This story has been updated.

Cornell men’s hockey (5-3-1, 2-3-1 ECAC) defeated Boston University, 2-1, on Saturday, Nov. 25 at Madison Square Garden. The Red earned its first top-5 win of the season over the Terriers (9-4-1, 5-1-1 Hockey East), snapping a three-game skid in the process. The Kelley-Harkness Cup returned to the hands of the Red for the fourth consecutive time. 

“[I’m] very proud of our team for just finding a way to win tonight. It wasn’t beautiful, it wasn’t pretty, but with a young team, you have to learn how to win [and] you have to learn how to overcome adversity,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “You got to learn how to face different teams and I just thought that these guys did a good job stepping forward tonight.”

A crucial piece in the win was junior goaltender Ian Shane, who returned in net for the first time since being pulled halfway through the first period against Quinnipiac on Nov. 17. Shane made a season-high 35 saves to keep the offensive prowess of BU at bay. 

“It’s fortunate to have a great goaltender who made some huge saves for us,” Schafer said. “We hung around and Ian kept us in the [game] in the first two periods.”

It was the Red who established the first significant zone time between either team, possessing the puck in its offensive zone but unable to muster a shot on goal. Junior forward Jack O’Leary gave Cornell its first big look, picking the pocket of a BU skater and turning it into a one-on-none breakaway, but shot the puck just wide.

Not much after, Shane made his first save. The Terriers proceeded to test Shane early, holding possession in the Cornell defensive zone. The Red held its own defensively, however, keeping BU to the outside and limiting high-danger scoring chances. The Terrier’s first prime scoring chance was a close call, as Cornell turnover led to a two-on-one right in front of Shane, but the shot attempt slipped just wide.

Cornell retaliated with a chance of its own, when junior forward Kyle Penney fired a hard wrist shot on net. BU goaltender Mathieu Caron made a solid save but couldn’t control the big rebound, but the Red was unable to collect it.

The Terriers’ freshman phenom Macklin Celebrini, dangling through Cornell defenders, had another close chance as Shane made a glove save to keep BU off the board.

Cornell got the first opportunity on the power play as BU’s Nick Zabaneh was called for high sticking. The Red looked to remedy its recent power play struggles against the mediocre Terrier penalty kill which at the time stood at a 78 percent success rate.

While the Red was able to establish zone time off of the initial offensive zone faceoff, making some nice passess but failing to generate shots on net. A miscommunication at the blueline led to a shorthanded chance for the Terriers, but freshman forward Jonathan Castagna hustled back and made a diving play with his stick to block the chance.

Time ran out on the power play, with Cornell yet again unable to convert. The Red had not scored a power play goal since Nov. 10 against Dartmouth. 

Almost immediately after time expired on the man advantage with around four minutes remaining in the period, freshman forward Luke Devlin had a huge chance in front of the net that was saved by Caron. Cornell was then nabbed for having too many men on the ice, putting the Red to the test against the No. 6 power play in the nation.

A scrum in front of the net found Shane without a stick and O’Leary and junior defenseman Rego in the back of the net looking to keep the loose puck out. Despite the puck appearing to be underneath Shane, no whistle was blown and chaos continued to ensue in front of Cornell’s net. 

Shane and the rest of the PK unit stood strong, keeping the score knotted at zero. Following the conclusion of the penalty kill, the referees took another look at the scrum in front of Shane and confirmed the no-goal call.

With just over a minute remaining in the frame, Zabaneh went to the box again, this time for cross checking a Cornell skater after the whistle had been blown. 

Around 30 seconds to go in the period, BU’s Sam Stevens collected Cornell turnover and created a breakaway chance. All alone in front, Stevens went to his backhand but was stopped by a diving Shane, keeping the game scoreless.

The Red began the period with 54 seconds remaining on the Zabaneh penalty. Cornell was able to muster a couple of shots but was unable to solve Caron.

Right out of the box, Zabaneh shot off a pass from Celebrini, however, it was just deflected wide by Shane. Another shot forced Shane to make a sprawling save. Zabaneh got a piece of the rebound however it was just deflected off the crossbar.

Sophomore forward Dalton Bancroft, with just around five minutes gone by in the second period, had a prime scoring opportunity in the slot, but his stick was lifted by a Boston defender just as the puck got to his stick. At this point, Cornell trailed a whopping 14-3 in shots. 

Simultaneous penalties on freshman defenseman Hoyt Stanley for high sticking and on Stevens for embellishment allowed for two minutes of four-on-four play. For the first minute, play was mostly kept in the Cornell defensive zone. The second minute was highlighted by close chances on both ends, however, Caron and Shane held firm as time ran out on the penalties.

At around the 11 minute mark, the Red was able to build some momentum. With its first substantial zone time since the earlier moments of the first period. Senior forward Gabriel Seger was all alone at the back door, but his tap-in attempt was robbed by Caron. Moments later, Castagna had a beautiful behind-the-back attempt in the slot. Caron never saw it and thus didn’t react, but the puck slid just wide of the net.

After finally clearing the puck from its own zone, Boston retaliated with a couple of nice scoring opportunities. Bancroft attempted to clear the puck, but BU’s Luke Tuch intercepted it and found himself with a prime scoring chance, but Shane made a pad save to keep the Terriers off the board.

After 17 shots against Shane, it was the Terriers that finally broke the ice with seven minutes remaining in the second. It was a freshman, Doug Grimes, notching his first collegiate goal by wristing a shot over the blocker of Shane. 

With just over three minutes remaining, Cornell generated traffic in front of the BU netminder, nearly tapping in a shaky rebound from Caron. The Red then drew a holding penalty, earring its third power play opportunity of the game. 

While the Red managed a few more shots on net, Caron had all of the answers. He continued his rock-solid play, aided by his Terrier defense that blocked shots and prevented Cornell skaters from capitalizing on rebounds.

