LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — How does the saying go? Third time’s the charm?
Unfortunately for Quinnipiac, that was the case for Cornell as the Big Red slammed the door on the Bobcats Friday night for the third time this season — this time in an overtime thriller in the ECAC Semifinal.
And so the curse of Lake Placid struck again for Quinnipiac, and considering how this game went, it truly might be a curse.
Despite the fact that this was the fourth time these teams have faced off this season — with the Bobcats snagging one win in the first game, tying and losing the other two respectively — and Quinnipiac holding the No. 1 seed in the tournament, the outcome was really up in the air.
“Especially over the last 10-15 years, it’s been Quinnipiac and Cornell,” Cornell head coach Mike Schafer said. “When someone asked what the game was gonna be, I thought probably 2-2, 1-1. Looking at the stats, they had one more power play than we had; save percentage, shots on goal, faceoffs were at 50%. Two good teams, two very good programs. People were kicking dirt on our graves and somehow we were able to rally and that’s been our year.”
Like Schafer said, Cornell started out slow, and its only saving grace was that so did Quinnipiac.
In a March Madness fashion, Cornell put one on the board with four seconds left on the clock in the first period, and that was about all that transpired in the first 20.
It was a goal that could’ve and would have not gone in — in fact a few of the exact same attempts fell just short of the red line — as Cornell’s sophomore forward Jonathan Castagna tipped it in on the power-play over sophomore goaltender Matej Marinov.
Speaking of the Nitra, Slovakia native, after a successful weekend against Brown where he saved 53 out of 54 shots and earned his third shutout of the season, he notched another 19 saves tonight.
Junior defenseman Charlie Leddy went down for a moment after a hit from Castagna in what was called a five-minute major on the ice but changed to a minor penalty for contact to the head after a video review.
In his opening press conference statement, Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold only said one thing:
“I’m not going to take any questions on the officiating and NCAA rules tonight. Any questions on that, you can ask (ECAC Commissioner) Doug Christiansen.”
To answer, sophomore forward Andon Cerbone put Quinnipiac on the board on power-play as well, 14 minutes into the second period.
Hopes rose for the Bobcats in the third period, when freshman forward Chris Pelosi netted his 13th of the season with five minutes left on the clock, giving Quinnipiac the advantage.
Cornell came back fighting, however, with a desperation that only comes from a team that is fighting for its life — in this case the Big Red’s last season with Schafer before his retirement.
And that despair ended with a shorthanded goal by senior forward Kyler Kovich that tied the game and inevitably forced it into overtime.
The Bobcats held off the Big Red’s attempts until a slashing penalty on graduate student defenseman Cooper Moore gave Cornell the man advantage and resulted in senior defenseman Tim Rego shooting one past Marinov.
The buzzer sounds.
Herb Brooks Arena filled with Cornell fans erupts in cheers.
And the Bobcats on the ice all simply watch down on their knees.
“We were really desperate and so were they,” senior goaltender Noah Altman said. “It’s been everything for me. It’s been very hard to take off the jersey tonight and I really hope it wasn’t the last time.”
It truly seems like everything was stacked against the Bobcats in Lake Placid once again. Now all that’s left is to await their NCAA Tournament regionals placement and opponent, as they hope to don the navy and gold for just one more game.
And hopefully another one. And another one. And another one.
