LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - No. 11/10 University of Massachusetts hockey rallied to force overtime with an extra attacker goal with 2:02 to go in the third period to secure a 2-2 tie against No. 17 Cornell on Friday at 1980 Herb Brooks Arena. The Big Red (6-4-2) went on to take the shootout, 2-0, to advance to tomorrow's championship game at the Adirondack Winter Invitational. The Minutemen (11-4-2) will face either No. 13 Arizona State or Clarkson in the consolation game at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
"A slow start, but the last two periods I thought we really took the play to them," said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "We weren't around the net enough to score some ugly goals. I'm a little frustrated. I thought we were the better team, but Cornell found a way. It's a shootout. It was a tie game. Once again, we come back in the third period, a nice goal there with the goaltender out. I thought our kids, once we started competing, we were the better team, but it's one of those games where we just couldn't put the puck in the back of the net."
In the final minute of the first period, UMass appeared to have opened the scoring, knocking the puck in amongst a scrum in the Cornell crease, but the call on the ice of a good goal was overturned upon a coaches' challenge from the Big Red.
Cornell later took a 1-0 lead at the 2:52 mark of the second period with Hoyt Stanley hammering home a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle off a feed from Ryan Walsh below the goal line.
The Minutemen tied the score moments later as junior Ryan Lautenbach won the puck in the corner and found sophomore Michael Cameron streaking down the crease for the finish 6:08 into the second period.
The Big Red pulled back in front before the intermission, however, making quick work of a power play opportunity. Dalton Bancroft cleaned up a rebound from a Walsh shot from the point, lifting the puck over the pad of goaltender Cole Brady at 14:44 with Ben Robertson earning the secondary helper.
With the third period winding down, Brady went to the bench for an extra attacker as the Minutemen looked for the equalizer. Junior Ryan Ufko fired a slap shot from the high slot that glanced off the post and freshman Jack Musa was there to shovel the rebound over to Ryan Lautenbach who found the back of a wide-open net at the 17:58 mark.
After neither team could manage a deciding tally in overtime, Cornell's first two shooters, Bancroft and Gabriel Seger converted in the shootout while Aydar Suniev and Cameron were denied.
The Big Red ended the contest with a 26-25 edge in shots and went 1-for-2 on the power play, while UMass was 0-for-3.
Brady finished the evening with 24 stops for the Minutemen and Cornell netminder Ian Shane registered 23 saves.