In the waning seconds of the power play, junior defenseman Michael Suda one-timed a shot that was deflected up and over Caron’s net. He threw his hands up in frustration, embodying the culminating frustration of the Red’s power play woes. 

Beginning the third period trailing by a goal, Cornell had an opportunity to strike as BU’s Jeremy Willander went to the box for tripping. 

Just a few seconds after the man advantage expired, Cornell’s power play unit was sent right back out when Boston’s Lane Hutson, a key penalty killer for the Terriers, was sent to the box for interference. 

After 18 straight scoreless power plays, Cornell could finally let its shoulders drop. After a timeout was called by Cornell, likely to draw up a play, freshman forward Ryan Walsh fired a beautiful wrist shot past Caron to tie the game. 

Cornell didn’t have much time to celebrate, as sophomore forward Winter Wallace went to the box for elbowing shortly after, forcing the Red to fend off another Terrier power play opportunity. 

Right off the bat, Shane was forced to make three quick saves. Most shots were fired by BU’s Celebrini, who loomed dangerously to the left of Shane and lasered pucks left and right. 

A beautiful left pad stop by Shane, his 24th of the night, led to possession by the Red at the eleven minute mark of the third. A Cornell defenseman shoveled the puck up its offensive zone, where sophomore forward Nick DeSantis made a huge skating play to negate a Cornell icing. Breaking to the front of the net, Castagna received a pass from DeSantis and quickly tapped it to junior forward Ondrej Psenicka, who buried the puck from the back post for his first of the season. With his goal tonight, Psenicka has scored in each game at MSG he has played so far.

“I think that this arena brings me something special, so I’m trying to ensure that every time,” Psenicka said. “I’m super, super happy that we won as a team, but for me personally, that [a shot] went through, [for that] I’m really thankful.”

“Something special” could be the backing of the crowd, how even almost 230 miles away, the faithful had a way of making MSG feel like the inside of Lynah Rink. And after entering the period trailing, the Lynah Faithful was rejuvenated after the Walsh and Psenicka goals. 

“This is about playing for our university [and] playing for our alumni, and we take a lot of pride in that,” Schafer said.

With the crowd alive again, the Red faced another daunting task moments after the go-ahead goal. DeSantis was called for roughing, putting the Cornell PK unit to the test once again with just under ten minutes remaining.

After a flurry of shots, Shane went to cover up a loose puck on the side, leaving a wide open net. The puck came loose and a BU skater attempted to shoot it, but just hit the post. A scrum in front led to yet another penalty, and Psenicka was called for holding. This put Cornell on a 5-on-3 disadvantage, perhaps the most crucial moment the game had seen. 

Miraculously, the Cornell penalty killers kept Boston off the board –– but not without the help of the Red’s goaltender, Shane, who was lights-out in perhaps his best game in a Cornell uniform. He moved left and right flawlessly, making save after save on a flurry of BU shots. After a particular save with around five minutes remaining, diving to cover up the rebound, Shane earned himself a standing ovation from the crowd.

With time dwindling down, both teams traded scoring chances, and Shane continued to bail out the Red. Cornell began to lock down defensively when Boston pulled Caron with just over a minute-and-a-half remaining in the game in favor of an extra attacker. 

Time ran out, and the Terriers were unable to cash in on the man-advantage, handing Cornell the 2-1 win. 

It was Shane’s remarkable performance, plus the stout Cornell defense that kept the Red in the game when they were 1-0 down, and kept the Terriers off the board to hold onto its 2-1 lead in the dying minutes of the game.

“They make it really easy even if I’m getting a lot of shots all the time from outside,” Shane said about the defense. “I think majority of the games this year, our defense probably had more saves than I had in terms of blocked shots. And [they] did a great job controlling the d-zone and [they] got two big goals…so overall, I think they did unbelievable.”

The post Men’s Hockey Defeats No. 5 Terriers, Wins Fourth Consecutive Red Hot Hockey Contest first appeared on The Cornell Daily Sun.

No. 16 men’s hockey (4-3-1, 2-3-1 ECAC) will look to snap its losing streak when it faces No. 5 Boston University (9-3-1, 5-1-1 Hockey East) on Saturday at Madison Square Garden for the biennial Red Hot Hockey matchup. The winner will take home the coveted Kelley-Harkness Cup.

It’s been a rough stretch for the Red, who have slipped to 4-3-1 on the season after beginning the season 4-0. The Terriers, however, will arrive in the Big Apple on a five game winning streak, including a 3-2 win over No. 3 Quinnipiac and two wins over No. 10 Maine. 

BU will be the first top-five ranked opponent that the Red face this season. Cornell tends to favor well in these tough contests, going an impressive 8-1-1 in its last 10 matchups against teams ranked within the top five, per USCHO.com poll. Further, three of Cornell’s four games against top-five opponents have been shutout victories. All three are credited to junior goaltender Ian Shane, who hasn’t played since getting pulled at the 10:20 mark of the first period on Nov. 17 against Quinnipiac.

Cornell will face a familiar foe in net for the Terriers, as former Brown University goaltender Mathieu Caron transferred to BU to replace star netminder Drew Commesso, who signed a professional contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. The transition between goaltenders hasn’t been easy, as BU’s defense ranks a mediocre 26th in the nation, allowing 2.85 goals per game.

It will be a good out of conference test for the Red against a strong BU team, including standout freshman forward Macklin Celebrini. The highly touted potential first overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft is tied for first in the country with 22 points, amassing 18 over the past eight games. Sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson, who was named a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award last season, also returned for the Terriers. Hutson scored the game-winning goal in the dying seconds of the third to give the Terriers the 4-3 win over the Red in their only regular season matchup on Jan. 14. 

