CU men's hockey team, with a win and a tie, stays at No. 2 in the polls

By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.

The nationally ranked Cornell Big Red men's hockey team extended its lead over second-place Harvard in the East Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC, Division I) standings this past weekend, as they beat the Crimson, 4-3, on Feb. 15 and tied Brown, 2-2, on Feb. 14, with both games being played on the road.

The Harvard win secured a bye for Cornell in the first round of the ECAC playoffs, which begin in early March. The Big Red, which leads the Harvard Crimson by three points in the ECAC standings, also will have home-ice advantage for the conference playoffs.

On Monday, the Big Red maintained its No. 2 ranking in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll and also is ranked No. 2 in the U.S. College Hockey Online poll. This marks Cornell's highest-ever ranking in both polls at one time, and it is the 19th straight week the Big Red has been among the top 10 teams in the country.

For the second season in a row, Cornell has won 20 games. The Big Red is now 20-4-1 overall and 15-2-1 in the ECAC and will play its last home games of the regular season this weekend against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Friday night, Feb. 21, and against Union, Saturday night, Feb. 22, at Lynah Rink -- both at 7 p.m. The games will be carried live on radio station WHCU-AM 870.

In the Harvard game at Boston, center Ryan Vesce '03 scored twice, including the game winner, and sophomore goaltender David LeNeveu had 30 saves.

Cornell scored first on a power play early in the game. Doug Murray '03 fed the puck to Vesce, who sent it into the goal. Winger Sam Paolini '03 also scored on a power play goal in the first period on an assist from co-captain Stephen Bâby.

Daniel Pegoraro '06 scored the third Cornell goal of the game late in the first period, and Vesce scored the game-winning goal with less than a minute left in the second period.

In the Brown game in Providence, the Bear's Les Haggett scored the tying goal at 16:10 in the third period as Cornell and Brown skated to a 2-2 tie. Shane Hynes '06 and Chris Abbott '06 scored the Cornell goals.