Box Score (PDF)

ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell men's hockey team surrendered four unanswered goals for a second straight night and a suffered a 4-2 loss to Dartmouth on Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd at Lynah Rink.
 
Cornell (12-6-2, 7-4-2 ECAC Hockey, 4-3-1 Ivy League), which entered the weekend ranked 14th in both major national college hockey polls, was in control after first-period goals from sophomore defenseman Matt Nuttle and senior forward Matt Buckles. But the Big Red — which entered the game with the third-most efficient penalty kill in the nation — yielded three power-play goals from the Big Green to come up empty.
 
"We've had enough bad bounces the last two nights to last us an entire year," said Mike Schafer, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Hockey. "Hopefully those things turn and go the other way for us."
 
Cornell got off to a torrid start with senior forward Jeff Kubiak's line with sophomore Anthony Angello and freshman Noah Bauld setting the tone on the opening shift.
 
The Big Red then struck first on a pretty passing play in transition. Junior forward Jared Fiegl absorbed a big hit in the neutral zone to set up an odd-man rush the other way. Junior forward Dwyer Tschantz and sophomore forward Beau Starrett made deft passes up the left wing to find Nuttle coming down the slot all along, and the blueliner beat Dartmouth goalie Devin Buffalo to the glove side just 3:26 into the game. The goal was the first of Nuttle's collegiate career, as he has emerged into a consistent contributor for the Big Red after appearing in just two games as a freshman.
 
The bulk of the Big Green's 11 shots in the first period came from the perimeter on its one power play, but senior goaltender Mitch Gillam looked sharp in turning pucks aside and controlling rebounds.
 
Cornell then went to work on its lone opportunity on the man advantage in the opening frame and doubled the lead on Buckles' tally. Sophomore defenseman Alec McCrea snapped a shot from the right point that Buckles redirected against the grain and over Buffalo's left shoulder. The goal gives Buckles seven points in nine games since returning from an injury.
 
But after a relatively quiet second period unfolded, a Cornell penalty on the forecheck sent Dartmouth to a power play as the stanza waned. The Big Green won a faceoff out of a scrum to Gillam's left, and Ryan Blankemeier teed up Cam Roth for a shot from the center point. The puck caromed off the glove of a Cornell forward attempting to block the shot and bounced off the ice past a screened Gillam.
 
That goal changed the complexion of the game, giving the visitors renewed life entering the third. A barrage of penalties whistled against Cornell in the final 20 minutes ultimately set the stage for Dartmouth's comeback. A tripping penalty on the forecheck led to Alex Jasiek's tying goal, coming with 7:43 remaining. He steered Troy Crema's pass from the top of crease on goal where Gillam made the save, only to have the puck carom into the goal off the shoulder of a backchecking defenseman.
 
Less than a minute later, Cornell was then sacked with a pair of controversial penalties 10 seconds apart. That set the stage for Jasiek's winner on a five-on-three, then Crema iced the game with an empty-netter later on.
 
The Big Red hits the road next weekend, starting with an 8:30 p.m. Friday contest at ECAC Hockey contender Union. The game will be broadcast on TSN2 and streamed on the TSN GO app, with the potential of additional carrying channels being announced at a later date.
 
"There are certain things in the sport that you can't control," Schafer said. "You can't control the officials. That's one thing that you'd like to, but you just can't. You can't control when pucks hit your guys and go in.
 
"But what we can control is how we respond to this tough weekend, going on the road against Union and RPI, and how we're going to bounce back from this," Schafer added. "That's what we can control."