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NEW YORK – The first edition of The Frozen Apple proved a night to remember for the men's hockey team as it recorded its highest scoring effort of the season and got its first victory at Madison Square Garden since 1976 with a 5-1 win against Michigan on Saturday night.
 
In front of a largely pro-Cornell sellout crowd of 18,200, the Big Red offense got a goal in the first period from Joel Lowry, two goals and an assist from Greg Miller and a 26-save effort from junior Andy Iles. No. 13/13 Cornell (4-3-2) had not won in its three previous contests at Madison Square Garden, but the team knocked off No. 19 Michigan (5-7-1) by bettering the 3-2 win it put forth in the NCAA Tournament against the Wolverines in March.
 
Besides Miller and Lowry, Big Red freshman Teemu Tittinen also struck for his first career goal in his second game. The Big Red's other goal came from senior center Erik Axell, and Michigan's lone goal in the third period came too late to threaten a Cornell team that was already ahead by four at that point.

"Our team had been struggling a bit recently and to come on this type of stage with all the distractions, I am very proud of their effort tonight to come out here and secure the victory," said Mike Schafer, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Hockey. "Great job by our leaders, great job by our team by working hard over the last couple weeks to turn this thing around, this is the first step.”
 
While the Big Red offense was in top form, its defense played exceptionally, yielding just three shots in a stifling first period. Cornell played disciplined hockey, taking just two penalties (and killing off both Michigan power plays) while drawing six opportunities on the man advantage.
 
The Big Red had the first two power-play opportunities early in the first period but was unable to break through and score. With a 5-1 advantage in shots on goal early, Cornell finally struck with its sixth shot on its third power play. Lowry was the goal scorer, taking a perfect feed from Brian Ferlin, hesitating for a moment and then going five-hole on Michigan goalie Steve Racine to put Cornell up 1-0 with 4:23 left in the frame. The Big Red had just finished killing off a Michigan penalty and spent 30 seconds with a four-on-four before Joakim Ryan emerged from the box and added the secondary assist on the goal.
 
Cornell also earned a power play in the last two minutes of the period as Michigan's Jacob Trouba committed a boarding penalty, setting up a power play that extended into the first 18 seconds of the second period. Cornell held a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal after the first 20 minutes.
 
The Big Red exploded in the second period, scoring two goals while wearing camoflauge jerseys to honor the Wounded Warrior Project. Tiitinen got things going thanks to a great pass from behind the net by Greg Miller. Tiitinen, standing at the edge of the right circle and unguarded, banged his stick on the ice to call for the puck. Miller obeyed, finding Tiitinen for the 2-0 lead.
 
Less than three minutes later, Miller struck to make it 3-0. The Wolverines tried to clear the puck out of the zone around the boards, but Reece Willcox was at the right point to keep the puck in. From there, Willcox took a shot that was blocked in front by a Michigan player and ricocheted perfectly to Miller in front of the net for the tap-in.

“Tonight gave us a good idea of what we need to do to win hockey games," said goalie Andy Iles, who made 12 of his 26 saves in the third period. "We have battled hard for the last couple weeks to try and get this train rolling again from our younger guys to our older guys and from our first-line guys to our fourth-line guys. Everybody did what we needed them to do tonight and we played a great Cornell hockey game tonight.”

Despite the three-goal lead, Cornell and Michigan were tied at 14-14 in shots on goal through two periods and Iles was in the middle of pitching a shutout. When the teams emerged from the locker room for the third period, the Big Red kept the defensive pressure up and added another strike to seal the contest. Axell was the scorer this time, setting himself up in the right place for a rebound of a Braden Birch shot. Dustin Mowrey started the play by dishing the puck up the left boards to Birch. His shot was then saved by Racine, but kicked right into the slot where Axell was waiting to fire a shot over Racine's blocker.
 
After Michigan's goal 9:25 into the period, the Big Red clamped down again and did not allow another goal. After failing to score on a power play late, Cornell capped its night right after ending the man advantage. Ferlin started with the puck, moving up the ice swiftly in a three-on-two with Lowry and Miller. He found Lowry to his left, pulling Racine to that side of the net. Lowry hit Miller with a pass on the opposite side of goal, and the senior center easily added his second goal of the night.

It was the first time Cornell had the opportunity to celebrate a victory at Madison Square Garden since Jan. 4, 1976, when it defeated Penn at the ECAC Holiday Tournament.
 
The Big Red returns to Lynah Rink next weekend, taking on ECAC Hockey foes Clarkson and St. Lawrence. The Golden Knights are first, dropping the puck at 7 p.m. on Friday. Cornell then takes on the Saints at 7 p.m. on Saturday.