This story has been updated.

SPRINGFIELD, M.A. — Last year, men’s hockey downed Denver, 2-0, in the regional semifinal. The Red shut down the then-defending national champions, scoring early and never looking back.

On Saturday, Cornell scored first. But ultimately, it wasn’t enough. Cornell’s season ended in the Springfield regional final, as Denver overpowered the Red in a 2-1 defeat.

“I’m extremely proud of our hockey team,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “We fought all the way until the very end.”

Saturday marked Schafer’s 10th regional final game in his tenure. He has won only one of those 10, which came in 2003.

The game began fast-paced, with neither team taking control right off the bat. Denver had a couple of strong shifts in its offensive zone, which prompted a pad save by junior goaltender Ian Shane to start the game.

Despite making 16 saves on 18 shots on Saturday, Shane ultimately wasn’t named to the Springfield regional all-tournament team. Denver’s netminder, Matt Davis, was named the MVP of the weekend, while junior forward Sullivan Mack and freshman defenseman Ben Robertson were also named to the all-tournament team.

“[Shane]’s been outstanding all year long,” Schafer said. “He’s one of the top-three goaltenders in this country. It really ticks me off that he doesn’t get [to be a finalist] for the [Mike] Richter Award.”

Cornell followed Denver’s early chance with a strong shift of its own, which ultimately culminated in the game’s first goal. Following a strong bout of possession, the Red fired a pair of shots on Davis, creating a surplus of second-chance opportunities.

Sophomore forward Nick DeSantis cleaned up one of those loose pucks, tucking it past Davis and giving Cornell the first goal of the game. The Red took that and ran with it, ultimately controlling the play for much of the first period.

Though Cornell earned the first power play of the contest, the Red suffered a close call when Denver nearly evened the score on a shorthanded breakaway. Robertson, looking to wrist a shot on the power play, tripped and coughed up the puck to the Pioneers. Shane deterred the Denver breakaway with a left-pad stop to preserve the Cornell lead.

Despite hunkering down on defense, the Red couldn’t escape the period unscathed. After the Pioneers broke through Cornell’s forecheck, Miko Matikka — a first-year Pioneer — lasered a shot over the shoulder of Shane to knot the score with 1:32 left in the first.

In the second frame, Denver displayed what earned it the top seed in the region, as the Pioneers controlled the pace of play and suffocated Cornell in its own zone. The Red struggled to break through the Denver forecheck, and when it did, the Pioneers were quick to strip Cornell of possession. 

With less than a minute to play in the period, a costly interference penalty was taken by freshman forward Jonathan Castagna late in the second period, sending a top-20 Pioneer power play unit onto the ice.

Cornell nearly got out of the period with the score tied, but a late Pioneer push resulted in the go-ahead goal for Denver. A shot from the Pioneers deflected off of both Denver’s Sam Harris — who was ultimately credited with the goal — and junior defenseman Hank Kempf, who had been left in front of the net without a stick from a previous play. The puck slowly trickled past Shane and into the net, giving Denver a 2-1 lead with just four seconds remaining in the period.

“They capitalized on their chances. We didn’t kill the penalty,” Schafer said.

Meeting perhaps its strongest opponent of the season in Denver — a team with 11 NHL draft picks — Cornell looked tired as Denver carried its momentum into the third.

Cornell nearly evened the score, though, when Castagna had a gaping net with Davis off balance, but couldn’t corral the shot cleanly. 

Missed chances were ultimately the difference in the final period — though Cornell looked tired and Denver skated faster down the stretch, the Red had no shortage of looks, missing a few wide-open opportunities in the waning moments.

Cornell pulled Shane with 2:38 left, looking to even the score with its season on the line. The Red called timeout to draw up a play, lining up for an offensive-zone faceoff soon thereafter.

A defeating whistle blew as freshman forward Ryan Walsh made an errant play of slashing a Pioneer stick. With 2:35 left and searching for the equalizer, Cornell headed to the penalty kill.

“I don’t like the call. It’s one of the weakest calls in hockey,” Schafer said. 

The Red killed the penalty, but with the clock against it, couldn’t find the equalizer. Walsh fired a one-timer in the waning seconds, but Davis made the stop, sending Denver to the Frozen Four.

“Mistakes are gonna happen. Things happen in a game,” Schafer said. “Guys in our locker room were saying sorry to each other — there’s nothing to be sorry about. Ryan [Walsh] did everything he could to help us win that game, including that chance at the very end. He laid everything he could out there to help us try to win the game.”

Cornell finishes its season 22-7-6 and with a Whitelaw Cup under its belt. The Red will look to break its 21-year Frozen Four drought in the 2024-25 season.

“We knew we could only lose one game after Christmas,” Schafer said. “We could only lose one game and we’re going to be out of the tournament, and we lost one in overtime and we lost one that put us right on the bubble.

Just a week prior, Cornell won an ECAC championship to keep its season alive. Had Cornell lost in the title game, it never would’ve gotten the opportunity in the NCAA tournament, as the Red would’ve been mathematically eliminated from at-large bid contention.

“They carried that all year long, never got distracted, overcame that adversity,” Schafer said. “They kept plugging away. … That’s what sports is about — you get to here, now you’ve got to take that next step.”

The post Men’s Hockey’s Season Ends in Regional Final Defeat to Denver first appeared on The Cornell Daily Sun.

This article has been updated.

SPRINGFIELD, M.A. — Men’s hockey is one win away from the Frozen Four.

For the second straight year, Cornell is going to the NCAA regional finals, but it wasn’t pretty — Cornell struggled to match Maine’s speed, a team that ranks fifth in the country in Pairwise and was the second seed in the Northeast Regional.

But aided by a two-goal performance by junior forward Sullivan Mack and strong, 31-save showing from junior goaltender Ian Shane, Cornell upended the Black Bears to advance to its second consecutive regional final. 

“We grinded it out,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “It was a good effort by our guys throughout the course of the night against a good hockey team.”

After the victory, Cornell is just one win away from the Frozen Four. Head coach Mike Schafer ’86 is now 10-4 in regional semifinals in his tenure.

Drama unfolded even before puck drop, which was delayed 90 minutes due to the previous semifinal game between Massachusetts and Denver going to double overtime.

Across the ice from the Red, Maine’s starting goaltender as of late — Albin Boija — was not listed as the starting goaltender. Boija reportedly missed Maine’s morning skate due to sickness, giving Victor Ostman — a senior that notched All-ECAC second team honors in 2023 — the nod in net.

“I think you hit this point in time [where] you just worry about yourself and not who’s in their goal,” Schafer said. 

Shane, though, was the netminder that stole the show. Despite Maine’s speed and high shot volumes, Shane looked unphased as he batted away shot after shot. He made 31 saves — including many in a Maine offensive onslaught in the first period — en route to the 3-1 victory.

