ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell University’s bid at a spot in the NCAA Frozen Four was cut short Saturday after a 2-1 loss to third-ranked University of Denver in the Springfield Regional Finals.
Cornell finished the season with a record of 22-7-6, while Denver (30-9-3) will advance to the Frozen Four after winning the Springfield regional bracket. Michigan, Boston College and Boston University round out the rest of the Frozen Four field.
The Big Red jumped out to an early lead in the first period thanks to a goal from sophomore forward Nick DeSantis who squeezed the puck into the net as a scrum took place in front of Denver’s goalie.
But Cornell was unable to add to the early momentum.
Denver knotted the game later in the first period with a goal from Miko Mattika. The two teams played to a stalemate for much of the second period until Denver freshman Sam Harris found the back of the net during a power play, beating star Cornell goalie Ian Shane.
According to Cornell Athletics, the Big Red had opportunities to re-tie the game late in the third period but couldn’t get the puck past Denver’s junior goaltender Matt Davis.
The news wasn’t all bad for the Big Red. After the game, junior forward Sullivan Mack and freshman defenseman Ben Robertson were named to the bracket’s all-tournament team. Mack scored two goals in Cornell’s upset victory over Maine in the previous round. The rest of the all-tournament team was made up of players from the University of Denver.
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