center point, and fired a slap shot high on Clarkson goalie Greg Lewis. Lewis stopped it, but the puck ended up trickling behind him.
Greg Miller got a piece of it before
Nick D'Agostino finally slipped the puck over the line for his second goal of the season.
About a few minutes after the goal, a total of 50 penalty minutes were divvied up between the two teams after a skirmish in the Clarkson zone. Long delays were paired with bouts of confusion, but the intensity never waned.
Three minutes after the confusion, Ryan put his name on the scoresheet after having a major penalty originally called on him rescinded. Ryan's blast from the center point hit the trapper of Lewis, but it squirted loose for Esposito to corral and tuck away with 4:43 left in the period. It was his fourth goal of the season -- all coming on the power play, to that point.
Dustin Mowrey also drew an assist.
Clarkson (2-6-5, 2-2-1) would finally break through on its own power-play goal from Joe Zarbo, breaking the Big Red's string of 16 consecutive penalty kills. But that's as close as the Golden Knights would get, as Esposito potted an empty-netter after flagging down a chip by classmate
Erik Axell. The goal was Esposito's fifth of the season, tying him for the team lead with Miller.
Iles would only need to make five of his 22 saves in the third period. It was the third straight game in which the junior netminder has surrendered just a single goal.
Cornell returns to Lynah Rink tomorrow night when it takes on St. Lawrence. It is the Big Red's last game before a four-week hiatus, and the team's last home game until late January.
