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ITHACA, N.Y. – The final goal may not have been as pretty as three that preceded it Friday night, but it sure was a thing of beauty for the Cornell men's hockey team. Senior forward Joel Lowry scored the winner with 6:38 remaining in the third period when the puck bounced off his arm, leading the 18th-ranked Big Red to a 3-2 victory in an exhibition against the U.S. National Team Development Program Under-18 Team at Lynah Rink.
 
Sophomore goaltender Mitch Gillam made 26 saves for the victory, and NTDP alumni factored into each of the Big Red's three goals. Freshman forward Jared Fiegl scored a goal and adding an assist, and senior forward Cole Bardreau setting up the winner.
 
With the victory, Cornell improved to 19-1-3 in exhibitions since 2000. That one loss came to the NTDP U-18s in 2009 (backstopped by future Cornell goalie Andy Iles '14), and the current version of the squad posed the same danger. Among the NTDP U-18s' games so far are a victory at #10/10 Miami and a tie at #5/5 Providence.
 
A highly skilled team, the visiting side put their strengths on display in the first period. Though neither team produced many Grade A chances, the NTDP U-18s had the territorial advantage and a 9-4 edge in shots on goal. Perhaps the best opportunity to break the ice came at the 11:23 mark, when leading scorer Jeremy Bracco broke up the right side on a semi-breakaway. He entered the faceoff circle and fired a shot labeled toward the far side of the net, but Gillam deflected it wide with his blocker.
 
Cornell then took a 1-0 lead on a fluky goal with 2:31 left in the opening period. With the Big Red on the forecheck, a NTDP U-18s defenseman had the puck roll off his stick behind his own net. The puck caromed off Fiegl's skate just to the side of the goal, then slid across the crease before NTDP U-18s goalie Michael Lackey could locate it. Junior forward Teemu Tiitinen was first to it, cashing in an easy goal from close range.
 
The game opened up dramatically in the second period, with Bardreau and senior forward John McCarron connecting a variety passes to set up separate chances in the seventh minute of the stanza. The NTDP U-18s bounced back with a two-on-one after a bad Cornell pinch at the offensive blue line. Troy Terry toe-dragged around the sliding defenseman and appeared to be lining up a shot before sliding a pass across the crease to Brendan Warren. But what appeared to all to be a tap-in goal turned into a remarkable save, as Gillam shot out his right pad to make the stop.
 
Senior defenseman Joakim Ryan snapped a shot off the post on a power play soon thereafter as the pressure started to build. Finally, the Big Red broke through for a second goal on the shift immediately after the power play ended. Speedy senior forward Madison Dias attacked up the right wing wall. While the puck was swatted away by a defenseman, Tiitinen was tracking the play and helped the Big Red regain possession by wrapping the puck along the boards back into the corner. Dias picked it up and cut back up the wall, finding Fiegl between the top of the slot and right circle. With a little bit of time, Fiegl rifled a shot by Lackey's left shoulder.
 
With Gillam in a groove, making 22 of his 26 saves in the first two periods, it seemed the NTDP U-18s were out of luck when Dias took off on a shorthanded breakaway and beat Lackey with a move to the backhand. But the puck pinged off the crossbar, and Tage Thompson scored about two minutes later for the visitors. On a line rush up the left wing, Warren noticed Thompson wasn't picked up on the weak side. A perfect pass was redirected in from point-blank range past a helpless Gillam, and the NTDP U-18s were suddenly were in a more manageable one-goal hole entering the third period.
 
The deficit then disappeared at the end of the first shift in the third. Another two-on-one developed for the NTDP U-18s, and Bracco averted a sprawling defender before sneaking a shot past Gillam to tie the game.
 
The visitors had the only two power plays of the third period and the final four power plays of the game, but the Big Red penalty kill stood tall from start to finish. As the final one of those chances expired, senior defenseman Jacob MacDonald chipped a puck up the glass to McCarron as he exited the penalty box for a clear-cut breakaway. Lackey made the save on a shot aimed for the five-hole, then McCarron directed the rebound just wide of the far post.
 
Still, the Big Red produced the winner about a minute later. An NTDP U-18s defenseman attempted a breakout pass up the left wall, but Bardreau intercepted in the neutral zone and got a head of steam to sidestep two defenders before driving the net. His initial shot was stopped by Lackey, but then he got a piece of the rebound before the bouncing puck went in off Lowry's arm. A video review from the officials confirmed it was a good goal, and the Big Red secured the fort from there.
 
Cornell plays its final exhibition of the season at 7 p.m. Saturday against Carleton.