Two game-starting goals by senior forward and alternate captain Sean Collins propelled the Red to a two-point weekend against Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute and Union, after falling to Colgate both at home and away just one week ago. Collins’ strong performance extended to the dots, where he brought 26-of-43 face-offs back to the Cornell defense.

The Red (11-6-6, 8-3-5 ECAC Hockey) tied the RPI Engineers (7-19-2, 4-10-2) at two goals apiece on Friday night, and stayed in the Albany   area to force a 4-4 draw against the Dutchmen (16-6-7, 10-3-4) of Union. In both contests, Cornell was in the lead heading into the third period, but was unable to maintain the advantage. The Red has not scored a goal in the third period in its past seven games. A goal and an assist by Collins in the third versus Quinnipiac on Jan. 13 marks the last time Cornell put a piece of rubber in the net during the third frame.

The Red lit up the scoreboard first during Friday’s nationally televised game at the Houston Field House in Troy, N.Y. Cornell senior defenseman Sean Whitney led a power play breakout with a pass to freshman winger Joel Lowry, who took the puck into the Engineers’ zone. Persistence paid off for Collins, who beat Bryce Merriam to the left side on a second rebound by the junior goalie.

Cornell dominated play throughout the first period and into the second, out-shooting its hosts, 19-10, over the first two frames. An elbowing call on RPI’s sophomore forward Matt Tinordi gave the Red its third power play of the game, which provided sophomore winger Dustin Mowrey the opportunity to lay a backhand on Merriam. The net minder made the save, but Miller was strategically placed on the back post to score off the rebound. The goal tied Miller with junior defenseman Nick D’Agostino and Collins for a team-leading eight goals this season.

In the third, RPI engineered a comeback with goals by junior forwards C.J. Lee and Ryan Haggerty and 14 shots toward sophomore goaltender Andy Iles in the final 20 minutes. The Red produced a strong performance on special teams, scoring on 50 percent of its man advantages and denying all four of the Engineer’s power play attempts. Cornell was not playing like the same team who crumbled in the third period to Colgate just one week before.

“This was a different thing all together,” Collins said, comparing the third period to the Red’s previous one versus Colgate. “Colgate was kind of a collapse. Against RPI, we had a lot of great chances. [Head coach Mike Schafer’s ’86] message after the game and the feeling in the locker room was different. If a few plays had gone differently we could have won that game.”

Union, the league-leader, had just come off a win against Colgate when the Red stepped into the Mesa area for both team’s second game of the weekend. Again, Collins was quick to the buzzer, knocking a puck in at the 3:26 mark.

The Dutchmen came back with two power play goals in the first, involving assists by the powerful combination of senior forward Kelly Zajac and freshman defender Shayne Gostisbehre. The Red rallied with three goals in less than ten minutes, heading into the third with a 4-3 lead. With just 2:32 left in regulation, Zajac fired one past Iles, forcing a scoreless overtime. Iles made 24 saves on the night, two in the five-minute overtime period.

The Red settled for a 4-4 tie and the equivalent of a weekend split in points. 

“Anytime you score four against Union, whose season average is giving up 1.5 goals a game, you feel good about your performance,” Collins said.

The Red is due to host Union and RPI at home in the final two games of the regular season, on Feb. 24 and 25, respectively. Cornell will have the next few weeks to improve on areas such as the penalty kills, which could prove beneficial for the next time the Red faces the Dutchmen.

“The biggest thing with Union is figuring out their power play,” Collins said. “ We were 0-for-1 on the power play [on Saturday] and they used their strength to their advantage.” 

Next up, Cornell faces Brown at home this Friday at 7 p.m.