NEW HAVEN, Conn. — (Cornell photo) – Mitch Vanderlaan recorded the first hat trick for a Cornell men’s hockey player in more than five years, and the Big Red completed an impressive road weekend sweep with a 6-3 victory over 19th-ranked Yale on Saturday night at Ingalls Rink.
Cornell (2-2-1, 2-1-1 ECAC Hockey, 2-1-1 Ivy League) built a two-goal lead in the opening eight minutes and kept Yale (2-2, 1-3, 0-1) at bay behind a handful of terrific saves by Mitch Gillam. The Big Red goaltender made 39 saves on the night and was at the forefront of the team’s standout performance on the penalty kill, yielding just one goal on Yale’s nine opportunities on the man advantage.
“The penalty kill had to do a great job tonight against a great power play,” said Mike Schafer, the Jay R. Bloom ’77 Head Coach of Men’s Hockey at Cornell. “(John) Hayden is so dangerous, and he got (two) on us. But we kept responding and answering the bell.”
Hayden’s goals less than four minutes apart in the second period brought the Bulldogs back to one down, but Vanderlaan’s third goal gave the Big Red a 4-2 lead. Anthony Angello entered the zone on a two-on-two and fed Yanni Kaldis, who forced a save from Yale starting goaltender Patrick Spano. A scramble in the crease ensued, and Vanderlaan poked the puck in before the net became dislodged. After an officials’ video review confirmed the goal, Vanderlaan had the Big Red’s first hat trick since Tyler Roeszler on Jan. 22, 2011 in a game against Colgate — a span of 184 games.
“It’s been a while, I’ve heard,” Vanderlaan said. “It was a good team effort tonight. It’s a big win for us, and we’re excited to move forward with it.”
But Yale fought back again to make the score 4-3 on Mike Doherty’s goal. With time winding down in the second period, Cornell regained control with Trevor Yates’ goal in transition with 50.8 seconds left before the intermission.
The third period started in a similar vein to the rest of the game — with Yale power plays. Vanderlaan had three of his team-high four blocked shots early in the third, and the Bulldogs could never get any closer.
“As a group, we really commit to blocking shots. I know I’ve got to get down (on the ice) and do it just like others guys have to get down and do as well,” Vanderlaan said. “Obviously, you’ve got to take pride on being on both sides of the puck.”
For the first time this year, Cornell got off to a good start. Vanderlaan’s first goal came 3:49 into the game, set up by Noah Bauld’s feed after he beat his defender wide and circled around the net. Alex Rauter’s second goal in as many nights doubled the lead before the 9-minute mark. Gillam was then called upon to make a handful of saves on quality scoring chances to keep the Big Red ahead.
“What makes him special when he’s on his game is that he doesn’t give up rebounds or second chances,” Schafer said.
Angello capped the scoring with an empty-net goal with 1 second left. He and Yates each had a goal and an assist, and 13 of the Big Red’s 18 skaters had at least one point. The game wrapped up Cornell’s third sweep of the annual Yale/Brown road trip over the last 10 years and it also marked the first time the Big Red has scored 10 goals in a weekend since Nov. 4-5, 2011 — also during a sweep at Yale and Brown.
Cornell will become the final Division I team in the nation to host its first home game of the season when it takes on Quinnipiac at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18 at Lynah Rink. The Big Red then takes on Ivy League rival Princeton at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19.
“When you travel on the road, you find yourself with adversity. We’ve come together as a hockey team. … So it’s finding our identity, finding out who we are.”