They met once more in the postseason when Cornell’s chance to make the Frozen Four last spring was cut short at the hands of the Terriers in the regional final where the Red lost 2-1. 

Despite these two matchups, recent history favors the Red at MSG, with Cornell sweeping the last three editions of Red Hot Hockey in 2017, 2019 and 2021. Cornell also holds a 17-8-2 record all-time at MSG, going 6-1-1 in its last eight contests at The World’s Most Famous Arena. The Red’s most recent contest at MSG was a 6-0 domination of then-ranked No. 6 Connecticut.

Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.

The post PREVIEW: Men’s Hockey Looks to Snap Three-Game Skid When It Returns to MSG first appeared on The Cornell Daily Sun.

No. 10 men’s hockey (4-3-1, 2-3-1 ECAC), facing a hot goaltender and combining that with continued power play struggles, was unable to tap into its offense in a 2-1 overtime loss against Princeton (3-2-1, 3-2-1 ECAC). The Tigers scored the winning goal with six seconds remaining in overtime.

Perhaps one of the biggest headlines was one that came before puck drop, when it was announced that sophomore goaltender Remington Keopple would get the start in net for Cornell. It would be the first non-Ian Shane start in nearly a year, dating back to Nov. 19, 2022 when Keopple made the start against Brown.

However, it was the goaltender on the other end of the ice who stole the show. Freshman Arthur Smith made his second collegiate start Saturday, stopping 36 of Cornell’s 37 shots.

Head coach Mike Schafer ’86 was not on the bench as well, so associate head coach Ben Syer took over head coaching duties against the Tigers. Another notable absence was sophomore forward Dalton Bancroft, the team’s second leading scorer, fresh off a three-point performance against Quinnipiac the night prior. The ESPN+ broadcast attributed Bancroft’s absence to him being “banged up” after the 8-4 loss against the Bobcats. 

Two new faces would enter the lineup as well: freshman forward Tyler Catalano replaced Marian Mosko as the extra skater, and junior forward Sullivan Mack took Bancrofts spot in the lineup.

It was Keopple who was tested first and made the first save of the contest, when a Princeton forward fired a shot through traffic. Cornell quickly retaliated with an odd-man rush of its own, when junior forward Ondrej Psenicka found himself all alone in front of the net but was robbed by Smith.

Play was relatively back-and-forth for the first half of the period, with both teams getting chances. Cornell had itself a close call when a turnover led to a Princeton odd-man rush, but a Red defenseman tripped and fell into Keopple, knocking the net off before Princeton could make a move.

Cornell got the first power play opportunity of the contest just over halfway gone in the frame. Despite some nice passing sequences by the Red, its power play struggles continued, and they were not able to convert.

While both teams continued to fire off shots, neither was able to get on the board. Princeton was awarded its first power play with around three minutes remaining in the first period, when senior forward Gabriel Seger was nabbed for holding. Cornell’s penalty killers were up to the task, however, blocking shots left and right and making Keopple’s job easy, only seeing one shot on the kill and making the save.

Cornell dominated zone time to begin the second period, but wasn’t able to find the back of the net. It would barely surpass the five minute mark of the period when we saw the first man advantage of the frame, as the Tigers were sent back to the power play. However, stellar penalty killing by the Red prevented the Tigers from establishing significant zone time. Aggressive forechecking and intercepted passes by Cornell kept Princeton off the board.

Finally, nearly halfway into the game, it was the Red that broke the ice. Junior forward Kyle Penney ripped a beautiful wrist shot from the left circle, going bar-down on Tiger goaltender Smith to get the game’s first goal.

While the first goal went to the Red, the momentum shifted the opposite direction. The Tigers came out roaring after the first goal, breaking up plays and beating Cornell to 50-50 pucks. Less than two minutes after Pennney’s tally, Princeton spent over a minute straight in the Cornell defensive zone, forcing Keopple to make an impressive glove save through a ton of traffic.

This outburst ultimately proved to be key for the Tigers, who finally found the answer to Keopple just over halfway gone in the frame. It was Princeton’s Adam Robbins who beat both Cornell defensemen, dancing into the zone and roofing the puck over the blocker of Keopple for the highlight reel goal. 

Knotted at one apiece, it was either team’s game. Both the Red and the Tigers exchanged scoring chances, and both goaltenders continued to make solid saves. Just over seven minutes to go in the second period, Cornell nearly took the lead back when Seger fired a hard shot right from the slot. Smith made a shaky save and struggled to control the rebound, but ultimately kept the Red off the board.

Then, as yet another call and response, Princeton nearly got itself the lead. It was a close call in the Cornell defensive zone, as the Tigers sprung out on a two-on-one rush and fed the puck to the only Princeton goal scorer, Robbins, but he was unable to control it and misfired on the shot.

It was during the waning minutes of the second period when both teams started to take more risks in their respective offensive zones. Cornell had perhaps its best spurt of offense since Penney’s goal with around four minutes remaining in the period. Good movement with the puck by sophomore forward Nick DeSantis led to a couple of prime scoring opportunities, including a near-missing wraparound attempt by junior defenseman Tim Rego. 

However, despite Cornell’s edge in zone time, the Tigers did a good job keeping the Red skaters outside and toward the perimeter, eliminating many of the close-to-the-net chances we saw in the first period. 

With 55 seconds left in the period, Princeton’s Brendan Gorman was sent off for slashing, giving the Red its second power play opportunity of the contest. The Red were able to establish offensive zone time for nearly the entire 55 seconds, but the Princeton penalty killers stood tall and suppressed any substantial scoring opportunities.

The Red opened the third period on the power play for just over a minute. However, the Cornell power play unit played a bit tentative and struggled to find shooting lanes, and time on the man advantage ultimately expired, game still knotted at 1-1.