“[The team] made my job really easy,” Shane said. “Anytime they can keep a lot of shots from the outside, I should be able to do my job behind them.”

Once the puck was finally dropped, the pace of play was quick, seemingly making up for missed time. Maine began the game with two grade-A chances in the first minute, but Shane batted both away. From there, both teams struggled to get the puck through the opposing team’s forecheck.

Maine ultimately capitalized on an odd-man rush around six minutes into the game. It was Maine’s top line that got the job done, as Donavan Villeneuve-Houle found Harrison Scott wide open in the slot, who made no mistakes in wristing the puck cleanly past Shane. 

Cornell found itself in deeper trouble when, not long after Maine’s opening tally, freshman forward Ryan Walsh was sent off for a five-minute, hit-from-behind penalty. 

The Maine power play, though red-hot as of late, couldn’t find the back of the net — largely attributable to the play of Shane, who made several point-blank saves as the Red struggled to match up with Maine’s speed. The successful kill invigorated Cornell, which even got a few short-handed opportunities.

“They buried it [and] then we took the five-minute major, and [Shane] had a couple huge saves [and] we had a great penalty kill,” Schafer said. “That, to me, was the turning point of the game.”

That pressure paid off with six minutes left in the period, when junior forward Kyle Penney collected a pass from senior forward Gabriel Seger, delaying enough to get the Maine goaltender off balance. Penney fired a rocket over the shoulder of Victor Ostman — making his first start since Feb. 17 — to even the score.

Cornell stayed patient on defense, which was ultimately its biggest weapon. Slowly but surely, the Red shortened the gap in the shot department, which included firing nine on net in the frame.

The one that went in was nothing short of a beauty — Mack came booming down the right wing and fired a snipe beneath the blocker of Ostman to give Cornell its first lead of the game with just under eight minutes left in the middle frame. 

Mack, who, according to Schafer, was questionable to slot into the lineup on Thursday after getting banged up in the ECAC title game last Saturday, had his wrist shot down to a science.

“Couple of huge goals by Sullivan,” Schafer said. “He didn’t even know if he was gonna play this week. He got dinged up a little bit in the championship game, and came out tonight and scored two big goals for us.”

Cornell dominated play following its go-ahead tally, nailing quick and crisp passes and peppering the Maine netminder. 

Cornell had an answer for nearly everything Maine tossed its way in the third, whether it was a blocked shot off the shin pad or a Shane glove save. The Black Bears looked frustrated by Cornell’s composure and its discipline — in fact, after the major infraction by Walsh in the game’s opening minutes, Cornell stayed out of the penalty box entirely.

The Red cushioned its lead just over halfway into the third, when Mack fired a shot low against Ostman and found the back of the net. It was Mack’s second unassisted tally of the night, and one that ultimately sucked the wind out of Maine’s sails. 

“We had numbers coming back [and] I know they [tend to] slide, but then once that [pass] option went away, I just kind of dragged it and tried to get shot,” Mack said. “I was just really excited.”

Maine pulled Ostman with 2:32 left in the game, but a late stand in its defensive zone ultimately sealed the win for Cornell. 

The win is Schafer’s tenth in regional semifinals and the fifth of which came with Cornell being the lower-seeded team.

“We wanted to make sure we kept that underdog mentality, kept that chip on our shoulder [after the ECAC title] — just make sure we weren’t complacent coming into this weekend,” Shane said. “We all knew in the locker room that we still had something to prove.”

Schafer praised the composure of the younger players on the roster — eight freshmen slotting into the lineup for their first tastes of NCAA tournament action.

“The biggest stage doesn’t bother them,” Schafer said. “It didn’t bother them in Lake Placid, it didn’t bother them here tonight. I’m very proud of them.”

Cornell will take on Denver in the Springfield regional final on Saturday, with a spot in the Frozen Four on the line. Puck drop is set for 4 p.m.

The post Men’s Hockey Stifles Maine, 3-1, Advances to Regional Final first appeared on The Cornell Daily Sun.

This story is part of The Sun’s 2024 NCAA Hockey supplement. To view the rest of the supplement, click here.

On Saturday, men’s hockey hoisted the Whitelaw Cup for the first time in 14 years, after defeating St. Lawrence, 3-1.

On Sunday, the team gathered at Lynah Rink to watch the NCAA hockey tournament selection show, which dealt the Red its national tournament fate, including its regional location and first-round opponent.

On Monday, the team practiced, scouted its upcoming opponent — No. 6 Maine — and caught up on school work.

On Tuesday, the Red was bound for Springfield, MA.

“[The championship] still hasn’t completely sunk in,” said junior defenseman Hank Kempf.

It’s full speed ahead for Cornell, which will face off against Maine in the Northeast regional semifinal — the first round of the NCAA tournament — on Thursday.

“To try to get prepared for three teams in a day and a half is kind of a monumental challenge,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “We’re really trying to get ourselves ready for Maine.”

Kempf added: “It’s time to go to work because we [have] another huge opportunity.” 

Punching its ticket to the national tournament via an automatic bid, Cornell (21-6-6, 12-6-4 ECAC) is the No. 3 seed at the Springfield regional, and is No. 12 overall.

“We’ve got to get through Maine first — that’s the biggest challenge,” Schafer said. “They’re good in transition, [and] they’re very stingy defensively. [They have] good goaltending [and] excellent special teams.”

Maine (23-11-2, 14-9-1 Hockey East) fell in the Hockey East semifinals at the hands of Boston University. The Black Bears –– which sit at fifth in Pairwise — received an at-large bid and are the No. 2 seed in Springfield. 

“I think it’s a great matchup for us,” Kempf said. “They play a similar game to us. … They have a really good power play and seem like they’re a pretty structured team.”

The Black Bears enter the NCAA tournament as victors of four of their last five games. In three of those games, Maine limited its opponents to fewer than 20 shots.

While Maine, on paper, has only the 23rd-best power play in the nation, the Black Bears have been lethal on the man-advantage down the stretch. Maine hasn’t gone a game without a power play goal since Feb. 24 and has been converting at a 42.1 percent clip since then. 

Cornell’s penalty kill is in the middle of the pack nationally, just shy of 80 percent, but has allowed only one goal on the kill in the last five games. Aided by junior goaltender Ian Shane, who has anchored Cornell to allowing the fewest goals against per game, the Red’s penalty kill will be put to the test.

“You’ve got to keep them off the power play, which means playing disciplined — controlling your sticks,” Schafer said. “They have some [smaller] guys that seem to draw a lot of penalties, so you have to control yourself against those guys.”

