The Main Event was the pair of Cornell games wrapping up the Big Red's home season, facing Rensselaer on Friday night and Union last night, before going on the road for the North Country games to end the regular season. Neither RPI nor Union is a powerhouse team, but Cornell has occasionally had trouble with weaker teams, "playing down to the level of their opponent." It happened at Union in Schenectady last winter, and it would have sucked if it had happened with either team this weekend.
Happily, the Big Red, who came into the weekend ranked fourth in the nation, posted a pair of decisive wins, and despite some spotty puck-handling, offered some fantastic-looking hockey. A couple of the seven Cornell goals scored this weekend were works of sheer beauty, and Matt Moulson's hat trick last night was wonderful! There were actually quite a few nice hats lined up on the bench next to the scorer's table after the game. Some folks must've forgotten to go back for theirs. I was tempted to annex one, but I decided they should be left in case the owner came back another day.
Cornell goaltender Dave McKee is one shy of tying Ken Dryden's record for career shutouts at Cornell; Dryden, likely a familiar name to anyone who's paid attention to hockey at any level, posted 13 shutouts in his career. McKee is that close to the record as a sophomore. He made it 12 on Friday night, and came very close to tying the record last night. Union managed a single goal with just over a minute left.
Cornell takes its twelve-game unbeaten streak (the longest in the nation right now) to St. Lawrence and Clarkson on Friday and Saturday. We have a bye for the first round of the ECACHL playoffs, and have already clinched home ice for the quarterfinals three weekends from now.
Denise's other team, the Sirens, tied the Warriors in their game last night, and I'm hoping to round out my hockey weekend by watching Dempsey's first playoff game tonight.