Keopple’s best save of the contest came around five minutes into the third period, when he made a sprawling stop on a hard, one-time slap shot off a quick Princeton pass. It was one of many solid saves by Keopple in his first non-relief action in a year.

The Red got a huge opportunity with 11 minutes to go in the third, when Psenicka was hit hard by Joshua Karnish. The play was reviewed and ultimately called a five-minute major for contact to the head, giving the Red an opportunity to revive its power play.

The Tiger penalty killers were relentless, keeping Cornell to the outside and blocking shots. 

Perhaps the best penalty killer for Princeton was its goalie, Smith, who made another stellar glove save in the last 30 seconds of the power play. He was agile and alert, stopping the few shots Cornell was able to muster from the outside.

Despite some good passing sequences, the Red power play struggles continued, and they weren’t able to cash in on the five-minute major power play opportunity. 

The Red dominated possession time in the third period, partially attributable to the five-minute power play. But the Red found an aggression in their game in the third, not allowing Princeton much zone time, let alone scoring opportunities.

Psenicka, despite getting hit hard early in the period, had himself a couple of good chances toward the end of the period. With around three minutes to go, Psenicka controlled a nice no-look slip pass from junior forward Sullivan Mack, but was denied by Smith. A minute later, he found himself all alone in front but barely slipped the puck wide.

With under 30 seconds to go, Cornell rushed up the ice for one final opportunity in regulation. Penney, the Red’s only goal scorer, made a good move to buy him space in the slot and ultimately drew a hooking penalty with 12 seconds to go. Princeton won the defensive zone faceoff, allowing time to run out and allowing the Red’s power play to carry into overtime.

The overtime period opened up with four Cornell skaters against three Tigers, once again establishing zone time. And once again –– the story of the game –– the Princeton penalty killers were up to the task. Smith flashed the leather multiple times in the overtime, looking confident despite the surplus of Cornell shots. 

Cornell finished the game 0/4 on the power play. They have not scored on their last fourteen power play opportunities, dating back to last Friday, Nov. 10 against Dartmouth.

The Red appeared to be out of the clear towards the end of the over time period, holding the puck and perhaps looking to kill the clock and formulate one final rush. However, pesky Princeton forechecking led to a turnover by the Red, and a flurry of shots on Keopple, his first substantial action since the second period. Keopple made three huge saves, one with his chest and a couple with his pads. However, a big rebound was placed on the tape of Princeton’s Gorman with six seconds left. Gorman fired it past Keopple, winning the game for the Tigers in last-second fashion. It was the first victory for Tigers on their home ice against Cornell in nearly 10 years, dating back to Nov. 7, 2014.

Cornell will look to snap their three-game skid next Saturday when they take on Boston University for the biennial Red Hot Hockey at Madison Square Garden.

The post Men’s Hockey Suffers Last-Second, Heartbreaking Loss at Princeton first appeared on The Cornell Daily Sun.

No. 10 men’s hockey (4-1-1, 2-1-1 ECAC) will look to bounce back after a couple of shaky showings against Dartmouth (2-1-3, 2-0-3 ECAC) and Harvard (1-1-3, 1-1-3 ECAC), the latter which presented Cornell with its first loss of the season.

“In the game against Harvard, the will was there, the want was there, but we got result-driven,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “When you get into that game, you want to win so bad that you start to do too much…and things start to break down.”

The Red will look to get back on track with two road matchups against tough ECAC rivals, including defending national champion Quinnipiac (7-3-1, 3-0-1 ECAC) on Friday and Princeton (2-1-1, 2-1-1 ECAC) on Saturday.

The last time Cornell faced the Bobcats, the Red took down, at the time, the No. 1 ranked team in the NCAA in a 4-0 shutout.

Taking down Quinnipiac this time will be no easy feat. The No. 7 Bobcats penalty kill ranks second in the NCAA, allowing just two on 39 opponent attempts. Cornell has allowed five goals on the PK so far, including three this past weekend. The Bobcats have also posted some impressive performances thus far, including a 6-0 walloping of then No. 19 Harvard.

“I think when you look at last weekend, all four of the goals we’ve given up on the power play have all been rebound goals, like pucks popped out to the side,” Schafer said. “We have to do a better job of collapsing into the net and picking up sticks on those rebound chances.”

The Red’s matchup with Quinnipiac will also bring a familiar face, when Zach Tupker ’23, now a grad transfer at Quinnipiac, faces his former team.

“Zach’s a tremendous kid,” Schafer said. “He was a great leader for us…Quinnipiac’s fortunate to have him, he pays attention to detail, he works hard [and] competes hard.”

Tupker compiled 21 points in 86 career games for the Red and was named as a finalist for ECAC Hockey’s Best Defensive Forward Award in 2023. This season, Tupker’s been a strong defensive presence, chipping in for six assists so far. 

“It’s unfortunate that he’s on their side and not ours….he’s doing a good job [so far] and [I] wouldn’t expect anything else,” Schafer added.

Cornell will also look to tap into its offense further after going a combined one-for-10 on the power play over the weekend. This is easier said than done, as Quinnipiac ranks second in the nation in opponent goals against per game with a 1.73 average, second only to Cornell, whose opponents average a mere 1.33 goals per game.

Saturday’s matchup against the Tigers will be one for the Red to gain momentum going into the brief Thanksgiving break. Cornell has taken eight out of the last 10 matchups against Princeton, which has a very small sample size of games to attest to their strength. They rank second in the nation on the power play, but have only received 13 opportunities, while other high-ranking teams have gotten upwards of 40 power play chances. 

Cornell will look to capitalize this weekend and earn six big ECAC points before shifting gears to next Saturday, where they will play in their biennial Red Hot Hockey contest against Boston University at Madison Square Garden.