One of those smaller yet powerful forwards for Maine is 5’8 forward Josh Nadeau, who plays on a line with his brother, Bradly. The pair of freshmen have dominated for the Black Bears, amassing near identical point totals (45 for Josh and 46 for Bradly) and goal totals (18 for Josh and 19 for Bradly). 

The brothers’ 91 goals account for 31 percent of Maine’s offense this year.

“Their top line is one of the best top lines we’ve seen,” Schafer said.

Maine emerged from a Hockey East conference that has been particularly strong this season. Besides Maine, three other Hockey East teams qualified for the NCAA tournament, including the top team in the nation, Boston College.

Read more about the other 15 teams in the NCAA tournament here.

Cornell has twice faced — and beaten — Hockey East opponents this season, the first being its formidable rival, No. 2 Boston University, which the Red defeated, 2-1, at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 25. 

The Red also upended then-No. 11 Massachusetts — the fourth-seeded team in the Springfield regional — in a shootout on Dec. 29 in the Adirondack Winter Invitational in Lake Placid.

”Playing UMass and BU gives us [an advantage] because you watch what UMass and BU did against Maine,” Schafer said. “[We can] watch what was effective and what we did.

However, both teams are different than they were in the early stages in the season.

”They’re a better hockey team, but we’re a much better hockey team than we were in November and December — night and day,” Schafer said. “We can only speak to ourselves, but we’re also pretty stingy defensively right now.”

The other semifinal matchup in Springfield features the NCHC champion Denver and Massachusetts. Should Cornell advance to the regional final, it’ll face one of two teams that it’s already familiar with. 

“Denver hasn’t changed, they [have a] very similar style to what they played last year and do a lot of similar things,” Schafer said, referring to the matchup between his team and Denver in last year’s regional semifinal, where Cornell dominated en route to a 2-0 win.

Kempf, who endured the regional final loss to Boston University last season, added: “[Against] BU, we got a little lost. … We didn’t have as much of that ‘just got for it’ [mentality] that we had [against Denver]. I think that’s what we should take from the experience.”

Though Maine is on the docket right now, past the Black Bears is a possible Frozen Four qualification, something Schafer has remarkably achieved only once in his 29-year head coaching tenure with the Red.

”We have that experience of getting through that first round but not getting through the second one,” Schafer said. “It’s extremely difficult to win it and get [to the Frozen Four].”

Despite its youthful roster, Cornell is confident that this group can lift Schafer over that jump.

“[In] other years, we’ve been right on that edge [to the Frozen Four],” Schafer said. “It’s just [important to] continue to have those experiences like Lake Placid. We didn’t play so great against Harvard last year. And then this year, we’re fortunate that we took that next step, and we’ve got to do the same thing in the NCAA [tournament].”

Correction, March 28, 2:32 p.m.: A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to Josh and Bradly Nadeau as twins. The brothers are two years apart in age, though both are freshmen at Maine.

The post Men’s Hockey Draws Maine in NCAA Regional Semifinal first appeared on The Cornell Daily Sun.

This story is part of The Sun’s 2024 NCAA Hockey supplement. To view the rest of the supplement, click here.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article was published in College Hockey News.

Attend a practice at the old Lynah Rink in Ithaca, N.Y., and you might hear a whole lot of this:

“Details, details, details!”

If you arrive a half-hour before practice begins, don’t fret — you’ll see some action. Odds are, you’ll see a defenseman or two. Some will be coming from a video session, often with the likes of their defensive partner, while others will get some extra reps in on the ice before the rest of the team joins them.

The top defensive corps in the nation doesn’t take its craft lightly — allowing just 1.88 goals per game all year, Cornell prides itself on its hard-nosed, pesky defense, marquee to its style of play.

So, what’s the philosophy behind Cornell’s defensive prowess?

“Great attention to details and our habits, and a responsibility to our expectations for our d-partners and our d-corps,” said Cornell associate head coach Ben Syer. 

In his 13th season with the Red, Syer leads the defensive group that has flourished and produced pro-caliber defensemen over the past decade. 

“Much like our program is, we try to make our d-corps like its own entity,” Syer said. “We always reference our d-partners as our lifelines, like best buddies. You know, like, ‘I got to take care of my best buddy the same way that I would hope he would take care of me.’ So we try to build a little bit of camaraderie in that regard, as well.”

The walls of the Cornell hockey locker room are full of phrases that players strive to embody every day: “attention to details,” “personal accountability” and “collective sacrifice,” among many others.

Cornell lost 10 seniors to graduation in 2023, including half of its defensive group. Notably, they lost the stellar play and leadership of captains Travis Mitchell ’23 and Sam Malinski ’23, who has recently made a name for himself with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. This year, the Red introduced 10 freshmen and five new defensemen to fill the void left by the strong senior class. 

There have been some growing pains — while Cornell’s defense has climbed up the ranks and sits atop the NCAA after an ECAC championship, there have been some uncharacteristic lapses, including an 8-4 nightmare-fuel loss to Quinnipiac in Hamden, CT, as well as a disappointing 4-2 defeat to Colgate at Lynah Rink.

Things even looked dodgy in the first two periods against Dartmouth in the ECAC tournament semifinals, when the Red at one point trailed 3-1 to the Big Green due to a lack of poise in its defensive zone and blips that ended up in the back of Cornell’s net.

“It can be challenging,” Syer admitted when asked about the transition from mainstays like Mitchell and Malinski and the hard-hitting Sebastian Dirven ’23 to a youthful first-year class learning the system for the first time.

But, as Syer added, “it can be a lot of fun.”

Fresh Face

Perhaps the player you’ll see most enjoying himself at the rink — arriving extra early for video sessions, treatment and skates — is freshman defenseman Ben Robertson. The true freshman has quickly hoisted himself up to the top defensive pairing with junior defenseman Tim Rego, posting 23 points in 33 games played, which included a historic seven-game point streak to start the season, the longest by a Cornell freshman to open a season dating back to 1975-76.

Robertson collected a handful of postseason accolades, including being named to the ECAC All-Rookie team, the All-ECAC second team and the All-Ivy League second team.  

“He’s a rink rat,” Syer said. “He loves being around the rink. He’s got a high IQ.”

Robertson’s silky play on the backend, as well as his seamless transition to manning the point on the power play, has cemented his status as a top defenseman for Cornell. 

“I’m always trying to find that balance of being an offensive defenseman but also playing defense,” Robertson reflected on his style of play. His creative offensive abilities, complemented by hard-nosed defense, mirror that of the graduated Malinski.

“When I visited here last August, I got to talk to him a little bit then. And I tried to watch as many of his games as I could,” Robertson said of Malinski. “Definitely someone I try to emulate my game after.”

Malinski is just a fraction of the support Cornell hockey gets from its alumni.

