PRINCETON, N.J. — Junior forward Tristan Mullin scored two of the Cornell men's hockey team's three power-play goals on Saturday in a 5-3 victory over Princeton at sold-out Hobey Baker Rink.
 
Cornell (15-2-4, 10-2-2 ECAC Hockey, 6-1-1 Ivy League), which entered the weekend ranked #1 in the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls, effectively bounced back from its worst regular-season loss in more than four years – though it wasn't easy.
 
After playing in a game that featured just three total power plays on Friday, the Big Red found itself in game with 15 on Saturday. Six of the night's eight goals came on the power play, and another came with six skaters on the ice because of a delayed penalty. That came off the stick of sophomore forward Max Andreev to open the scoring 8:29 in.
 
Just 1:36 later, Mullin cashed in his first of the night and Cornell's first five-on-three goal of the season, and it looked as though the Big Red would be off to the races. The goals were part of a stretch of over 20 minutes in which Cornell had 15 consecutive shots on goal.
 
But Princeton (3-14-4, 1-10-3, 0-5-1), despite only having three shots on goal in the second period, scored on two of them. The Big Red's streak of 17 straight penalty kills would come to a close with Mark Paolini's goal, then Spencer Kersten sent the teams into the final period even at 2.
 
Cornell surged ahead for good with its first three-goal third period of the season, starting with Green's power-play goal with 14:54 to play. Freshman forward Ben Tupker's goal 51 seconds later would prove to be the winner after Liam Grande's strike brought Princeton back to within one. Mullin then capped the scoring with 50 seconds left.
 
The Big Red held a dominating advantage in shots on goal, 36-15. Sixteen of those came on the power play, while the Tigers mustered just nine of their shots at even strength.

The Big Red's Lineup:

How The Goals Were Scored:

Cornell's 1st Goal
1st period, 8:53 (ex)  •  Andreev 3 (Green, Barron)  •  Cornell 1, Princeton 0
•  With a delayed penalty upcoming on the Tigers, the Big Red kept possession while getting Galajda to the bench in favor of an extra attacker. Mitchell and Barron set up Green for a shot from the right point with three forwards in front of the net. Andreev was one of them, stationed near the right hash mark to deflect the puck inside the near post.
 
Cornell's 2nd Goal
1st period, 10:05 (pp)  •  Mullin 7 (Andreev, Malinski)  •  Cornell 2, Princeton 0
•  Working on a two-man advantage, the Big Red worked the puck around the perimeter before Malinski's diagonal pass to Andreev at the bottom of the left circle got the Tigers scrambling. Andreev then fed the puck across the goal mouth, where a Princeton defenseman blocked it onto the post. Mullin then won the puck battle to poke it in on the rebound.
 
Princeton's 1st Goal
2nd period, 13:56 (pp)  •  Paolini 1 (Keenan, Topatigh)  •  Cornell 2, Princeton 1
•  After prolonged possession in the offensive zone on the power play, the Tigers set up Paolini for a wrister from the center point. The puck sailed past three bodies in front and over Galajda, clanging off the post and into the net.
 
Princeton's 2nd Goal
2nd period, 17:45 (pp)  •  Kersten 4 (Andonovski, Thom)  •  Cornell 2, Princeton 2
•  Working on the power play, the Tigers gained the offensive zone despite only sending two players forward. As Andonovski stopped on the right side to let his teammates catch up, he was able to pick out Kersten with a head of steam aimed at the slot. He faded toward the right inside hash mark, then picked a spot over Galajda's glove.
 
Cornell's 3rd Goal
3rd period, 5:06 (pp)  •  Green 5 (Malinski, Locke)  •  Cornell 3, Princeton 2
•  In the final 30 seconds of a power play, Locke reset the play by sending the puck back to Malinski at the left point. His pass to Green at the center point was sent right back to Malinski, when Locke's slashing across the middle of the formation drew the attention of one of Princeton's forward. That allowed Malinski to feed Green again, but with more space to get off a shot. The puck got a piece of Forget's left pad, but not enough to keep it from going into the net.
 
Cornell's 4th Goal
3rd period, 5:57  •  B. Tupker 2 (Bauld)  •  Cornell 4, Princeton 2
•  The Tigers had possession behind their own net, but an unforced turnover spilled the puck into the right circle. A forechecking Bauld was first to it, quickly turning the puck toward the goal mouth for Ben Tupker. He shifted to his backhand while Forget slid by, leaving Tupker to easily tuck in a backhand.
 
Princeton's 3rd Goal
3rd period, 8:04 (pp)  •  Grande 5 (Cressey, Thom)  •  Cornell 4, Princeton 3
•  The Tigers started a power play by winning a faceoff from Galajda's left back to the far point. Thom just put the puck on net from there, which created a rebound that Cressey shoveled across into the slot for Grande to sweep in.
 
Cornell's 5th Goal
3rd period, 19:10 (pp)  •  Mullin 8 (Locke, Malott)  •  Cornell 5, Princeton 3
•  As a power play waned with the game entering its final minute, the Tigers looked to move the puck up the wall and out of its zone. But Mullin pursued the play near the halfwall and regained control. Malott then one-timed a pass between his skates back into the faceoff circle where Mullin and Locke had converged on the dot. Mullin dug it out of Locke's skates and quickly snapped a shot past Forget's blocker and inside the near post.

Up Next:

•  Cornell returns to Ithaca to play three of its next four games at Lynah Rink, starting with a 7 p.m. Friday visit from regional rival Colgate in the annual Courage Classic game. A rematch between the teams is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at Class of 1965 Arena in Hamilton.