HAMILTON, N.Y. – Freshman forward Ondrej Psenicka and sophomore forward Kyle Penney scored goals to help the Cornell men's hockey team erase a pair of deficits on Friday, but Colgate scored twice on the power play to outlast the Big Red for a 3-2 victory at Class of 1965 Arena.
 
Psenicka's goal was his team-leading 10th of the season, coming just eight seconds into the second period to tie the game at 1.
 
Senior Kyle Betts won the faceoff to open the frame at center ice to Psenicka, who attacked up the left wing. He beat his defender wide and then swooped toward the middle. Instead of jamming a sharp-angle shot, he used the long reach afforded to a 6-foot-6 skater to tuck a backhand around the left pad of Colgate goalie Mitch Benson.
 
After the Colgate (10-14-2, 5-7-2 ECAC Hockey) took the lead back on Griffin Lunn's power-play goal later in the second period, it was déjà vu to start the third. Psenicka threatened again on the rush, this time snapping a shot from the right circle that clipped the crossbar before heading out of play just 48 seconds into the frame. The Raiders won the ensuing faceoff to Benson's left, but a turnover by a defenseman ejected the puck from behind the net out to the goal mouth for Penney to slam in.
 
Cornell (13-6-3, 8-4-3), which entered the week ranked 11th in the DCU/USCHO.com poll and 13th in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll, largely controlled the game during five-on-five play — especially for the final 40 minutes — but Colgate got its second power-play goal from Ethan Manderville with 12:30 to play. It proved to be the game-winner, with Benson finishing the night on 27 saves.
 
Colgate got on the board with just 1:16 left in the first period after a turnover in the defensive zone allowed Colton Young to feed his younger brother, Alex, on the attack from the left of Cornell's Ian Shane (20 saves). He avoided Shane's sweep check and slid a backhand between the goaltender's legs.
 
The teams clash again at 7 p.m. Saturday in a rematch at Lynah Rink in Ithaca.