Cornell Scores Three in Third in 5-3 UNO Loss

Three third period goals gave #19 Cornell the comeback victory over UNO in hockey tonight. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as the case may be), I missed the third period as my youngest son was too tired to stick around to the end of the game.  For a while there, I thought UNO was going to get a hard-fought victory against an eastern hockey team, but it was all for naught as UNO's nemesis, the ill-timed penalty, burned UNO. Two Brock Montpetit penalties led to the game-winning and game-clinching power play goals.

Since I wasn't there, I don't know what happened on either penalty.  UNO sports information director Dave Ahlers said on the radio that it was hard to argue over the first penalty when Montpetit was standing there with a shattered stick. And after the game, UNO's Red Army made the frustration over a senior's play down the stretch crystal clear.

Brock Montpetit.
— The Red Army (@RedArmyUNO) October 26, 2013

After Dean Blais told the World-Herald's Rob White that dumb penalties are killing the Mavs this season, look for Montpetit to be a healthy scratch for Saturday night's game.

“If they take many more, they won't be playing,” Blais said. “They'll be sitting up in the stands. How many times do you have to tell them, show them, that it's a bad penalty? And if they take it ... what else is there that they'll understand?”

Archibald scores on the penalty shot to tie the game

It's a shame that the game turned on that, as the Mavs battled against the bigger Cornell team, who had a burst in their season opener.  The Mavs outshot the Big Red all night long, but it seemed Cornell had the edge much of the night in play. In the second period, UNO's team speed started to show, especially when Cornell's Cole Bardreau hauled down UNO's Josh Archibald on a breakaway. Archibald was awarded the penalty shot, and on a great deke, beat Cornell goalie Andy Iles just under the crossbar on the glove side.

And with just over two minutes left in the second period, Ryan Walters buried a rebound past Iles to give UNO a 3-2 lead going into the final period.  A lead that UNO couldn't hold in the closing 10 minutes.

Frustrating.  That's about the only thing to say about this one.