Box Score (PDF)

ITHACA, N.Y. — Sophomore goaltender Mitch Gillam made 26 saves, including a highlight-reel stop on the nation's leading goal-scorer 28 seconds before junior forward John Knisley netted the short-handed winner for the Cornell men's hockey team in a 2-1 victory over defending national champion Union on Saturday night.
 
Freshman forward Dwyer Tschantz scored in the first period for Cornell (11-11-5, 9-8-3 ECAC Hockey), which saw Gillam make several key stops to keep Union (14-16-2, 6-13-1) from equalizing. Union's Max Novak sent leading scorer Daniel Ciampini away on clean, short-handed breakaway a minute into the second period. Ciampini made a move before trying to tuck a forehand inside the post to Gillam's right, but the goaltender had it covered and the puck slid wide.
 
Mike Vecchione then set up Ciampini cutting down the slot for a redirect from point-blank range at the 8:16 mark, only to see Gillam slide across to his right and kick the puck away.
 
That particular save took on greater meaning moments later, when Knisley netted his fifth goal of the year when he scooped a backhand past the blocker of Union goalie Colin Stevens, giving the Big Red a 2-0 lead. Senior defenseman Joakim Ryan started the play by winning a battle for a loose puck in the corner of his own zone, which sent senior forward Madison Dias driving up the right wing. The Dutchmen had three men back, but Dias and Knisley drove ahead of two ahead of them, and Dias' perfect pass caught the third defender in no-man's land to lead Knisley away on a breakaway from the top of the circles. It was the Big Red's third short-handed goal of the season.
 
Just like in Friday's game against Rensselaer, the Big Red got off to a strong start — but had no goals to show for it. A pair of penalties roughly two minutes apart sent Cornell on its heels while it killed the two Union power plays, but the game remained scoreless.
 
The Big Red was then next to go on the man advantage, leading to Tschantz's second goal of the season. Sophomore forward Matt Buckles, who hit the post on a one-timer earlier in the shift, fired a shot from the top of the left circle that Tschantz deflected on net. Union goalie Colin Stevens made the save, but Tschantz was first to the rebound and jammed it over the line during the ensuing scrum with 1:46 left in the period.
 
Ciampini got the Dutchmen on the board with his nation-leading 24th goal early in the third period on a four-on-three power play.
 
With the victory, Cornell has clinched at least home ice for the first round of the ECAC Hockey Championships. The Big Red is also still in the hunt for one of the league's coveted top four spots, which leads to a first-round bye. With two games remaining in the regular season, Cornell trails third-place Yale by four points and fourth-place Colgate and Harvard by three points apiece — though the Big Red owns the individual tiebreaker with both of those teams.
 
Saturday's game was the Big Red's Senior Night, in which a post-game ceremony honored the four-year careers of Cole Bardreau, Dias, Joel Lowry, Jacob MacDonald, John McCarron and Ryan.
 
The Big Red hits the road for its final two games of the regular season, taking on red-hot Brown at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27 before wrapping up the weekend at 7 p.m. Saturday at Yale.