By Brandon Thomas
Cornell Athletic Communications
 
ITHACA, N.Y. — Four different goal-scorers and two assists apiece from senior forward Max Andreev and junior forward Matt Stienburg helped the 13th-ranked Cornell men's hockey team record a 4-1 victory over Union on Friday night at Lynah Rink. And while it proved to be the Big Red's first successful attempt at holding a late lead in a game this season, it also showed how there's still room for growth in that area.
 
"It's a good win, and it's great in (terms of) our effort," said Mike Schafer '86, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Hockey at Cornell. "I'd like to see better and better execution, but it's a good win against a team that … always work(s) so hard. They're well-coached and they're dangerous."
 
Sophomore forward Kyle Penney and freshman forward Ondrej Psenicka scored first-period goals to help Cornell (4-1, 2-1 ECAC Hockey) take control. Penney's goal started on a shift more than a minute earlier by the line of juniors Zach Tupker, Ben Tupker and freshman Justin Ertel. For more than a minute, the Big Red trio kept the puck in the offensive zone and either held position or effectively forechecked to the point where any Union possession was minimized to mere survival. By the time the Dutchmen finally started to break out of their own zone, Malone's check created a turnover that Betts speedily turned into a Grade-A offensive chance when he zipped around a defender. His shot from in close was stopped by Union's Connor Murphy, but the rebounded descended  into the crease for Penney to swat in at the 3:31 mark.
 
The lead doubled at 11:18 after Andreev weaved his way free of three Union defenders in the left corner to backhand a pass to Stienburg in the faceoff circle. Stienburg also backhanded a pass – this one to Psenicka – who was wide-open in the low slow to slam home a shot past Murphy's glove.
 
While Union officially had five shots on goal in the first period, freshman goaltender Joe Howe wasn't even as busy as those numbers would indicate. His first save was the best he had to make in the opening stanza, when he took a shot from Chaz Smedsrud at the top of the right circle off his chest protector at the 8:50 mark.
 
The second period was a different story. After an opening 20 minutes bereft of penalties, Cornell found itself on the unenviable end of two interference infractions inside four minutes. Union forced four saves out of Howe during the power-play opportunities, then he made a pair of big stops in quick succession after Union carried the momentum into five-on-five play. Brandon Estes' shot from the top of the left circle was directed away by Howe's blocker at the 6:42 mark. Then, 10 seconds later, Estes eschewed another chance from the same spot to feed Smedsrud cutting toward goal from the right circle. Howe shuffled to his left, making another save.
 
"Anytime the team takes a penalty at the beginning of a period, it's huge, and obviously penalty-killing is huge in the momentum swings of each game," said Howe, who made 21 saves to earn the victory. "Obviously, I wasn't too busy in the first period, so to get a couple touches in and have the guys get into shooting lanes and try to keep them to the outside was (big). And that helped us through the game."
 
It was only 32 seconds after the save on Smedsrud that Cornell got the a third goal to take a stranglehold on the game. Betts created the turnover with a check in the neutral zone this time, allowing freshman defenseman Hank Kempf to quickly transition the play to Malone for a one-on-one chance at the offensive blue line. Malone was able to maneuver the puck beyond his defender – and while he never completed got his body clear of the defense, Malone was able to get just enough leverage on a forehand shot to flutter the puck past Murphy's glove.
 
Yet what seemed at the time to be a big goal in terms of insurance was almost a turning point in the other direction. That little bit of breathing room creating just a little bit too much comfort.
 
"I definitely think that, a couple different times, we've come out hot and gotten that first goal. And then I think at times, we get a little relaxed and take our foot off the (gas) pedal a bit," Malone said. "As a team, we've got to put our foot on their throats and keep it there. We've got to continue to build off the momentum we create early and continue that throughout the game."
 
A third straight interference penalty whistled on Cornell just nine seconds into the third period created yet another power play for Union (2-7-2, 1-3-1), and the visitors got on the board with Estes' seeing-eye wrister through traffic at the 1:25 mark.
 
"You could sense on the bench that when we went up 3-0, there was kind of a letdown," Schafer said. "You could feel it, because no one was talking and the excitement was kind of waning on the bench."
 
But unlike squandered third-period leads in last weekend's game at Harvard and Dartmouth, this time Cornell was able to stem the tide before capping the scoring with junior defenseman Travis Mitchell's goal on a two-on-one break with 8:15 to play.
 
Andreev created the play inside the defensive blue line, making a poised play to avert a Union defenseman sealing the boards with a little pass back toward the middle for Mitchell charging forward. Mitchell quickly passed to Stienburg on the right wing to start the two-on-one break, then the sprawling last Union defender tripped Stienburg for what would ultimately lead to be Cornell's lone power play of the night – but the Big Red duo never gave up on the play, and Stienburg's sweeping pass as he descended to the ice found Mitchell's crash toward the far post for the goal.
 
Cornell cruised from there, locking up three points in advance of the weekend's finale against Rensselaer at 7 p.m. Saturday.