“Oh, they’re still very involved,” Syer said of the alumni. “We’ve had Sammy [Malinski] talk to the guys. Mitchy [Mitchell] sent some things in for our corps dinner. … Even guys that I didn’t coach, like Jeremy Downs and Charlie Cook, who were a part of that (2003) Frozen Four team, have become very good friends of mine in working here, and they’re very involved in giving their two cents or their insight that’s really invaluable.”

The rich tradition of Cornell hockey is imperative to its success — while Cornell adjusts to a new-look defensive group, upperclassmen leadership is critical. The likes of junior defensemen Hank Kempf, Michael Suda and Tim Rego have been imperative in adjusting the freshmen — many of whom are just 18 or 19 — to the aggressive defensive system Syer upholds.

“The younger guys that come in, they’re used to playing 60-70 games a year,” Syer said. “They have a tough game on a Sunday. Kind of stinks for a day or two. But they might play on a Wednesday night, or then they have three again the next weekend. So, it’s easily forgotten or doesn’t have a real significant impact. When you play 29 regular season games, everything is magnified.”

Entering Cornell after a strong year with the Waterloo Blackhawks of the USHL, Robertson quickly unearthed the importance of every game, every shift and every play.

“Every single play really matters since you don’t have that many games,” Robertson said. “You may think you’re making a simple play, but if the puck ends up in the back of your net, and you end up losing, that’s a game you’re not going to get back.”

Safety Net

When the puck does get through the defense, it’s nice to have a goaltender to bail you out.

“His attention to his craft and wanting to get better is second to none,” Syer said.

Junior goaltenderIan Shane hails from Manhattan Beach, California, nearly 3,000 miles from Cornell. A year before arriving in Ithaca, his season was tumultuous. He spent time between the pipes with the Chicago Steel in the USHL before relocating to Bismarck, ND, to play in the NAHL. 

In his third season with the Red, Shane has quietly amassed a .924 save percentage and averages 1.71 goals against in his 82 career decisions. Shane was named a top-10 finalist for the Mike Richter award, was nominated for the Hobey Baker Memorial award and took home the Ken Dryden Goaltender of the Year title.

“I don’t think there’s anything that I necessarily want to prove individually,” Shane said. “I think the goal for everyone is to win a championship — Ivy, ECAC, National championship.”

They’ve got two of those down.

Be in the presence of Shane, and you’ll probably be a bit intimidated — he composes himself exceptionally professionally and takes his play seriously. He is quick to deflect the conversation from himself and instead attribute his accolades to the group around him. 

“He’s certainly an intellect of the game,” Syer said. “You’ll see him watch video on his own. He’ll want to have different discussions. He knows the details of the team that we’re playing — like, he’ll want to know who has the most shots on the other team. Which way did they shoot? Where are they on the power play?”

Robertson attributes much of his confidence on the backend to Shane. “He makes it easier for us, having someone back there to rely on. You know, if you aren’t on your guy, he’ll definitely let you know, and it just makes the game a lot easier.”

Shane first got his shot in early 2022, as a first-year, when Cornell was in North Dakota, preparing to take on the then-No. 1 Fighting Hawks.

Nearly two years later, with a near-totally different defensive group in front of him, Shane has blossomed into a top goaltender in the ECAC and rivals many across the country.

Perhaps a telling reason for Shane’s going unnoticed is the low shot volume he faces — this season, Cornell has allowed the fewest shots in the NCAA at 744, 65 fewer than the next closest team, going into the NCAA tournament. The Red have blocked an additional 411 shots and asserted themselves as known shot-blockers, making it a crucial part of the game plan. Yet despite seeing fewer shots, Shane flourishes.

Shane had five shutouts last year, including an impressive 2-0 shutout victory over the then-reigning national champion Denver, which he largely attributed to the guys in front of him. With much of that group gone, Shane has played a prominent role in anchoring the new-look corps to success.

“He’s a calming presence,” Syer said of his goaltender.

“Obviously, there’s a little bit of an adjustment when you bring in a lot of underclassmen and 10 freshmen, but some younger guys are stepping into those roles, and I think they’ve been doing a great job,” Shane said. “Ben Robertson comes to mind. You see him in pretty much every situation on the ice.” 

The rag-tag group has clinched an NCAA tournament berth for the second straight year, where, in 2023, the Red was one win short of a Frozen Four last season. At the very least, Cornell is setting itself up again for a strong next couple of years.

“Some guys are like, ‘Okay, that’s happened 1,000 times — why is that a big deal?’” Syer said. “Well, you know what? One goal, because I don’t go blade on blade and deflect a puck into the netting, could be the difference between 0-0 and 1-0. And 1-0 can win a game.”

The post Bolstering the Blueline: Despite Growing Pains, Men’s Hockey D-Corps Holds Strong first appeared on The Cornell Daily Sun.

This story is part of The Sun’s 2024 NCAA Hockey supplement. To view the rest of the supplement, click here.

Hailing from across the Atlantic in Uppsala, Sweden — nearly 4,000 miles from Ithaca — senior forward Gabriel Seger engineers success both on the ice and in the classroom.

Most weekends, you’ll find him at Lynah Rink, poised to make his mark on the ice and drive the Red toward NCAA tournament triumph.

But when he’s not firing pucks into the net or outsmarting his opponent at the faceoff dot, Seger can be found delving into advanced classes in circuitry and computer science. This spring, Seger will graduate with a degree in computer and electrical engineering.

“It’s about finding that balance,” Seger said. “At first it was a challenge. Now it’s kind of routine.” 

Earlier this year, Seger was named the 2024 ECAC Men’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year, flaunting a 3.513 GPA while helping lead Cornell toward an ECAC title. Seger, alongside junior goaltender Ian Shane, was one of two Cornell players nominated for this year’s Hobey Baker Memorial Award — awarded annually to the top NCAA men’s ice hockey player.

Seger said that he specifically dedicates time to his coursework every day leading up to the weekend so his focus can transition to the game.

“Some terms have been tougher than others. I really try to crush out [my schoolwork] on Monday[s], Tuesday[s] [and] Wednesday[s],” Seger said. “Some weeks you kind of fall behind a little bit so you have to speak to your professors.”

On average, a Division-I athlete can devote upwards of 40 hours per week to their sport, though for Ivy League athletes this number is slightly lower due to conference-specific restrictions. For Cornell student-athletes like Seger, this entails lifting and playing nearly every day plus playing about two games per week during the season, all on top of the rigorous demands of one of the nation’s top-ranked engineering programs.

However, Seger is determined to chase both academic and athletic prowess. 

