This story has been updated.
FAIRFIELD — With 1:29 left on a two-man advantage in the third period, head coach Mike Schafer ’86 opted to take a timeout.
He took out his whiteboard, drawing out a set play for an offensive faceoff.
The moment, which came with 11:40 left in a 1-1 game against Sacred Heart, seemed fraught with pressure and expectations. The moment, though, was more than just an offensive zone faceoff — once again, Cornell had come from behind to tie up the game, and once again, had struggled on the power play.
Early deficits and special teams struggles have been Cornell’s dual Achilles heel, as the Red found themselves in the same rut against the Pioneers, which ranked 39th in Pairwise entering Friday’s matchup.
Cornell won the faceoff, and ultimately found sophomore forward Ryan Walsh.
His wrist shot beat Sacred Heart goaltender Ajeet Gundarah.
But it then rang right off the crossbar.
Cornell wouldn’t find the go-ahead goal it needed on that two-man advantage, nor would it ever take the lead on the Pioneers. The Red fired 41 shots on goal, but only one found the back of the net in its 1-1 tie with Sacred Heart. Both teams scored in the first period, and the goaltenders stole the show from there, Gundarah leading the way with 40 stops as opposed to senior goaltender Ian Shane’s 17.
“Gotta score goals, man,” Schafer said.
Aside from dominating in shots, the Red dominated possession, particularly in the five-minute overtime period. Sacred Heart (11-8-4, 10-6-2 AHA) barely touched the puck as it looked to steal a win from Cornell, which held a 12-4-1 record against Atlantic Hockey teams all-time.
“We created a lot of scoring chances here today. It’s just a matter of capitalizing on our opportunities,” Schafer said. “But I like our mindset a little bit better here today.”
Cornell (6-4-4, 3-3-2 ECAC) started off the game a bit slower than Sacred Heart, and it paid a lofty price for that. On just their second shot of the game, the Pioneers got the game’s first goal 5:46 into the first when John Jaworski wristed the puck over Shane. Shane reacted late and looked to be screened on the play.
“We had a quite slow start. … It was pretty hard at the beginning, but I feel like after 10-15 minutes we definitely started playing better and better, and then our game definitely improved,” said senior forward Ondrej Psenicka. “We had plenty of chances, which we unfortunately didn’t utilize.”
Momentum briefly fell in Sacred Heart’s favor as senior defenseman Michael Suda was nabbed for hooking just a minute after the opening goal. Cornell’s penalty kill looked much more aggressive and successfully fended off the Pioneers, allowing just one shot on Shane.
As the minutes winded down, Cornell appeared to look more and more like itself. The Red quickly overtook the Pioneers in shots and played much of the rest of the period in its offensive zone.
Cornell was rewarded for its uptick in pressure as Psenicka secured his fourth goal of the year with 2:34 left in the period. Psenicka beat Gundarah on a hard wrist shot from distance.
“The boards were very fast, which I had trouble getting used to, especially in our zone, but I was like, ‘let’s use this as an advantage,’” Psenicka said. “[The puck] went very fast around the boards and I saw a chance to throw it in the net, and it was a great screen by Dalton Bancroft.”
The period concluded with a brief power play chance for Cornell, as 1:25 of the man advantage would bleed into period two.
41 seconds into the second, the Pioneers were whistled for high-sticking, prompting 44 seconds of five-on-three action.
A Gundarah stick save on Walsh’s hard one-time aided Sacred Heart to a successful penalty kill. While Cornell’s power play appeared stronger, its struggles carried on. That same scoreless result came on Cornell’s third opportunity 6:09 into the second.
“We had good chances. I just don’t think we’re shooting the right spots,” Schafer said. “I think we have to get the puck in the upper part of the net and really lean on it. And I think that we’re hoping to score instead of burying it.”
Still tied 1-1, junior forward Dalton Bancroft was sent off 3:17 into the third for interference, allowing Sacred Heart a chance to take the lead once again. Just like it had all night, the Red’s PK unit held strong, aided by one solid stop by Shane.
“Our penalty killing was outstanding,” Schafer said. “Did a good job on the clears. Did a good job with the forecheck, coming back and holding the lines on the gaps.”
The game’s most pivotal moment came at the 12:12 mark of the third period, when two Sacred Heart skaters were sent to the penalty box — one for tripping and the other for hooking — giving the Red a full two-minute, two-man advantage.
Seven shot attempts, three Gundarah saves and a broken stick later, the game was still tied. Sacred Heart withstood the two-man deficit, and the Pioneer bench roared as Gundarah swallowed one final shot as the two skaters left the box.
“When [I was’ alone in front, in the dirt, and I didn’t score, that was quite frustrating,” Psenicka said. “But you just can’t think about it much. … You just have to think about working the same way and hoping that the next chance will come.”
The 1-1 tie held as the third period came to the end, prompting five minutes of three-on-three, sudden death overtime. Friday marked the fourth game for Cornell that required extra hockey.
Cornell outworked, outhustled and outshot the Pioneers in the extra frame, but Gundarah was rock solid. Time eventually ran out on Cornell, prompting a shootout to crown a theoretical winner.
“I think we could have won it in the regulation,” Psenicka said. “But we need to leave it behind and tomorrow, start right from the beginning and go for a win.”
Shane stopped three Sacred Heart shots and Suda put one away to win the shootout, but the final result stood as a 1-1 tie.
The Red will finish up out-of-conference play on Saturday evening when it takes on Sacred Heart once again in Fairfield. Puck drop is slated for 5 p.m.