HAMILTON, N.Y. — There might have been more action in the streets of downtown Hamilton on Saturday evening than inside Colgate’s Starr Rink.
Despite a lethargic start — the visitors mustered just three shots in the first period — Cornell (11-5-1, 7-2-1 ECAC) escaped from the Raiders (6-13-0, 4-6-0) with a 3-2 win in hand.
The best scoring chance for the Red in the opening stanza came at the 14:26 mark as junior defenseman Doug Murray cut in past the left circle and sticked a shot toward Colgate goalie David Cann. The puck bounced off the netminder toward sophomore Scott Krahn who fanned on a tip in opportunity.
Cornell drew the only power play of the opening stanza in its final minutes, but the usually potent unit looked anemic, earning just one shot.
The Red’s slumbering start did not go unnoticed by head coach Mike Schafer ’86.
“I didn’t think we played our best hockey in the first period. Give Colgate a lot of credit, they played a great first period. We couldn’t get anything going,” he said.
An explanation for Cornell’s first period inefficiency remained largely elusive.
“In the first period there was a lot of holding,” sophomore Ryan Vesce offered. “We couldn’t get the flow going. They played a good first period. We didn’t really get going until the second and third period.
“We gave them a pretty good beating so you figured they would come out strong on their ice,” he continued.
“Its something we are going to have to figure out. We are having too many slow starts,” Murray concluded.
Colgate was able to exploit the Red’s poor play just over a minute into the second period.
Left winger Paul Kelley gathered a rebound that came of the stick of Scooter Smith and buried it past Cornell goalie David LeNeveu, who appeared to have lost sight of the puck.
The homeside held the advantage through most of the second period and nearly extended the lead midway through the stanza when Steve Silversides’ shot from the point clanked off the post.
Moments later, Colgate’s Dmitry Yashin was ticketed for tripping. The Red’s second power play was far more potent than its first. Puck movement was key as Murray fed junior captain Stephen B