The men's hockey team defeated Cornell and Colgate to finish strong on the final weekend of the regular season. Despite the two wins, Bruno (10-14-5, 8-12-2 ECAC) fell one point short of gaining home-ice advantage for the first round of the ECAC playoffs.
But the win against Cornell (13-13-3, 11-9-2) came in dramatic fashion and provided a major morale boost heading into the postseason, said captain Harry Zolnierczyk '11.
The first period was all Bears. The Brown offense began clicking after a Cornell penalty, when Mathieu Brisson was sent to the box for hooking at 10:05. Just 40 seconds later, Zolnierczyk broke away from the Cornell defense and took a shot from just outside the crease that sailed past Big Red goalie Andy Iles. Dennis Robertson '14 and Chris Zaires '13 assisted on the captain's 13th goal of the season.
"Robertson made a good play to get the puck out in front," Zolnierczyk said. "Once it settled, I kind of whacked at it, and it just went in."
After an impressive penalty kill to begin the second period, Zolnierczyk and company kept the pressure on. The Big Red finally succumbed to Brown's attack when Zolnierczyk powered past the Cornell defense and leaped in the air to avoid a Cornell defender, all while maintaining control of the puck. The captain then fired in a miraculous unassisted backhander for his second goal of the game.
"It was kind of a race for the puck, and I just turned and dodged out of the way," Zolnierczyk said. "That one was special."
Head Coach Brendan Whittet '94 praised his captain's performance.
"What an incredible individual effort," Whittet said. "That was one of the best goals you'll see at any level."
With a two-goal lead, everything seemed to be going Brown's way. But the momentum began to shift to Cornell halfway through the third period when Robertson was sent to the penalty box for holding. Just 23 seconds later, Zolnierczyk hit Cornell's Sean Whitney from behind and received a five-minute major. The captain was ejected from the game and Cornell was put on a five-on-three power play.
"He's the most penalized kid in the league," said Cornell Head Coach Mike Schafer. "He put his team at a disadvantage. It's fortunate that Whitney didn't get hurt."
Schafer's squad finally had a chance to get back in the game, and they capitalized with a pair of power play goals by Tyler Roeszler and Sean Collins. Despite Brown's game-long dominance, regulation ended with the score tied at two.
"We allowed them back in a game that they didn't have a right to be in," Whittet said. "That was not the time to have a five-minute major."
With the captain out of the game, assistant captain David Brownschidle '11 saved the day. Just 30 seconds into overtime, the senior broke away from Cornell's defense and flicked a game-winning goal past Iles.
"I was lucky to get to the loose puck, and I just got a stick on it," Brownschidle said.
Brown goalie Mike Clemente '12, who shut out the Big Red until the Zolnierczyk penalty, said he was thrilled by his team's play.
"We were gritty tonight," he said.
Zolnierczyk added two more goals in the 6-4 win over Colgate (7-24-3, 4-15-3), giving him four on the weekend and 16 for the year. With the regular season now over, the Bears will look ahead to the start of the ECAC playoffs next weekend. Brown will begin with a best-of-three series at Quinnipiac (13-13-8, 6-9-7). Both regular season matchups between the two teams ended in ties.
