FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Three unanswered goals over the first 20-plus minutes of action staked Sacred Heart (12-8-4) out to an early 3-0 lead, and the Pioneers successfully staved off a comeback attempt by the No. 18-ranked Cornell men's hockey team (6-5-4) as it defeated the Big Red, 4-2, at Martire Family Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Tyler Ghirardosi posted the lone multi-point game for the Pioneers, assisting on Max Dorrington's game-winning goal before tallying an empty-net goal with 32 seconds left. Cole Galata and John Jaworski also found the back of the net for the Pioneers, aiding first-year goaltender Ajeet Gundarah in recording his 10th win on the season after making 27 saves.
Sophomore forward Ryan Walsh factored in both Big Red goals, netting his team-leading seventh goal and recording an assist on fellow sophomore forward Jake Kraft's third-period goal. Senior goaltender Ian Shane stopped seven of 10 shots before giving way to junior netminder Remington Keopple, who stopped all 10 shots he saw.
"I don't think we were ready to play," said Cornell men's hockey associate head coach Casey Jones '90. "We were making some progress, playing some good hockey after the holidays, then tonight, I thought we wanted to take it easy. We're disappointed in terms of execution and effort. Give credit to Sacred Heart. They made a couple of adjustments and we weren't mentally prepared to adjust."
Sacred Heart took the lead five-plus minutes into the contest for the second time in as many games. Galata tipped in a shot from the point by defenseman Hunter Sansbury while engaged with a Cornell defender in front of the net. The puck lofted over Shane's head before trickling across the goal line.
Continuing its success from Friday night, Cornell's penalty kill limited Sacred Heart's power play to just one shot attempt on a pair of first-period chances with the man advantage.
On the Big Red's first penalty kill, junior forward Sullivan Mack had a scoring chance during a 3-on-2 odd-man rush but his shot rang off the post.
The Pioneers increased its lead to 3-0 less than a minute into the second period as Jaworski and Dorrington teamed up to score twice in 32 seconds, chasing Shane out of the game.
Keopple was tested early with a breakaway by Jake Bongo but made a windmill glove save to keep the deficit at three.
"He made the breakaway save right off the bat," Jones said. "That locked us in, gave us a good chance, and gave us some juice on the bench. It got us going and got him in the game. Tough place to come in like that and he responded well."
Following Keopple's stop, Sacred Heart's three-goal lead would be short-lived as Walsh tallied Cornell's first goal on a wrist shot from the top of the slot at the 4:56 mark of the second period. Freshman defenseman Nicholas Wolfenberg made a long stretch pass from behind Cornell's goal line to Walsh in the neutral zone, leading Walsh to quickly entering the offensive zone and have his shot glance off Gundarah's glove and into the net.
The Big Red generated seven shot attempts and had five shots on goal during two power-play chances in the second period, but Gundarah preserved the Pioneers' two-goal lead heading into the third period.
Cornell cut Sacred Heart's lead to one, 3-2, with 4:11 left in the third period as Kraft one-timed a pass from Walsh behind Sacred Heart's net at the left elbow of the crease. Sophomore forward Nick DeSantis logged the secondary assist, snapping his eight-game pointless streak.
After pulling Keopple with over two minutes left, Sacred Heart had a chance to pot the insurance marker with 1:59 left but Mack blocked Bongo's shot, hoping to spark the Big Red in netting the game-tying goal. Immediately after Mack's blocked shot, the Big Red peppered Sacred Heart with five shot attempts in 32 seconds, but the Pioneers would block four of the attempts.
Following an offensive zone faceoff win by sophomore forward Jonathan Castagna with under 45 seconds left, Ghirardosi potted the insurance marker into an empty Cornell net on a clearing attempt from his own defensive zone.
GAME NOTES
• Saturday was the sixth all-time meeting between Cornell and Sacred Heart, as the Pioneers took control of the series lead, 3-2-1.
• Sacred Heart's victory snapped Cornell's nine-game unbeaten streak against Atlantic Hockey opponents, handing the Big Red its first loss to an AHA program since falling to Mercyhurst, 5-4, on Oct. 29, 2011, at Lynah Rink.
• Wolfenberg's assist on Walsh's second-period goal was his first collegiate assist and first point since scoring in the Big Red's season-opening contest against then-No. 6-ranked North Dakota on Nov. 1.
• Kraft's third-period goal was his first goal scored on the road or at a neutral site while as a member of the Big Red. All six of Kraft's goals had previously come at Lynah Rink.
UP NEXT
Cornell will conclude its seven-game road trip next weekend when it returns to ECAC Hockey action against Princeton (6-8-1, 3-6-1 ECAC Hockey) and No. 20-ranked Quinnipiac (13-7-1, 8-3-0 ECAC Hockey). Puck drop for both contests is scheduled for 7 p.m. Fans can watch both games on ESPN+, which will air regionally on SNY (Friday) and NESN (Saturday). The contests will also be carried over the airwaves on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM, cortacatoday.com) with Jason Weinstein providing play-by-play.
