WORCESTER, Mass. — Senior forward Trevor Yates scored his second goal in as many games – but it was also the second time in as many games that it turned out to be the Cornell men’s hockey team’s lone goal, this time in a 3-1 loss to Boston University in an NCAA Northeast Region semifinal on Saturday afternoon at DCU Center. Cornell ends its season with a 25-6-2 record, its best mark since the 2004-05 campaign.
For how different the regular seasons were between 2016-17 and 2017-18 for the Big Red, it still essentially ended up in the same place for the NCAA tournament – facing the highest possible seed it could under the NCAA’s perimeters against the Hockey East champion less than an hour from its opponent’s rink. This time, it was a red-hot Boston University (22-13-4) squad that pushed its unbeaten streak to eight games in eliminating Cornell. But unlike last season, this season’s NCAA performance was much more indicative of the Big Red’s ability – even if it resulted in the same bitter outcome. While the Big Red was the bracket’s top seed, history has shown the seeding has little to do with the results recently. Since 2007, No. 4 seeds have toppled No. 1 seeds in the opening round 41 percent of the time.
So, as expected, the teams engaged in an even battle from start to finish. A scoreless first period also featured relatively level numbers even in peripheral statistics like shots on goal and faceoffs, and it reinforced the belief that just one goal could be the difference.
That was a comforting thought as Cornell finally broke through at the 7:27 mark of the second period on Yates’ 13th goal. The play started with freshman forward Morgan Barron winning a battle in the right corner and pushing the puck back to freshman linemate Cam Donaldson near the outside hash mark. He snapped a pass to Yates in the slot, and he rifled a shot over Jake Oettinger’s blocker. Yates ends the season tied for the team lead in goals and points (26) with junior forward Anthony Angello.
But the lead was short-lived – 36 seconds, to be exact. BU came up ice on the rush with defenseman Brandon Hickey joining the play and trying to get off a shot from the top of the left circle. Senior forward Alex Rauter was there with the stick check to break up the play, but Hickey spun around to find the loose puck behind him. He just swatted a backhand toward the slot that was going wide of the far post until Shane Bowers’ mid-air deflection put it inside the far post.
In a game where premium scoring chances were tough to come by, the Terriers pulled ahead on a play after the Big Red turned the puck over on an attempted breakout. Brady Tkachuk ended up with it behind the net and sent it toward David Farrance clamoring for a one-timer in the left circle. The pass was a little off its mark, which essentially turned Farrance’s shot into a change-up that banked off the far post and in the net behind a well-screened freshman goaltender Matthew Galajda.
The Terriers packed in their forces defensively the rest of the way and essentially ran out the clock. Cornell held high-flying BU to 24 shots on goal and forced 30 saves out of Oettinger, but it was handed its second straight loss for the first time all year. Since the NCAA tournament switched to single elimination in 1992, this was only the fourth time Cornell failed to advance at least as far as the regional final.
