Box Score (PDF)

ITHACA, N.Y. — The men's hockey team's hopes for a first-round bye in the ECAC Hockey Championship playoffs were dashed on Friday night after it suffered a 5-1 loss to Union at Lynah Rink. Senior forward Christian Hilbrich scored the Big Red's lone goal in the second period, but a two-goal Union burst in the opening eight minutes of the game proved too costly.
 
With Cornell (13-9-6, 8-8-5 ECAC Hockey)  coming off a successful three-point trip through Harvard and Dartmouth last weekend, momentum was anticipated in front of the home crowd — but Union struck first just 38 seconds into the game. Mike Vecchione forced a turnover as the Big Red attempted to break out of its zone, but the puck bounced forward out of his reach. As Cornell's recovering defensemen converged, confusion ensued and the bouncing puck was not cleared. Union's Matt Wilkins crashed the net through the slot and took a couple swats at the puck, which eventually slid over the goal line.
 
Cornell outshot Union (13-11-9, 6-9-6) in the opening frame, 16-12, including a three-shot sequence from in close by Patrick McCarron, Christian Hilbrich and Eric Freschi in the game's sixth minute. Alex Sakellaropoulos stopped them all, as well as the rest of the shots in the period — many from distance.
 
The Dutchmen struck again on another giveaway in the Cornell zone. Michael Pontarelli recovered a puck-handling fumble for a quick two-on-one, feeding Eli Lichtenwald for another quick strike to give the visitors a two-goal lead before the game was nine minutes old.
 
The Big Red started to come alive early in the second period, spearheaded by a strong shift from the line of Alex Rauter, Eric Freschi and Teemu Tiitinen. The momentum continued until Hilbrich broke through at the 6:04 mark, cutting the Big Red's deficit to 2-1. Dwyer Tschantz moved up the right wing and gained the zone, taking a shot from the top of the right circle. While Sakellaropoulos easily made the save, he could only push the rebound into the path of Hilbrich on the weak side, and the senior winger converted.
 
With the crowd once again alive, Cornell pushed for an equalizer, but were turned away a few times before Union started to gain control again — aided by the frame's only two power plays. Mitch Gillam made a save on a chance on the rush by Wilkins with five minutes to go in the period, but another chance in transition proved costly. Wilkins' pass sent Vecchione away on a two-and-one, and his pass to Cole Maier was easily shoveled into the net to restore the Dutchmen's two-goal lead before the intermission. Sakellaropoulos made a blocker save on Tschantz about 15 seconds later for good measure.
 
Union expanded the lead with Maier's second goal of the night at the 13:47 mark — also on a two-on-one — then Lichtenwald's empty-netter capped the scoring.
 
The Cornell loss, coupled with Clarkson's 2-1 victory over Harvard on Friday, leaves the Big Red tied for seventh place in the ECAC Hockey standings (though the Golden Knights would win the tiebreaker between the teams, should they remained tied after Saturday's games). Cornell can move up as high as sixth place with a win in its final regular season game at 7 p.m. Saturday against Rensselaer. Following the game, there will be a ceremony to honor the Big Red's four seniors — forwards Hilbrich, John Knisley and Teemu Tiitinen, and defenseman Reece Willcox.