SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Backed by solid defensive play and goals from Josh Coyle (Brooklyn, Ohio) and Matt Cook (Belle Mead, N.J.), the Union College men's hockey team defeated Cornell, 2-1, for its fourth-straight victory. The Dutchmen improve to 8-8-3 overall and 3-3-2 ECAC Hockey action. They continue league play with a home-and-home series against RPI next weekend.

 

The first period featured the Dutchmen outshooting the Big Red, 9-4, but it was Cornell (7-6-2, 5-3-0 ECAC Hockey) that controlled most of the action. Union was whistled for a kneeing penalty at 14:31, but held Cornell without a shot during the man advantage, and generated a scoring chance while on the kill.

 

Lane Caffaro (Slave Lake, Alberta) cleared the puck out to John Simpson (Boxborough, Mass.), who rushed in with Sam Bowles (Davidsonville, Md.). Simpson fed the puck to Bowles, who dodged a defender while bringing it to the right circle before being thwarted by Cornell netminder Ben Scrivens.

 

Union picked up its play toward the end of the first frame and carried momentum into the second, when the physicality of the game intensified.

 

Mike Harr (Norwood, Mass.) fired a shot from the point that Scrivens snagged out of mid-air less than three minutes into the period. Three minutes later Mike Devin shot from the right point through a screen, but Union goaltender Justin Mrazek (Regina, Saskatchewan) stopped the puck in his leg pads.

 

It was just over nine minutes into the game when Union took the lead on Coyle's sixth goal of the season. Cook sent the puck out to Jason Walters (Renfrew, Ontario) who rushed in with Coyle to his right. Walters slid the puck to Coyle as he curled in front of the net before placing his shot high past Scrivens at 9:16.

 

Justin Krueger attempted a wrap-around with 3:30 remaining in the frame, but Mrazek got his skate on it at the post. The Big Red kept the attack going and evened the score at 17:10.

 

Evan Barlow knocked the puck out of the corner to Tyler Roeszier at the hashmarks along the left boards. Roeszier sent it to defenseman Doug Krantz high in the slot before the senior wound up and scored through a screen with his first goal of the season.

 

Union stormed out in the third, forcing Cornell to ice the puck twice in the first 22 seconds of the frame. Mike Schreiber (Sherwood Park, Alberta) slipped the puck out to Cook, who went two-on-two alongside Coyle. Cook slid the puck to Coyle while drawing one defender out of Coyle's way, and then beat the threat as the pair continued to crash the net. Coyle passed back behind the remaining defender to Cook, who placed his shot under Scrivens' left arm for the game-winner at 3:53.

 

Cornell was called for a hooking penalty at 12:15 of the third, but it was the Big Red who generated a pair of short-handed chances until Adam Presizniuk (Calgary, Alberta) and Stephane Boileau (Blainville, Quebec) rattled off shots at Scrivens.

 

With both teams at full strength, Cornell fired off a series of shots courtesy of Krantz at the point. A Cornell stick got lodged in Mrazek's right skate, disabling the senior from getting up off the ice. On Krantz's third shot from the right point, Mrazek stuck his leg up in the air as his body remained on the ice to save a slapper that could have knotted the game.

 

Harr was whistled for a minor penalty after the stick-in-skate situation was being resolved, giving the Big Red another opportunity to tie it up. Cornell pulled Scrivens in favor of a six-on-four, but Union's penalty kill forced poor shots that were handled by Mrazek.

 

Union held a 27-18 shot advantage in the game and recorded a season-low two minor penalties. Cornell finished 0-for-2 on the power play, while the Dutchmen did not convert in their one attempt.

 

The weekend wins over Cornell and Colgate marks the first weekend sweep of the league foes since the 2000-01 season. Union's four-game winning streak is the longest since a six-game streak in the 2004-05 season.

 

The Dutchmen continue ECAC Hockey play with a home-and-home series against RPI next weekend. Both Friday's 7 p.m. game in Schenectady and Saturday's 7 p.m. game in Troy can be seen on Time Warner Sports, which may be found on Time Warner Cable channel 3 in the Capital District.