Box Score
 
PRINCETON, N.J. – Senior defenseman Nick D'Agostino scored a pair of third-period goals to lift the men's hockey team to a 4-2 victory over Princeton on Saturday night and give the Big Red a sweep of the ECAC Hockey Championship first round series at Hobey Baker Rink.
 
Ninth-seeded Cornell (14-14-3) advances to next weekend's quarterfinals for a best-of-three series against top-seeded Quinnipiac. Game 1 will be at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 15, with Game 2 coming 24 hours in a matchup that will be broadcast regionally on the New England Sports Network. Game 3, if necessary, would be Sunday evening at a time yet to be announced.
 
To ensure the Big Red got that far, senior forward Greg Miller had three assists Saturday, bumping up his career total to 97 points, and junior goalie Andy Iles made 20 saves for the Big Red, which is now 6-1-1 in its last eight games.
 
D'Agostino's first goal broke a 1-all tie 1:32 into the third period. The Big Red worked the puck along the right-wing boards with Erik Axell dishing to John McCarron. He got free along the goal line and found D'Agostino breaking wide-open into the slot, and the tri-captain fired a shot over Princeton goalie Mike Condon's blocker.
 
His next goal turned out to be the winner, coming on the power play a little less than four minutes later. Miller's shot from the top of the right circle was blocked, but the puck deflected right to D'Agostino in the slot for another conversion and a 3-1 Cornell lead.
 
Princeton cut its deficit to one with an extra-attacker goal with 45 seconds left, but the Big Red iced the game with 13 seconds remaining on sophomore forward Joel Lowry's 12th goal of the season.
 
Both teams came out flying in the early going, generating quality scoring chances right off the bat. Condon was equal to all seven Cornell shot on goal in the first, starting with a stop of D'Agostino's shot on a three-on-one break in the first minute.
 
At the four-minute mark, Miller sped away on another odd-man break. He ended up keeping the puck and picking a spot under Condon's blocker, but the shot clanked off the post and back into the slot. Brian Ferlin was able to get a stick to it, but the puck popped harmlessly over the crossbar. Just 15 seconds later, Erik Axell broke in along from the left circle only to have Condon make a left-pad save with the rebound getting shoveled wide.
 
There was just one penalty in the first period, and Princeton made it noteworthy with Will MacDonald's power-play goal at the 12:27 mark. With just two seconds left in the man advantage, Mike Ambrosia's pass went from the right boards all the way to the left, where leading scorer Andrew Calof found tons of open space. With the Big Red defense scrambling to cover Calof, MacDonald slipped down the middle and had little to do but tap in Calof's pass.
 
The second period started similar to the first – with a golden opportunity for the Big Red. Miller's blind backhanded chip out of the zone found the path of Ferlin. A last-ditch effort by a Princeton defenseman slowed Ferlin down, but he powered ahead on the slow-developing breakaway and made a move to his forehand. Condon stayed with the play and make a save with his left pad.
 
Ferlin got even at the 3:01 with his seventh goal of the season. Miller cycled toward the right point and dished off to freshman defenseman Reece Willcox heading down the wall. Willcox was able to set up Ferlin for a one-timer from the right circle that beat Condon and evened the score at 1.
 
The Big Red then had three power plays in the period, but couldn't capitalize on any of them. The closest it would come was on a rush capped by a Joel Lowry shot from the slot that caromed off the outside of the post at 8:10. Princeton countered late with its only man advantage of the stanza, but Cornell junior goalie Andy Iles snagged the best opportunity – a MacDonald shot from the top of the left circle – with his catching glove.
 
Cornell will learn its next opponent Sunday night after the third and final game of a first round series between Harvard and Dartmouth. If Harvard wins, the Big Red would earn a quarterfinal date with Rensselaer. If Dartmouth wins; Cornell will take on Quinnipiac.