Puck drop on Friday is slated for 7 p.m. in Hamden. The Red will then travel down to New Jersey to take on Princeton at the historic Hobey Baker Arena for a 7 p.m. puck drop Saturday night.

The post PREVIEW: Men’s Hockey Hits the Road to Face ECAC-Rivals Quinnipiac, Princeton first appeared on The Cornell Daily Sun.

This story has been updated.

No. 7 Cornell men’s hockey (4-0-1, 2-0-1 ECAC) opened its home weekend with a shootout win against the Dartmouth Big Green (1-1-3, 1-0-3 ECAC) on Friday, Nov. 10. The shootout victory will provide the Red with an extra point, but it remains as a draw in the record.

From the opening faceoff, it was all Cornell who came out strong, controlling offensive zone time. And just 4:52 in, the Red had the opportunity first after Dartmouth’s Joey Musa got called for boarding. 

Just 30 seconds into the man-advantage, freshman defenseman Ben Robertson was able to draw another penalty, making it a 5-on-3 for a minute and a half.

On the power play, the Red came out strong with a flurry of shots forcing Dartmouth’s Cooper Black to make critical saves to keep Cornell off the board as time expired on the second penalty.

“You gotta give credit where credit’s due,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “Cooper Black played unbelievable tonight, he’s a tough goalie to beat.”

The Red and Big Green alternated possession, each with scoring chances. However, neither were able to find the back of the net. 

With just over eight minutes remaining in the first, Dartmouth headed to the power play as junior forward Jack O’Leary was sent to the box on a tripping call. Not allowing the Big Green a shot on goal, the Red successfully killed off the penalty. 

Shortly after, both teams took coincidental penalties, with the Big Green’s Luke Haymes going to the box for holding and sophomore forward Nick DeSantis for embellishment, allowing for two minutes of four-on-four play. Despite some good chances, the game remained scoreless as both teams returned to even strength.

Despite not being able to find the back of the net, Cornell had outshot Dartmouth by a margin of 13-1 at the end of the first.

Less than a minute into the second, sophomore forward Dalton Bancroft found the back of the net, giving Cornell the 1-0 lead.

The lead didn’t last long however, as less than three minutes later, Dartmouth answered with one of its own as John Fusco scored to tie the game at one apiece. It didn’t seem to faze the Red too much, with Cornell still riding the momentum, controlling the puck and dominating offensively.

The Red held strong, continuing to outshoot the Big Green. Cornell had some good looks, including a breakaway chance by junior forward Kyle Penney that was deflected just wide.

Momentum seemed to shift in favor of Dartmouth within the final six minutes of the second frame, but junior goaltender Ian Shane and the rest of the d-corps stood firm. Amidst the flurry of shots by the Big Green, junior defenseman Tim Rego was called for hooking, sending the Red to the penalty kill. 

Fusco snuck one past Shane for his second of the night, giving the Big Green the lead. 

Now, 2-1 down, Cornell didn’t waste much time and had an opportunity to tie the game up as it headed to the power play after another Dartmouth penalty. The Red was unable to convert as time expired. 

“We had a lot of different scoring chances tonight and I think our guys got a little frustrated as the game went on,” Schafer said. “Some guys had two or three wide open nets and didn’t capitalize, we hit the post, [etc.].”

With just over a minute remaining in the second, Cornell had another chance on the man-advantage after Dartmouth’s Owen Desilets was sent to the box for tripping. Rego scored to tie the game at two heading into the third. With an assist on the power play goal, Robertson extended his point streak to five games. 

“Outstanding start to his career, averaging a point per game … What freshman can do that?” Schafer said. “He’s just been like that since day one, very consistent and works hard. He’s got great vision on the ice surface and [he’s] a big part of our team.”

The third period began with the both teams alternating control, each with fair chances to take the lead, however, both goaltenders and defense stood strong, not allowing one to pass through.

Neither team was able to capitalize in the final frame, sending the game to overtime. Shane made some critical saves to keep the score tied at two before the Red earned a man-advantage with four seconds remaining in overtime after Dartmouth was called for too many men on the ice. Time ran out before Cornell could capitalize on the bench minor. 

Bancroft and senior forward Gabriel Seger both scored in the best-of-three shootout to secure the shootout win. 

“It’s a real good learning lesson,” Schafer added. “They know that Dartmouth is hard to play against and their goaltender is really good, but as we got in the game, we got to kind of stay that course.”

The post Cornell and Dartmouth Play to Draw, Red Earns Extra Point With Shootout Win first appeared on The Cornell Daily Sun.

The newly minted No. 7 men’s hockey team returns home to Lynah Rink looking to continue its winning start to the season. The Red (4-0-0, 2-0 ECAC) will face Dartmouth (1-1-2, 1-0-2 ECAC) on Friday, Nov. 10. The next night, in one of the most anticipated matchups of the season, Cornell will verse Harvard (0-1-2, 0-1-2 ECAC) on Saturday, Nov. 11. 

“[I’m] super excited. It’s something you hear a lot about,” said freshman defenseman Ben Robertson. “Just to be able to experience it with the group of guys here is super special and [it’s] something that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.”

But before the fish go flying on Saturday, the team will have to face a solid Dartmouth team. Its losing record deceives the Big Green, who has garnered some impressive results thus far, including a 7-2 domination of the Under-18 National Development team, a 2-2 tie (and eventual shootout victory) over reigning national champion and No. 8 Quinnipiac and 1-1 tie with No. 17 Harvard. 

“Dartmouth plays hard — they’re well structured, [and] they’ve got a great goaltender,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “Hopefully we learned our lesson from last week.”

Referring to the Red’s slower start against Yale on Friday, Schafer is expecting a focused, rejuvenated team to attack this weekend’s games, perhaps the most difficult test for the Red thus far. Cornell will also look to its d-corps, whose .75 goals against per game is the best in the country. 

