BURLINGTON, Vt. — Sophomore goalie David LeNeveu got his second consecutive shutout, and Cornell remained perfect on the season as the Red (4-0-0. 3-0-0 ECAC) demolished Vermont (2-5-2, 0-3-0 ECAC) 8-0 at Gutterson Field House Friday night.
Eight players scored and 14 players got at least one point as Cornell laid waste to the Catamounts. Each line contributed at least a goal and two more came on the power play, as Vermont couldn’t find an answer for the Red all night.
“That was a good game for us. I thought they came out really physical in the first period, and I thought that we withstood that,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86.
UVM did come out of the gates with a burst of speed, but couldn’t sustain that pace as Cornell notched its first goal 2:39 into the game. Sophomore defenseman Jeremy Downs caught goaltender Travis Russell up high from behind a screen for the eventual gamewinner. Freshman Matt Moulson, who was playing in his first game after suffering a knee injury against York on Oct. 27, assisted on the play.
The initial goal opened the floodgates as junior Greg Hornby added to the Cornell lead about 30 seconds later, beating Russell on a shot to the upper right corner.
“It was like a one-two punch; they got hit and they got hit again. They were on their heels after that,” senior forward Shane Palahicky said. Palahicky had a game-high three points (all assists) in the game.
Vermont’s chances were few and far between as Cornell dictated play in the Catamounts’ zone. Senior defenseman Mark McRae added the third at 8:02 in the first, however it looked like Moulson deflected the shot from the point.
Cornell remained strong in special teams’ play, blanking UVM in its five power play chances and converting on two of its five-man advantages. The fourth goal was on such a chance from senior captain Stephen B