After failing to score in the first two periods, Cornell (18-7-4, 13-6-3 ECAC Hockey) sliced Yale’s lead to 3-2 with two power play goals in the third period. However, the comeback was short-circuited as freshman forward Brian O’Neil netted his second goal of the evening with 45 seconds remaining in regulation to stake the Bulldogs to a 4-2 victory.

“We made some mistakes early on,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “Give [Yale] credit. They came out with a lot of intensity. We didn’t come out with desperation right off the bat. I am happy our guys didn’t quit [when it was 3-0], kept pushing for it and tried to get the tying goal. But, I’m also disappointed because we can’t give up the goal that we gave up in the beginning of the game.”

Check Monday's edition of The Cornell Daily Sun for additional coverage

Yale: 4, Men's Hockey: 2

After failing to score in the first two periods, Cornell sliced Yale’s lead to 3-2 with two power play goals in the third period. However, the comeback was short-circuited as freshman forward Brian O’Neil scored his second goal of the evening in the final minute of play to stake the Bulldogs to a 4-2 victory.

As the men’s hockey team wraps up its regular season schedule this weekend, it has a chance to capture the ECAC Hockey regular season title. While the No. 11 Red might need some help from other teams to win the title, the possibility does exist. Tonight, Cornell will be in New Haven, Conn., to take on Yale, and tomorrow the Red will travel to Providence, R.I. to face off against Brown. Two Cornell victories combined with a Yale loss on Sunday and Princeton losing one of its two weekend games would result in the Red taking the ECAC title, a fact that is not lost on head coach Mike Schafer ’86 and his players.

On Friday night, the Red came flying out of the gates with three even-strength first period goals that immediately established the tone of the game. Junior forward Blake Gallagher added to the Cornell lead with a power-play goal in the second frame, and junior goaltender Ben Scrivens made 24 saves on 25 shots to seal the 4-1 victory over the Engineers and snap the Red’s three-game losing streak.

Senior co-captain Mike Kennedy, who returned to action after missing four games with injury, was very happy with the Red’s well-rounded offensive attack and thought the team did a great job of creating quality scoring opportunities throughout the night.

While celebrating Senior Night, the last regular season game of the year, with a 5-2 win over Union, the men’s hockey team also ensured that it will return to Lynah Rink once more this season for a quarterfinal matchup in the ECAC Hockey tournament. With the victory, Cornell is guaranteed a first-round bye in the tournament and no lower than the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament.

On a night to recognize the eight graduating seniors on the Cornell (17-6-4, 12-5-3 ECAC Hockey) roster, it was sophomore center Riley Nash who put on an offensive show. He racked up two goals and two assists and seemed to be at the center of most of the Red’s chances on offense.

Heading into its final two home games of the 2008-09 regular season, the men’s hockey team has lost three contests in a row to ECAC Hockey foes, its longest losing streak in a year. Also, the lauded Red defense gave up nine goals in two games last weekend. But the way the team is talking, one probably could not guess that it is seemingly in the middle of a late-season collapse.

The official impact of Cornell’s three-game skid, including a pair of road losses at Dartmouth and Harvard this past weekend, has yet to be determined. Will it be forever referred to as the St. Valentine’s Day massacre, or will it be remembered as a mere glitch along the Red’s championship path?

“There’s no overreaction from our players or our coaching staff, whether we’ve won three in a row or whether we lost three in a row,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “It’s all about the next game and staying focused on making sure that we’re ready to go.”

Men's hockey

“There’s no overreaction from our players or our coaching staff, whether we’ve won three in a row or whether we lost three in a row,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “It’s all about the next game and staying focused on making sure that we’re ready to go.”

According to Schafer, the Red’s (15-6-4, 10-5-3 ECAC Hockey) first three-game losing streak since last February is not a cause for alarm. Coincidentally, Friday night’s contest in Hanover, N.H. marked the first time in two and a half years that Cornell registered four goals and still lost the contest.

HANOVER, N.H. — Looking to shake up an offense that seemed stagnant without leading scorer senior forward Michael Kennedy, the Red (15-6-4, 10-5-4 ECAC Hockey) came out on Friday with new lines against Dartmouth. The offense seemed to click better than it had in recent weeks, but penalties and a few costly mistakes let the team down in the end as Dartmouth (13-9-3, 10-6-2 ECAC Hockey) won, 5-4, in overtime.

Line it up: Junior defenseman Brendon Nash takes a shot in the Red’s 4-2 loss to Harvard on Saturday.

“It was just one of those nights we didn’t score on the power play and they did,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86.

Junior forward Colin Greening provided both of the Red’s goals on the night. The co-captain’s first tally came on a nice pass from sophomore forward Joe Devin, who was stationed behind the goal. Devin found Greening between the circles and Greening one-timed a shot past Harvard’s sophomore goalie Ryan Carroll.

“I was really proud of the guys, we came to play and we won a lot of battles,” Greening said. “The only difference is they scored more than us.”