ITHACA, N.Y. — Senior defenseman Patrick McCarron and sophomore forward Anthony Angello scored goals, senior goaltender Mitch Gillam starred with 24 saves, and the Cornell men’s hockey team extended its ECAC Hockey Championship quarterfinal series against Clarkson with a 2-1 victory in Game 2 on Saturday night at Lynah Rink.
Just as in Game 1, the teams proverbially sparred before a first goal coming in the eighth minute — except this time, third-seeded Cornell (19-7-5) struck first to take its first lead of the weekend against sixth-seeded Clarkson (18-15-5).
McCarron made a three-zone rush that was stopped by Clarkson goalie Jake Kielly, but senior forward Jake Weidner leaped up to stop a clearing attempt off the glass. He fed senior Eric Freschi coming into the slot, and he quickly moved the puck to an open McCarron at the left point. He fired a shot that hit a defender’s stick in front and vaulted over Kielly’s glove.
Gillam made the lead stick, shining for a second straight night. He smothered a short-handed breakaway attempt from Perry D’Arrisso 21 seconds in the second period, then flashed his glove to snag Josephs’ shot from the slot 5:14 into the third.
Cornell then doubled the lead with a goal on the rush. From his own zone, sophomore Beau Starrett made a backhand pass up the wall to beat a Clarkson defenseman, and senior Jeff Kubiak’s touch pass sent Angello up the middle with him on a two-on-one. He never hesitated, unleashing a shot from the top of the slot that whistled by Kielly’s glove with 11:10 to play.
After more Gillam heroics, Clarkson got on the board with a six-on-four goal from Juho Jokiharju with 1:57 to play. That said up a frenzied finish, but Cornell survived to extend the series.