Robertson has played a big part in those numbers. The first-year has been riding a four-game point streak to begin his collegiate career, registering five assists for five points.

“Our coaches [are] harping on the details every single day,” Robertson spoke of his defense. “Whether it be our sticks or just relying on our partners, it allows us to play aggressive and not give the other team a lot of room to make plays and have scoring chances.”

Cornell also owes its defensive prowess to sophomore goaltender Ian Shane. His .958 save percentage in four starts has earned him back-to-back ECAC goaltender of the week honors, and the title of MAC Goaltender of the Month. While acknowledging the awards, Shane gives credit to the group in front of him and emphasizes his team’s focus more on the result, and less on the accolades and rankings.

“It’s cool to be mentioned and put in some of those categories,” Shane reflected. “But it’s never been a forefront of my focus.”

“It’s just six big ECAC points and Ivy League points on the line [this weekend],” Shane added.

In the marquee matchup of the season, the Red will face the Crimson on Saturday.

It’ll be a different Harvard team that arrives in Ithaca on Saturday from past years. Particularly, the Crimson saw the key departures of forwards Matt Coronato, Alex Laferriere and Sean Farrell, who scored the unorthodox OT winner against the Red at home on Dec. 2, 2022. Laferriere, who made his NHL debut last month, was the one who sent the Red home in the ECAC semifinals at Lake Placid on March 17, scoring the game’s only goal four minutes into overtime and leaving Cornell with a sour taste in its mouth. 

The 2023-24 Crimson team, much like Cornell, is a relatively young, inexperienced team. But unlike the Red, this new Harvard team has struggled to find its identity, going winless in its first three games. 

That shouldn’t be a reason to overlook the Crimson, however. 

“Throw the records right out the window [in] a rivalry game,” Schafer said. “The freshmen have never experienced [playing against Harvard], so [it’s all about] controlling emotions and being present.”

With the departure of starting goaltender Mitchell Gibson last season, senior Derek Mullahy will likely be between the pipes for the Crimson, giving the upper hand in experience to Shane, who has played multiple games in the coveted Cornell-Harvard rivalry.

“I think the experience of having those games in the past, especially last year not being a Covid year and getting to actually see the crowd and be in that atmosphere sort of prepares you better,” Shane said. “You know what to expect walking into it.”

The Red has been winless in its last six meetings with the Crimson, with the last Cornell win coming on the road on Dec. 6, 2019, when the Red won 3-1. Despite this, Cornell still leads the rivalry with an all-time record of 79-70-13.

Puck drop for both games is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the games can be streamed on ESPN+.

The post PREVIEW: Men’s Hockey Returns Home to Host Dartmouth, Harvard first appeared on The Cornell Daily Sun.

No. 10 Cornell men’s hockey (4-0-0, 2-0 ECAC) earned its fourth consecutive win to start the season against Brown (2-2-0, 1-2 ECAC). If there ever was a question about how a young, freshman-heavy team would fare on the road for the first time, those doubts were shut down after Cornell’s showing against the Bears, with four freshmen scoring across both nights to contribute to the Red’s weekend sweep. 

The Bears dominated the start of the period, with the Red unable to register a shot until five minutes in. This gave way for Cornell to play more offensively, dominating offensive zone time for a while. 

Cornell had its first opportunity to strike after Brown’s Matt Sutton was called for slashing. The Red had some good chances and dominated possession in their offensive zone but were unable to convert. With 15 seconds remaining, freshman forward Jonathan Castagna was called for hooking, allowing for four-on-four play. 

Just as the four-on-four expired, junior forward Jack O’Leary had a shorthanded chance off the face off, but it was broken up by a Brown defenseman while time ran out and Brown’s man advantage began. 

Cornell’s PK unit stood strong and kept the Bears off the board. Junior goaltender Ian Shane, fresh off a 19 save performance the night prior and earning MAC Goaltender of the Month honors, made a couple of key saves to keep the game knotted at zero with under three minutes remaining in the first.

Cornell came out of the intermission dominating. It didn’t take long for the Red to prove itself in the second period, with Castagna going five-hole just under two minutes in off a feed from junior forward Kyle Penney.

The Red had a chance to double its lead moments after with a breakaway chance by sophomore forward Dalton Bancroft — however, it was just stopped by Brown goaltender Tyler Shea, keeping the score 1-0.

Outshooting the Bears significantly, the Red doubled its lead with a tip in front by Gabriel Seger from the left point by freshman defenseman George Fegaras, the first point of his collegiate career.

The Red were able to cash in once again just 41 seconds later when Penney, leading the rush for Cornell, toe-dragged the puck into the slot and skillfully slid past the Brown goaltender, extending the lead to 3-0.

Looking to cool down the red-hot Red, Brown coach Brenden Whittet called a timeout just before the halfway point of the second period. Not long after play resumed, the Bears were awarded another power play opportunity when junior forward Tim Rego was sent to the box for hooking.

Brown’s Ryan St. Louis cashed in on the power play to cut the deficit, 3-1. 

With just under eight minutes left in the second period, Cornell earned its third power play opportunity of the night. 

Seconds after time expired on the Brown penalty, Fegaras shot a rocket over the shoulder of Shea for his first collegiate goal, giving Cornell the 4-1 lead. 

The first five minutes of the third frame was highlighted by two power plays for the Bears after a slashing call on sophomore forward Nick DeSantis and an interference call on freshman forward Luke Devlin. However, the Red was able to successfully kill off both of these penalties to keep Brown at bay with only one goal. 

Within the third, both teams alternated offensively, however, the Red was still outshooting the Bears. The offensive pressure from Cornell paid off as Seger, Devlin and freshman forward Ryan Walsh were able to find the back of the net in the third to solidify the 7-1 win. 

