Freshman forward Ben Berard scored twice, and freshman Matt Stienburg added his first collegiate strike in the Cornell men’s hockey team’s 5-2 victory over Ohio State in the first round of the Fortress Invitational on Friday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Junior forward Tristan Mullin scored the Big Red’s second power-play goal of the night, ending an 0-for-18 slump on the man advantage dating back to November. The victory pushes Cornell into the tournament’s championship game at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on Saturday against Providence. The Friars won Friday’s first semifinal, 3-1, against Army West Point.
In its second match-up against a fellow top-10 of the season, Cornell (11-1) – ranked second in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magainze polls – scored the game’s first four goals to take a commanding lead against Ohio State (12-5-2), which is ranked sixth and seventh, respectively. Senior forward Noah Bauld scored an empty-net goal late in the third period to mark just the second time this season that the Buckeyes have surrendered five goals in a game. The result also ended Ohio State’s seven-game unbeaten streak.
Ben Berard scores twice, and the #2 Cornell men’s hockey team cruises to a 5-2 win over #6 Ohio State to advance to the Fortress Invitational championship game tomorrow! #YellCornell (?: Zak Krill/Vegas Golden Knights) pic.twitter.com/BmkgajqbXn
— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) January 4, 2020
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