“I’ve always been kind of a math guy. I love math. I love building things. A couple of family members are engineers — my grandpa, dad, sister,” Seger said. “Coming in as a hockey player, I was back and forth on whether I should do economics or engineering. So I just tried it out. I came in as an undecided engineer, and it worked out pretty well.” 

The Swedish native said that a major draw to playing college hockey in the United States was the balance it offered between education and sports. According to Seger, it is common in Sweden to enter professional hockey leagues at the age of 19 or 20. 

“In Sweden, if you don’t get into school [when you’re 18], you have to go all in with hockey. [Then] if you don’t go pro when you’re 22, you have to pick between [going to] school or just to keep working in hockey,” Seger said. “It was pretty simple to me — [I wanted] the opportunity to both keep developing in hockey and get [strong] academics from it too.” 

Seger may play for an American team now, but it’s not uncommon to see the blue and yellow of the Swedish flag waving in the stands of Lynah Rink in a display of support. Having grown up in Gävle, Sweden — a hockey-centric city home to Swedish professional ice hockey team Brynäs IF — Seger fell in love with the game at seven years old after being inspired by his friends on the rink. 

“All of my classmates were playing. I just asked my parents if I could try it out, and fell in love with the game,” Seger said. “It became my number one sport.” 

Seger spent time with the Brynäs Under-16 team before rising through the ranks of Brynäs’ J18 teams but said he decided to play junior hockey with the Amarillo Bulls of the North American Hockey League when he started taking hockey more seriously. 

Whereas North American and NHL ice sheets span 200 feet long and 85 feet wide, the international and Swedish surfaces are almost always 197 feet by 97.5 feet. The wider surface was a transition for Seger.

“Their level of play [in Sweden] is kind of similar, but it’s a faster game in North America for sure,” Seger said. “The players back home are still very skilled, but the ice surface is bigger so you have little more time. There’s [less] forcing pucks into the net.” 

Though Seger started his college hockey career at Union College, he was no stranger to Cornell’s hockey team and the intimidating atmosphere of Lynah Rink. In his transfer process, selecting Cornell was almost a no-brainer.  

“[Lynah Rink is] an unbelievable place to play at. When I played as an away team [with Union], I used to hate playing here,” Seger said. “I heard great things about [head coach Mike Schafer ’86] and the culture. I wanted to play with a really good hockey team — which Cornell was — and the academics was a big part of [my decision].”

Ivy League schools rarely dip into the transfer portal due to heavy eligibility restrictions, but Cornell hit the lottery when it snagged Seger in 2022. Since coming to Cornell, Seger said he has seen himself develop into a stronger player.

“My skating and conditioning were two things I worked a lot on [since I got here],” Seger said. “Last season especially, I got a lot of tips on tricks on the [defensive] zone to become a better defensive player.” 

Perhaps Seger’s most invaluable strengths are his faceoffs, a critical moment when players compete to gain possession of the puck at the start of play. Seger has excelled at the faceoff dot, winning 464 draws this season — a 58.8 percent clip.

“The more faceoffs you take, the better you become,” Seger said. “A lot of it is mental — you have to come to every draw and be ready to really battle for it. The technique is something we’re working on on a weekly basis.” 

Seger’s offensive flair hasn’t gone unnoticed. The forward, who centers Cornell’s top line with junior forward Kyle Penney and sophomore forward Nick DeSantis, has led the team in scoring over the past two seasons. This season, he has hit a career-high 14 goals and 42 points — and counting. 

Seger accredits his success to his teammates, his father for being his number one supporter through the years and his youth coach, Pär Jansson, or “PJ,” who coached him from the ages of 11 to 15 and has served as a guide both on and off the rink. 

As a senior, Seger bid farewell to Lynah Rink with a triumphant victory against rival Harvard, propelling the Red to ECAC championship weekend in Lake Placid. But this won’t be the last of the ice for Seger, who said he envisions using his quantitative skills within the realm of hockey.

Of course, after he pursues a professional playing career.

“My dream is still to work with hockey, in some shape or form,” Seger said. “I don’t know if that could be statistics, data science or analytics. We’ll figure it out later, probably.” 

Seger told The Sun earlier this semester that his biggest goal was to win an ECAC championship and make a turn at the NCAA tournament — feats he has already checked off the list.

“That’s definitely the goal — to win,” Seger said. “[It’s] hard work. Hard work.”

The post From Uppsala to Upstate: How Gabriel Seger ’24 Skates to Success first appeared on The Cornell Daily Sun.

This story is part of The Sun’s 2024 NCAA Hockey supplement. To view the rest of the supplement, click here. 

East Regional: Providence, Rhode Island

Headlining the east regional is the tournament favorite and top overall seed Boston College. The Eagles enter the tournament after a 6-2 drubbing of No. 2 overall –– and formidable rival –– Boston University in the Hockey East Championship and have looked nothing short of perfect throughout the season. 

Boston College is headlined by its dominant freshman line of Will Smith (fourth overall 2023 draft pick by San Jose), Gabe Perreault (23rd overall 2023 draft pick by New York) and Ryan Leonard (eighth overall 2023 draft pick by Washington), who have combined for 68 goals and 178 points. 

The Eagles’ opponent, Michigan Tech, enters the playing field after its CCHA title with the lowest Pairwise ranking (32nd in the nation) and fewest goals scored per game (2.77, 42nd in the nation) of any qualifying team.

The only other ECAC team to qualify is Cornell’s heated conference rival, Quinnipiac, which slots into the east regional despite its loss to St. Lawrence in the ECAC semifinals. The Bobcats will face Big 10 powerhouse Wisconsin, which is led by senior and Big 10 Goaltender of the Year Kyle McClellen, who leads the nation in save percentage and is second in goals against average. McClellen and the Badgers will be tasked with stopping the fourth-best offense in the nation.

Both Quinnipiac and Wisconsin were upset in their conference tournaments and head into the tournament with mediocre recent play. Since Jan. 13, Quinnipiac has losses to Colgate, Cornell, St. Lawrence (twice) and Clarkson, while Wisconsin is 7-7-2 over that stretch. 

Eli’s Predictions:

Boston College over Michigan Tech

Wisconsin Over Quinnipiac

Boston College over Wisconsin

Jane’s Predictions:

Boston College over Michigan Tech

Quinnipiac over Wisconsin

Boston College over Quinnipiac

West Regional: Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Boston University, the No. 2 team in the country, is seeking revenge after its Hockey East championship game loss to Boston College. The Terriers boast the third-highest power play percentage in the nation but just the 35th-best penalty kill percentage. 

Its opponent, Rochester Institute of Technology, has an opposite split, with the 13th-best power play and fourth best penalty kill. RIT earned a tournament auto-bid by winning the Atlantic Hockey championship and heads to Sioux Falls on a seven-game win streak. Cornell’s regional opponent, Maine, is the only NCAA tournament-bound team that the Tigers have faced.