With points in Saturday’s game, Penney, Seger and freshman forward Ben Robertson, who assisted on Penney’s goal, have all extended their season-opening point streak to four games.

The post Strong Second Period Showing Lifts Men’s Hockey Past Brown first appeared on The Cornell Daily Sun.

Cornell men’s hockey (3-0-0, 1-0 ECAC) continued its hot start to the season with its first in-conference win against Ivy-rival Yale (1-0-1, 1-1 ECAC) on Friday, Nov. 3. A first test to see how a new Cornell team will fare on the road proved to be a success with the Red dominating the Bulldogs to win 3-1. 

It was all Red to start the period dominating offensive zone time, however, it was Yale who struck first, with the Bulldog’s Iisai Pesonen who went bar down on junior goaltender Ian Shane. The goal shifted the momentum in favor of the Bulldogs, who found themselves playing more dominantly in the Red’s offensive zone. Being 1-0 down, it was the first time Cornell had trailed this season. 

Minutes later, directly off the faceoff, freshman forward George Fegaras was called for interference, forcing Cornell onto the penalty kill. 

Shane and the PK unit stood strong, limiting the Bulldogs to zero shots on goal and earning a shorthanded chance of their own. 

The Red’s strong showing on the PK helped shift the momentum in its favor. With a turnover off the faceoff, Luke Devlin scored his first NCAA goal to knot the score at one apiece. 

Cornell continued to apply pressure with two more shots on goal right after, but they were just stopped by Yale’s Nathan Reid.

With less than five minutes remaining in the first period, junior forward Ondrej Psenicka was called for contact to the head, earning a major penalty, thus resulting in a five-minute man-advantage for the Bulldogs. It didn’t last long however, with Yale’s Ryan Conroy being sent to the box for cross-checking, allowing for four-on-four play.

Cornell dominated the four-on-four, however were unable to find the back of the net as time ran out, sending the Red back to the penalty kill with time remaining on Psenicka’s five-minute major. Again, it didn’t last long as Yale took another penalty, sending it once again back to four-on-four play. Neither team was able to find the back of the net amid the back-and-forth penalties, keeping the score knotted at one entering the first intermission.

Just under a minute into the second frame, the Red had the man advantage after a Yale minor penalty. But Cornell was unable to convert. It wasn’t much longer until they had another chance on the power play as just under two minutes later, Yale’s Henry Wagner was called for interference. This time, the Red was able to strike, as freshman forward Ryan Walsh scored to give Cornell the 2-1 lead. 

Possession alternated between the two teams for the rest of the second, which included a power play for the Bulldogs halfway through the second, which the Red successfully killed off. 

The third frame began in a similar fashion, with both teams alternating control until two minutes in, when junior defender Tim Rego went to the box for hooking. Shane and the rest of the penalty killers stood strong and once again were able to kill off a penalty. 

Both teams continued to dominate offensively and in the eight minute, Cornell took its sixth penalty of the night after Psenicka was called for interference. Once again, Yale was unable to find the back of the net with the man-advantage and Cornell’s 2-1 lead stood. 

Yale and Cornell had some good looks, however, goalies on both ends made critical saves. With 1:50 left in the frame, the Bulldogs opted to pull its goaltender in favor of an extra attacker. Seger capitalized on the empty net and scored to give Cornell the 3-1 lead. The Red had one more chance to tack onto its lead as Yale’s David Chen was called for tripping, giving Cornell the man-advantage in the final minute. The Red was unable to convert and the clock ran out to give Cornell the 3-1 win. 

The Red look to keep the ball rolling when they head to Providence to face Brown (2-1-0, 1-1-0 ECAC) on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.

The post Men’s Hockey Defeats Yale in First Road Game of Season first appeared on The Cornell Daily Sun.

No. 10 Cornell men’s hockey (2-0-0, 0-0 ECAC) will embark on its first road trip of the season when it faces ECAC and Ivy-rivals Yale (1-0-0, 1-0 ECAC) on Friday, Nov. 3 and Brown (1-1-0, 0-1 ECAC) on Saturday, Nov. 4.

The Red had a hot start to the season, dominating then-no. 11 Minnesota Duluth in a two-game sweep last weekend, including a 3-0 shutout on Saturday thanks to the hard work of the Cornell defensemen and junior goaltender Ian Shane. Shane’s ninth-career shutout tied him for eighth-place with Andy Illes ’14 for most career shutouts.

His efforts in the sweep of Duluth earned him ECAC MAC Goaltender of the Week and ECAC MAC Goaltender of the Month honors.

“Last weekend’s games are kind of building blocks to get to where we need to go in the future,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “Right now, it’s trying to sustain that [and] come out and get ready to play on the road the same way that we played at home.”

Coming into this weekend, Cornell does have an advantage in overall games played, with the Red playing four (albeit two exhibition) in the past three weekends. Yale has just one game under its belt, while Brown has only its two from this past weekend. 

“I don’t think it’s that much of an advantage … it’s their home opener, [so] they’ll work really hard,” Schafer said. 

The Red enters the weekend on a six-game winning streak over the Bulldogs, dating back to Feb. 16, 2019, and in recent years, has had the edge in its series against Brown. Cornell has an 8-1-1 record in its last 10 contests against the Bears. However, that doesn’t mean much, as it’s a new season with a new team.

“When you go on the road, you have to be ready to execute [the] game plan, manage momentum, don’t let the home team get going a bit — those are all lessons we haven’t learned yet, [since] we haven’t played on the road.”

With rookies and underclassmen comprising most of the team, it’s a new adventure everyday for the team, whether it be the first road game or first ECAC game. 

“I’m excited to see how they’re gonna go on the road and handle winning two games and how they are going to handle that pressure in ECAC play,” Schafer said. “There’s a lot of things we haven’t done yet, everything’s brand new and I look forward to watching these guys respond to that challenge.”

Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. for both games and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

The post PREVIEW: Men’s Hockey Begins ECAC Slate On The Road Against Yale, Brown first appeared on The Cornell Daily Sun.

No. 12 Cornell men’s hockey (2-0-0, 0-0 ECAC) completed its weekend sweep of the No. 11 University of Minnesota Duluth (3-2-2, 0-0 NCHC) on Saturday, Oct. 28 at Lynah Rink with a 3-0 shutout win. Junior goaltender Ian Shane and Cornell defensemen were integral in keeping the Bulldogs from finding the back of the net, with the team combining for a total of 20 blocked shots compared to Duluth’s total of three. 

Earning its first loss of the season at the hands of the Red on Friday, the Bulldogs came out with something to prove, controlling the puck right off the initial faceoff and playing predominantly in the Red defensive zone. Both teams alternated control, playing with a higher level of physicality. 

“We knew that they were gonna have a big push coming out, I thought we just got off to a little bit of a slow start, didn’t do the things we did last night [right away],” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86.

Just under halfway through the first, Duluth had an opportunity to open the scoring as senior forward Gabriel Seger was called for goaltender interference, giving the Bulldogs the man advantage. Ranked second in the nation with a 0.429 power play conversion rate, Duluth did not make it easy for the Red to kill off the penalty. Junior goaltender Ian Shane and penalty killers stood strong, blocking the flurry of shot attempts by the Bulldogs, keeping them off the scoreboard as time ran out on the Seger penalty. Junior forward Kyle Penney had a great shorthanded chance that was just deflected to the right. 

Cornell had a chance on the power play when Duluth’s Jack Smith went to the box for interference. However, the Red had very few chances and was unable to convert. 

Despite the physical play and puck possession of both teams, shots on goal were limited, with the first period concluding with Cornell outshooting the Bulldogs, 3-1. 

The second period saw an offensive surge by both teams, but especially for Duluth with four shot attempts in the beginning four minutes. Unable to find the back of the net, possession alternated back and forth, and it was the Red who struck first.

A slick pass from sophomore forward Dalton Bancroft found Penney right in the crease, who tipped it right past Duluth goaltender Matthew Thiessen to give Cornell the 1-0 lead. 

Just under two minutes later, Seger put one past Thiessen to double the Red’s tally. With back-to-back goals, momentum favored the Red who maintained possession and continued to keep the puck in the Bulldogs’ defensive zone. 

Frustrations became evident for the Bulldogs, who in desperation to get on the board, took a shot after winning the faceoff in the Cornell defensive zone, only to have it covered up by Shane. A scrum quickly ensued in the crease and Duluth’s Quinn Olson went to the box on a cross-checking call, giving the Red a chance to further cement its lead on the power play. 

On the man-advantage, Seger found the back of the net for his second of the night, giving Cornell a commanding 3-0 lead. 

Duluth had another chance to prove its skill on the power play after freshman defenseman Hoyt Stanley went to the box on an interference call.  However, they were once again unable to convert as Shane stood strong, with three back-to-back pad saves to keep the Bulldogs’ off the scoreboard. 

“The powerplay and special teams rose to the occasion this weekend,” Schafer said. “We only gave up one power play goal this weekend and the power play got it done on [Friday] night and [had] a big goal to make it 3-0.”

The final two minutes of the second frame found the Bulldogs’ in desperation mode once again, dominating offensive zone time forcing Cornell defensemen to get down and make some critical blocks as time winded down. The second period concluded with an even 10 shots on goal by each team.

Both teams came out of the gate for the final period strong, going back and forth offensively. Each team had some good looks, forcing Thiessen and Shane to make critical saves, including a great shot by freshman forward Luke Devlin on a breakaway that was deflected just wide. 

Seger, with a chance for a hat-trick, had a nice opportunity to tack on to the Cornell lead, but it was just stopped by Thiessen. Another scrum ensued, with Seger and Duluth’s Owen Gallatin ending up in the box for cross-checking and roughing calls, respectively, allowing for two minutes of four-on-four play. 

Just after time expired on both penalties, Cornell headed to the power play after Duluth’s Joey Pierce was called for holding. Despite some good looks, the Red was unable to cash in on the man-advantage. 

With just under three minutes remaining, Bancroft was assessed a major penalty after an interference call which resulted in a game misconduct for the forward. 

On the power play for the remainder of the game, the Bulldogs’ opted to pull its goalie for another attacker, giving Duluth the six-on-four advantage for the rest of the night. Shane and the rest of the penalty killers stood strong until time ran out, securing the shutout victory. 

“We had 18 blocked shots before we entered the third period,” Schafer said. “The guys are doing a tremendous job of just sticking with it in the third and even on the six-on-four, it gets in other team’s heads when guys get down and block shots like that …if you’re gonna be successful, you gotta have that kind of effort.”

It was the ninth-career shutout of Shane’s collegiate career. 

“I thought Ian did a good job controlling rebounds, jumping on them and so it was [overall] a good team effort.”

The post Shane Backstops Men’s Hockey to 3-0 Win Over Duluth first appeared on The Cornell Daily Sun.

As with last year, when Day Hall looks through all the data, it is clear that alumni are enthusiastic supporters of more traditional programs, and that if left to alumni donations, woke programs would go broke.

Cornell has systematically made Lynah Rink inaccessible to most of its students. 

All told, it was an eventful year at Cornell, with many developments that will prove to have a long-term impact.

Intramural hockey will not return to Cornell until public outcry forces Cornell to devote more resources to it, according to Director of Intramural Sports and Noyes Recreation Center Scott Flickinger.

A petition to add public skating hours on weekends and after class times has not been met with action from Lynah Rink’s management. Additionally, the administration seemingly has no plans to bring back intramural hockey.