By Brandon Thomas
Cornell Athletic Communications

ITHACA, N.Y. — After going more than five years between overtime victories, the Cornell men's hockey team turned in two within a span of 24 hours to complete a non-league sweep of Alaska this weekend at Lynah Rink. Junior forward Matt Stienburg provided the heroics on Saturday, scoring the winner 80 seconds into the extra session to punctuate a 1-0 victory. Freshman Joe Howe made 20 saves to record a shutout in his first collegiate start.

The path to the winning goal actually started with 8.4 seconds remaining in the third period, when a penalty was called when Stienburg was collided with heavily away from the play in the neutral zone. After a video review of the play, a major penalty for contact to the head was called on the offending player. While little came of the man advantage before the end of regulation, the scenario led to overtime essentially being spent on the man advantage. Furthermore, college hockey's new overtime rules dictate three-on-three play in the extra frame — though should a power-play situation arise as it did in this case, it results in a four-on-three power play.

Cornell (2-0) took full advantage of the situation, both in exhibited patience and usage of the extra space on the ice. It was also at least some atonement of disappointing weekend on the power play, with the winner proving to be the Big Red's lone strike on the man advantage in 10 chances over the weekend.

Senior forward Max Andreev worked the puck from high in the offensive zone to junior forward Ben Berard toward the bottom of the right circle. As the defenders shifted, Stienburg drifted away from his post near the top of the crease into the low slot to open himself up for a pass from Berard. His one-timer didn't miss, beating Alaska goaltender Gustavs Davis Grigals to the stick side and sending the crowd of 2,864 fans into euphoric celebration.
 
After Friday's victory, Mike Schafer '86 – the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Hockey – remarked on how fickle four-on-three opportunities can be throughout a season. As it turned out, he entertained a hunch on Saturday morning in case such a situation surfaced again.
 
"We actually watched Omaha score a 4-on-3 goal against them. This morning, we kind of watched that tape and brought (that power-play unit) in," Schafer said. "Just in case we get another 4-on-3, we talked about what we want them to try to do, and those guys did a really good job of it."
 
Of course, hockey isn't static – and while there's some leeway for scripted plays from time to time, it's mainly a reactionary sport. It was a melding of that reality and what the Big Red learned from Friday's series opener that ultimately led to the winner on Saturday.
 
"The thing about watching video is that we don't want to get too caught up in exact routes and stuff," Stienburg said. "We watched that (video of the Omaha/Alaska game) to give us some ideas and see what they're doing and see what works. Once you get out there, it's all about making reads and stuff. It was obviously a great play by Benny Berard to find me there, and I was lucky enough to be the guy to have that shot."
 
That shot also made a winner out of Howe, who proved impregnable in his collegiate debut. After Alaska got off to another strong start, Howe was there to thwart Harrison Israels' open shot from the slot at the 12:08 mark of the first, then Matt Koethe's angled breakaway 30 seconds later.
 
"A lot of excitement," Howe said. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous before the game – but then, puck drop, and hockey is hockey. … It's more of a team shutout than just me, but it's a great start."
 
His biggest stop came with 7:15 left in third period on a rare Alaska odd-man rush. As the play developed, the Nanooks fed defenseman Garrett Pyke for a quick shot from the slot that Howe calmly snagged with his catching glove while sliding to his left.

"I think he was outstanding," Schafer said. "He did a really good job and controlled rebounds and played the puck a couple times to help break us out of the zone, so I thought he did a really good job."

Assistant director of athletic communications Brandon Thomas is in his 11th season as his office's primary contact for the team. He can be reached at brandon@cornell.edu.