Minnesota, though defeated in the Big 10 tournament semifinal, slots in as the No. 2 seed in the west regional. Featuring one of the most electric players in the tournament, forward and natural goal scorer Jimmy Snuggerud, the Gophers will face Omaha. 

The Mavericks emerged late in the season in the Pairwise, climbing all the way to 11th to secure the at-large bid. After a sour 3-6-1 stretch in the middle of its season, Omaha has gone 12-3-2 since and enters the tournament scorching hot.

Eli’s Predictions:

Boston University over RIT

Omaha over Minnesota 

Boston University over Omaha

Jane’s Predictions:

Boston University over RIT

Omaha over Minnesota

Omaha over Boston University

Northeast Regional: Springfield, Massachusetts 

Denver may be the one seed, but Massachusetts gets the location advantage. The Minutemen took the last at-large bid to the tournament, squeaking past Colorado College by just .0004 in the RPI — the mathematical tie-breaking factor for NCAA tournament qualification that calculates head-to-head results. 

Massachusetts, which Cornell defeated in a shootout on Dec. 29, will look to upend the 2022 national champions that average a nation-leading 4.85 goals per game. Denver’s only weakness may be their defense, which has allowed the fifth most goals nationally. Denver may also be looking ahead to the regional final for revenge, as the Red upset the Pioneers in last year’s tournament.

Check out The Sun’s Cornell vs. Maine preview here.

Eli’s Predictions

Denver over Massachusetts

Cornell over Maine

“I refuse to make this pick.”

Jane’s Predictions

Denver over Massachusetts

Cornell over Maine

“I am an impartial reporter.”

Michigan Midwest Regional: Maryland Heights, Missouri

The question for this region will be: Can North Dakota or Western Michigan stop a rematch of the Big 10 championship game? Michigan State, the fourth overall team in the NCAA tournament, beat its archrival Michigan 5-4 in overtime to take home the conference title. The Spartans utilize a strong forechecking style but struggle deep in its defensive zone. 

Michigan State is a top regional seed because of its seventh-best offense. If there is a Michigan vs. Michigan State regional final, keep an eye on Spartan goaltender Trey Augustine. Augustine was originally a University of Michigan commit, but decided to follow his Under-18 National Development Team head coach Adam Nightingale to Michigan State. That move shifted the balance of power in the conference from Ann Arbor towards East Lansing. 

On the other end of the ice, Western Michigan is a solid, well-rounded team but has been streaky throughout the year. The Broncos were upended in the tournament quarterfinals of the NCHC, a conference that accounts for four teams in this year’s national tournament. Mike McMahon, senior writer at College Hockey News, tapped the Broncos as the most likely four seed to upset a one seed in this year’s field.

North Dakota –– the only non-Michigan team at this regional –– has been solid all season but has shown weaknesses in overtime games. Additionally, the dedicated North Dakota fanbase will likely be hindered by the limited capacity of 2,500, nearly a fifth of the size of its home rink. The Fighting Hawks boast the nation’s eighth-best offense but will face a tough test in a talented, star-studded Michigan team. 

The Wolverines counteracted early-season struggles with a strong second-half campaign. Michigan’s roster is loaded with NHL talent, evidenced by the team’s 11 draft picks. Despite its professional power, the Wolverines have displayed a worrying tendency to blow leads late in hockey games, but Michigan will likely be aided by its passionate fanbase, the Children of Yost, which –– like the Lynah Faithful –– always packs the arena.

Eli’s Predictions

Michigan State over Western Michigan

Michigan over North Dakota

Michigan over Michigan State

Jane’s Predictions

Michigan State over Western Michigan

North Dakota over Michigan

North Dakota over Michigan State

The post Meet the Other 15 Schools Joining Men’s Hockey in the NCAA Tournament first appeared on The Cornell Daily Sun.

This story is part of The Sun’s 2024 NCAA Hockey supplement. To view the rest of the supplement, click here. 

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story was published in College Hockey News.

LAKE PLACID, NY — In 1996, Cornell hockey threw its hands in the air in jubilation.

Sticks went flying, as did gloves, as players swarmed its goaltender, Jason Elliott ’98.

It was newly-minted head coach Mike Schafer ’86’s first title in his first year of coaching his alma mater, staring into the bright lights of Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid.

Schafer’s first title as Cornell’s head coach was undoubtedly special. The Red did it again in 1997. But little did 35-year-old Schafer know how grueling it is to endure a run to the ECAC title game, much less hoisting the Whiteclaw Cup at the end of it all.

“I was young and foolish back then,” Schafer said. “That was only the first one in the first two years, and I thought, ‘Man, [I] keep getting good recruits and keep going back out [to the championship game]. It’s not that hard.’ And then I hit 2010 [and] it was like, ‘Man … I was foolish, and it’s so hard to get here.’ Things got to go right.”

In 2024, Cornell hockey threw its hands in the air in jubilation.

Sticks went flying, as did gloves, as players swarmed its goaltender, junior Ian Shane.

It was the long-tenured coach’s sixth ECAC Tournament championship in his 29th year of coaching his alma mater, staring into the bright lights of Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid. But after also winning in 2003 and 2005, this was the first — as a coach — since 2010. It was also Cornell’s 13th ECAC tournament title as a program, the most of any ECAC team.

“I’m on the back nine here,” Schafer said. “And I look at tonight [and] there’s a comfort. … The only people that are going to really, truly believe in us all –– at all times –– will be in the locker room. The belief within the locker never, ever wavered once throughout the course of the year.”

This season has been tumultuous for Schafer’s young squad, just as Schafer’s tenure has been. The blips along the road to Cornell’s 13th Whitelaw Cup — which it clinched on Saturday after a 3-1 defeat of St. Lawrence — are emblematic of bumps along the long road of Schafer’s career.

Cornell’s early defeat of Boston University at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 25 perhaps mirrors Schafer’s first ECAC title in 1996, a season that didn’t start so well before the Red made a huge second-half run and nearly won an NCAA tournament game against then-mighty Laker Superior State.

Cornell’s crushing loss to Union on March 1 at Lynah Rink perhaps symbolizes the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down then-No. 1 Cornell’s history-making team that was poised to beat everyone in its path, in 2020.

It’s taken 27 years to get another at Lake Placid, and 14 years to get another ECAC championship, and Schafer has learned some things.

“My first couple years [were] a blur. I mean, [I had] three young kids, and I don’t even think I got a chance to celebrate with them,” Schafer said. “To be here and be with a family — with my wife — and be able to celebrate, actually celebrate, … I enjoyed it.”

The world has in turn learned much about Schafer over the years.

