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ITHACA, N.Y. — Freshman forward Jake Weidner scored his first collegiate goal, but Union scored the final three goals to lock up a 4-1 victory the Cornell men's hockey team on Friday night at Lynah Rink.
 
Despite the loss, Cornell (12-6-5, 8-4-3 ECAC Hockey, 6-0-1 Ivy League) earned at least a share of the Ivy League championship when Princeton defeated Brown, 3-2. Only Dartmouth and/or Harvard can tie the Big Red in Ancient Eight play. Cornell can clinch the title outright via multiple scenarios next weekend.
 
After the teams traded jabs in the opening half of the first period, a three-minute span yielded three goals – two of which can be described as bizarre. An innocuous two-on-two rush for Union (20-6-3, 14-3 ECAC Hockey) yielded Kevin Sullivan's opening goal at the 11:48 mark. Sullivan took a shot that hit his defender's leg, then he was the first to find the puck afterward to wrist the rebound past Cornell goalie Andy Iles.
 
Weidner then pulled the Big Red even at the 13:32 mark on an unassisted breakaway goal created by a collision between a Dutchmen defenseman and one of the linesmen at the Cornell blue line. Weidner sprinted away from the neutral zone uncontested, froze Union goalie Colin Stevens and converted on the short side.
 
But the reprieve for the Big Red was short-lived. Just 53 seconds later, Matt Wilkins scored a controversial goal to pull Union back ahead for good. Michael Pontarelli moved into the left circle and took a shot that hit traffic in front of the net. The puck dropped into the fray and was converted by Wilkins with Iles impeded by contact from Union forward Eli Lichtenwald. The Big Red contested Lichtenwald's contact was direct – the officials ruled it was incidental, so the goal stood.
 
While there was no shortage of physical play, there was a dearth of penalties. The Big Red's only two power plays overlapped, giving the team 45 seconds of a two-man advantage midway through the second. But Cornell never regained possession after entering the Union zone.
 
The Dutchmen took a two-goal lead with 2:32 left in the period on another goal that left the Big Red bench displeased. David Roy took a shot from just inside the blue line that was deflected past Iles by Sam Coatta. Cornell questioned the legality of Union's line change.
 
While it was the Big Red's second straight loss, the team had a much better performance against Union than it did the previous week in a 6-1 setback at Colgate. Cornell threatened the Union lead several times, but Colin Stevens made 23 saves for the victory and caught some good fortune when tip-in attempts by John McCarron and Cole Bardreau hit the post early in the second and third periods.
 
The Big Red is back in action at 7 p.m. Saturday against Rensselaer.