It was about time.
After falling in the championship game for each of the last three years, the undergraduate team has finally broken through, defeating the alumni team 5-0 Saturday afternoon at Lynah Rink to claim the Perry-Beavers Cup for the first time.
“We were like the Buffalo Bills of the campus hockey tournament,” said senior assistant captain Chad Holzer, “for us seniors, it was pretty well deserved after four years.”
Holzer led the undergraduate attack, scoring two goals and adding an assist, en route to his second consecutive Pete Tufford ’69 MVP award. Juniors Todd Parkin and captain Alex Fineman each added two assists.
Holzer opened the scoring at 5:15 in the first period, sweeping a loose puck in front of the net past alumni goalie Bill Kelsey ’70.
The undergraduates increased the lead to 2-0 at 11:14, as freshman Mike Orenak drove home a pass from senior Geoff Kleet.
The undergraduates added one in the second period, a slick slap shot by freshman Peter Cannizzaro at 3:50 that went past Kelsey for the score.
Parkin and Fineman tallied assists on the goal.
Holzer’s second goal of the game came at 5:20 in the third, extending the lead to 4-0. Fineman and Cannizzaro assisted. Sophomore Steve Phillips scored off of Holzer and Parkin at 10:40 to seal the victory.
“We thought it would be a much tougher game,” explained Holzer, “but we scored a couple of quick goals and took advantage.”
“Once you get too far behind, it’s tough to come back,” commented Kelsey, who recalled sitting in section L, cheering on legendary Red goalie Ken Dryden ’70 during his Cornell days.
The game was a cleanly played affair, with only two penalties committed — a tripping by senior Adam Parker at 15:00 in the second period, and a cross-checking penalty by junior Mike Nicolls at 18:00 in the third.
For the alumni, Ray Scott was awarded the Tufford MVP award and Megan Schull was the recipient of the Sue Detzer Sportsmanship Award. Senior Rob Stevens was the undergraduate recipient of the Detzer Sportsmanship Award.
Murray Death ’67, captain of the 1967 NCAA Champion men’s hockey team, coached the alumni team. Sam Paolini, Sr., Brian Iggulden, and Steve Vesce served as the honorary coaches of the undergrads.
Archived article by Owen Bochner