“The announcer [in 1997] called me Ric Schafer. [I was] long ways away from establishing a career here,” Schafer said.

The hockey world has also learned much about the 2023-24 Cornell squad, which will now contend for a national championship after an at-large tournament bid was out of the cards. The hockey world saw freshman Jonathan Castagna pot two goals on the biggest of stages, including the game-winner.

“A true freshman — how many times do you see that nowadays in college hockey, an ’05 walk in and contribute?” Schafer said.

St. Lawrence made a push in the final 20 minutes and halved the game, 2-1, but Shane stood tall down the stretch to deter all the Saints threw his way.

The hockey world is still learning about Shane, whose goals against average has led the country nearly all season but who still fights for national recognition. The 2024 ECAC Goaltender of the Year batted away 31 pucks on Saturday night to clinch the title, a mere few days after being omitted from the Mike Richter Award top-three.

“[I don’t know] how he doesn’t get to be one of the top-three goaltenders in the country for the Mike Richter [Award]. I just don’t think that people have enough respect for him,” Schafer said. “And I don’t think he really cares, and he keeps plugging away. He’s been there for us all year. He was there again tonight and made big saves.”

Junior forward Jack O’Leary notched the empty-netter for Cornell to seal the game, and as the final buzzer sounded, Schafer embraced his staff, and they stayed just like that for a long moment.

The little things are far more noticeable after 29 years of coaching, and far more precious.

“I really enjoyed watch[ing] [junior defenseman] Michael Suda say a little prayer at the end of the game at center ice — really special,” Schafer said.

Next, Schafer’s rag-tag group will skate on to the NCAA Tournament, where it will face Maine in the regional semifinal in Springfield, MA.

“We’ve got to catch our breath. It’s a little bit of a sprint here, … but we’ll be ready. It’ll take a little bit, but it’ll be fun,” Schafer said.

The post Schafer Won Five ECAC Titles in 15 Years. It Took Him 14 to Get the Next One. first appeared on The Cornell Daily Sun.

“[It’s] outstanding to finally win a championship again — it’s been a long time,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “The belief within the locker never, ever wavered once throughout the course of the year.”

On Saturday night, men’s hockey broke a 14-year ECAC title drought, defeating St. Lawrence, 3-1, at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, NY. It is the team’s sixth title under Schafer.

Freshman forward Jonathan Castagna scored two goals in the game while junior goaltender Ian Shane made 31 saves, including a handful of important stops late in the third period.

“Everyone’s so excited. That was our goal, after 14 years — just to feel that, all the pent up emotions. … It was just such a fun weekend,” Shane said.

The Whitelaw Cup will return to Ithaca while Cornell awaits its NCAA tournament fate. The Red will learn its opponent for the national tournament after Selection Sunday, which is slated for 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

“Before the game, you think: ‘this is the last time we’ll have the ability to fight for this title with the same group of guys,’” Castagna said. “It was incredibly special. What we’ve created is really special.”

Article by Jane McNally
Filmed by Jane McNally
Edited by Marian Caballo
Produced by Jane McNally, Marian Caballo

The post MULTIMEDIA | Scenes from Lake Placid: Men’s Hockey Wins ECAC Championship first appeared on The Cornell Daily Sun.

This story has been updated.

As the final buzzer sounded at Herb Brooks Arena, Cornell fans erupted.

The Red skated toward its goaltender, players tossing their gloves in the air.

Head coach Mike Schafer ’86 embraced his coaching staff.

“[It’s] outstanding to finally win a championship again — it’s been a long time,” Schafer said. “The belief within the locker never, ever wavered once throughout the course of the year.” 

It had been a long time coming for Schafer and company. 14 years after its last title in 2010, men’s hockey defeated St. Lawrence, 3-1, in the ECAC championship game on Saturday. The win marks Cornell’s 13th Whitelaw Cup in program history, the most of any ECAC team.

Cornell had a scare after St. Lawrence pressed hard and cut a 2-0 lead to 2-1, but a late empty-net goal by junior forward Jack O’Leary iced the game for the Red. Freshman forward Jonathan Castagna notched two goals for Cornell, including the game-winner.

Cornell now awaits its next task –– the NCAA tournament.

“We’ve got to catch our breath. It’s a little bit of a sprint here and [we’ll] find out who we play, but we’ll be ready. It’ll take a little bit, but it’ll be fun,” Schafer said.

Rejuvenated after a successful early first-period penalty kill, Cornell got to work. A strong drive up the ice led to a pair of shots in rapid succession, and the trailer –– Castagna –– cleaned up the rebound with a backhand over the shoulder of St. Lawrence’s Ben Kraws.

When asked about both of his goals in the game, Castagna had few words to describe how he felt on the biggest of stages: “I would like to [say how it felt], but honestly, it was kind of a blur. It was a big game. … That first goal wasn’t the prettiest in the world, but it got in the back of the net.”

The goal broke a shutout stretch of 73:37 for the Saints, dating back to the third period of its second quarterfinal win against Colgate. St. Lawrence has received stellar goaltending from Kraws down the stretch, as the graduate student has maintained a save percentage of over .900 percent since Feb. 23.  

But the goaltending on the other side was equally formidable. Junior goaltender Ian Shane stopped 31 pucks, including 14 in the second period, to cement the victory.

“[I don’t know] how he doesn’t get to be one of top three goaltenders in the country for the Mike Richer [Award]. I just don’t think that people have enough respect for him,” Schafer said. “And I don’t think he really cares, and he keeps plugging away. He’s been there for us all year. He was there again tonight and made big saves.”

Late in the first, Castagna nearly doubled the score singlehandedly when he poked the puck past a St. Lawrence defender and fired a shot all alone in the slot, but Kraws swallowed up the attempt and the rebound to prevent his team’s deficit from growing.

Though the second period began with a bout of St. Lawrence possession, Cornell was able to prevail and create rush chances the other way.

It wasn’t long before Castagna got the second goal he was looking for.

5:13 into the second period, Castagna cleaned up a loose puck around the net and tucked it past Kraws to make it 2-0. Castagna celebrated as his teammates engulfed him in a hug after his second tally.

“[Castagna] and all the other freshmen –– all nine of them –– in the game tonight did a tremendous job,” Schafer said.

From there, Cornell’s stifling defensive unit –– which has been marquee to its style of play this season –– took the lead. Aided by Shane, Cornell was perfect on the penalty kill on Saturday, including a kill of a potentially momentum-altering penalty not long after Castagna’s second goal.

Not only did Cornell restrain a St. Lawrence power play that looked lethal in its semifinal game against Quinnipiac, the Red dismantled it –– the Saints struggled to get much going around the perimeter, and any shot taken from distance was easily gobbled up by Shane.

