SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — Freshman defenseman Matt Cairns scored his first collegiate goal and the Cornell men's hockey team held a pair of leads on Saturday night, but Union went 3-for-3 on the power play to secure a 4-3 victory in the teams' regular-season finale in front of a sold-out crowd at Messa Rink.
 
While both teams were assured of their seeding for the ECAC Hockey Championships before the game even started, there was no hint of either squad merely going through the motions right from the opening puck drop. But Union (21-13-2, 16-5-1 ECAC Hockey), already assured of the No. 2 seed through the league playoffs, appeared to have a little extra jump on its Senior Night and less than 24 hours removed from a disappointing 1-1 tie with Colgate.
 
The Dutchmen came out blazing with 13 of the game's first 14 shots on goal before being whistled for the game's first power play 12 minutes, 46 seconds into the game. Making his first start since Jan. 5, senior Hayden Stewart stood strong and sophomore defenseman Yanni Kaldis cashed in the opportunity for the Big Red on the man advantage.
 
Ryan Scarfo's ninth power-play goal of the season evened the score exactly three minutes later, but Cornell surged back ahead just before the intermission on Cairns' bombed slap shot from the left circle.
 
Union took the lead on two more power-play goals by Cole Maier and J.C. Brassard, continuing to find success against a Cornell penalty kill that is terrific against pretty much anyone else. The Big Red has killed 39 of its opponents' last 46 power-play chances (84.7%), but five of the seven power-play goals conceded over that stretch have been in two February games against Union.
 
Still, the Big Red battled back to tie the game at 3 on freshman forward Tristan Mullin's unassisted wraparound goal early in the third. But Union got the winner from Brett Supinski with 8:50 to play.
 
Stewart finished the night with 32 saves, with the Big Red outshot in each period. The loss ended a five-game unbeaten streak for Cornell (23-4-2, 17-3-2 ECAC Hockey), which was coming off a Cleary Cup-clinching victory over Rensselaer on Friday night. Saturday's game was the first time Cornell has conceded four or more goals since a Nov. 21 victory over Niagara, 5-4.
 
Having already clinched the No. 1 seed for the ECAC Hockey Championship playoffs, the Big Red has earned a first-round bye and will be back in action when it hosts the lowest-remaining seed in a best-of-three quarterfinal series March 9-11 at Lynah Rink.

The Big Red's Lineup:

How The Goals Were Scored:
Cornell's 1st Goal
1st period, 13:47 (pp)   •  Kaldis 4 (Rauter, Yates)  •  Cornell 1, Union 0
•  After very patiently waiting out the Union forecheck with a handful of passes between defensemen, Green broke up ice and sent the puck across to Angello coming up the left wing. He had a step going wide on his defender, sliding a pass across the top of the crease to Yates. It was too deep for him to shoot, so he alertly spun around to feed Rauter coming open down the slot. Kupsky made a terrific save with his right pad – but the rebound kicked back out and found Kaldis open coming down the slot, and he snapped a shot over Kupsky's glove.
 
Union's 1st Goal
1st period, 16:47 (pp)   •  Scarfo 20 (Brassard, Morgan)  •  Cornell 1, Union 1
•  The Dutchmen set up a triangle of quick passes on its power play to tee up Brassard for a one-timer through traffic. Stewart made the save, but it kicked off the inside of his right pad and toward the far post for a wide-open Scarfo to stuff in the rebound.
 
Cornell's 2nd Goal
1st period, 18:04   •  Cairns 1 (Angello, Locke)  •  Cornell 2, Union 1
•  The Big Red came up ice through the neutral zone with Cairns joining the play on the left side to create a three-on-two. He took Locke's pass and sent a shot wide of the far post, but Angello was able to regain possession along the right half wall. He kept his momentum going around the net, then teed up Cairns for a one-timer from the left circle that he blasted low past Kupsky and inside the far post.
 
Union's 2nd Goal
2nd period, 16:47 (pp)   •  Maier 10 (Vidmar, Rinaldi)  •  Cornell 2, Union 2
•  In the dying moments of a Union power play, the Dutchmen used the man-power advantage to win a battle in the left corner in the Cornell zone. Rinaldi chipped it along the wall deep, and Vidmar started to wheel behind the net. But just as he got past the middle of the goal, he flipped a backhand back toward the left circle. Maier beat his man out of the corner and slammed the puck under Stewart.
 
Union's 3rd Goal
3rd period, 3:03 (pp)   •  Brassard 2 (Morgan, Kolias)  •  Union 3, Cornell 2
•  Again on the man advantage, the Dutchmen worked its patented high triangle of passes to tee up Brassard for a shot from the center point that found its way through traffic and between Stewart's legs.
 
Cornell's 3rd Goal
3rd period, 4:07   •  Mullin 4 (unassisted)  •  Cornell 3, Union 3
•  The Big Red had the puck deep in the Union zone before it popped out to Kupsky's right. The goaltender paddled it away, where Mullin picked it up. He stopped in the left corner and won the physical battle with his defender, circled all the way around the net and stuffed in a wraparound on his forehand to Kupsky's left.
 
Union's 4th Goal
3rd period, 11:10   •  Supinski 9 (Rinaldi)  •  Union 4, Cornell 3
•  A Cornell forward hit the puck on his stick trying to break out in the left circle of the defensive zone, but he had his pocket picked and the Dutchmen quickly worked the puck out to the other side. A an open shot toward goal was tipped in by the forward cutting across the top of the crease.