The Cornell netminder stood tall on Saturday, as he has all season long. Shane instilled a calm presence in the backend for the Red as the Saints began to threaten.

Cornell got an early power play chance to start off the third period, looking to score the potentially suffocating goal. There was no shortage of chances on Cornell’s second man-advantage, as the Red fired five shots on goal on the power play, but all were deterred by Kraws. 

St. Lawrence took the penalty kill as ammunition for its next attack –– as time expired, the Saints took the puck the other way and created a quick odd-man rush. St. Lawrence’s 13th forward, Cameron Buhl, opted to shoot the puck instead of pass it across, beating Shane cleanly to halve the Cornell lead.

“[Kraws] made two saves -– I thought we put the game away to make it 3-0,” Schafer said with admiration for the Saints’ netminder. “And then they come right back down and score, and then everybody’s anxious.”

The third period was a nail-biter, as the Red looked to maintain its 2-1 lead. St. Lawrence found its footing in the final frame, creating a few elongated shifts in its offensive zone and tiring out the Cornell skaters.

Shane –– cool, calm and collected –– was the difference down the stretch, particularly when St. Lawrence pulled Kraws. Making big saves until the final buzzer, the junior netminder kept the Saints at bay.

O’Leary’s empty netter with under a minute left sealed the game for Cornell. 

“It was a huge sense of relief,” Shane said. “You could feel in that third period –– they weren’t gonna go away quietly.”

The win clinches both the Whitelaw Cup and an automatic bid to the national tournament for Cornell. Selection Sunday, airing on ESPNU on March 24 at 6:30 p.m., will determine the Red’s opponent in the regional round of the NCAA tournament.

In the meantime, though, the Red will venture back to Ithaca with the Whitelaw Cup.

“Everyone’s so excited. That was our goal, after 14 years –– just to feel that, all the pent up emotions. … It was just such a fun weekend,” Shane said. 

“Before the game, you think: ‘this is the last time we’ll have the ability to fight for this title with the same group of guys,’” Castagna said. “It was incredibly special. What we’ve created is really special.”

The post Men’s Hockey Downs St. Lawrence, 3-1, in ECAC Championship, Breaks 14-Year Whitelaw Cup Drought first appeared on The Cornell Daily Sun.

This story has been updated.

LAKE PLACID, NY –– With men’s hockey down 3-1 after two periods, Herb Brooks Arena was fraught with tension.

The Cornell contingent bit its nails as the Red skated out from its locker room, looking to keep its season alive in a do-or-die ECAC semifinal game and forge a path to its first ECAC title game since 2019.

The Red did just that.

“You just don’t see that very often –– I’ve been doing this [for] 29 years. To come back [after being] down 3-1? Doesn’t happen very often,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. 

Down two goals after two periods, a triumphant comeback of five unanswered goals in the third period propelled Cornell past Dartmouth on Friday, 6-3.

Cornell will contend for its first Whitelaw Cup since 2019.

“You can’t even think about this game we just had just because you’re so excited to play for a trophy tomorrow,” said sophomore forward Dalton Bancroft.

Four underclassmen got on the scoring sheet in Friday night’s contest –– sophomore forward Nick DeSantis scored a pair while Bancroft and freshman forward Ryan Walsh notched a goal each. DeSantis and Bancroft, along with freshman defenseman Ben Robertson and senior forward Gabriel Seger, all had multipoint games.

While the first two periods were all Dartmouth, Cornell overcame a 3-1 deficit and picked up its play in the final 20.

Dartmouth unveiled an aggressive forechecking style from the get-go, which gave Cornell immediate trouble exiting its defensive zone. The Big Green’s stingy forwards ultimately culminated in the game’s first goal, when a feed from behind the net caught junior goaltender Ian Shane off guard, and Sean Chisholm fired a quick one-timer that beat Shane cleanly to break the ice.

Cornell couldn’t find an answer to Dartmouth’s opening tally, much in part due to Dartmouth’s ability to block shots. Of the 21 shots the Red attempted, six were blocked by the skates, sticks and shin pads of the Big Green skaters.

Of the pucks Cornell managed on net in the opening frame, all were swallowed up easily by Dartmouth goaltender Cooper Black. Cornell struggled to generate much offense from inside the perimeters and didn’t crowd Black’s crease, giving Black easy sight for his eight saves in the first period.

The Red evened the score just 4:15 into the second, when junior forward Ondrej Psenicka made a skillful play to collect the puck off a Dartmouth skater and snuck the puck past Black. 

Cornell couldn’t celebrate for too long, however, as Dartmouth retook the lead 1:10 later. A hard shot by John Fusco was wristed from the point, and a screen in front of Shane prevented the Cornell netminder from seeing the eventual go-ahead goal.

Freshman forward Jonathan Castagna was sent to the box a couple of minutes later, queuing the game’s first power play, where Fusco, once again, collected a hard pass and buried it past a sprawling Shane. Cornell proceeded to challenge the goal, but the call stood, solidifying Dartmouth’s two-goal lead.

While Cornell upped its shot count in the middle frame, so did Dartmouth. The Red notched 11 shots on goal in the second period, 10 of which were trapped by Black, as opposed to the Big Green’s 13 shots fired against Shane. 

“[Schafer] didn’t say much [after the second period]. We all kind of knew what we had to do,” Walsh said.

Facing a daunting deficit entering the third, Cornell had a power play and the opportunity to make it a one-goal game early on.

The Red hit the nail on the head –– a nice pass from Seger found Bancroft breaking toward the net, and Bancroft made no mistakes, sniping it past Black to cut into the Big Green lead.

“I don’t think we wore them down –– we got on a roll,” Schafer said. “As a coach, I’ve been on the other side. It’s tough when [teams] get on a roll.”

Riding its momentum, Cornell’s passes suddenly started clicking, the zone breakouts were smoother and things began to look up.

From there, the offense poured on.

“We were able to find five goals in the third period. So, I’d say we did a fairly good job of that,” Walsh said.

Junior forward Kyle Penney tied the game on a scrum in front of the net, collecting the puck and eking it past Black. The goal began an offensive onslaught for the Red, where it outpaced, outshot and outworked the Big Green after two rather dull periods.

Walsh notched the go-ahead goal just 50 seconds later.

Cornell’s tenacity and courage were on full display in the final frame, as its first lead of the game reignited the Red. From there, it was all over Dartmouth, smothering the Big Green skaters and firing pucks left and right against Black.

“We’re just a really relentless team and obviously having these young guys who are really hungry to prove themselves helps a lot as well,” Bancroft said. 

Dartmouth pulled its goaltender with over four minutes to play, despite trailing by one tally. However, two empty-net goals from DeSantis sealed the game for Cornell, securing The Red’s spot in the championship game.

As the final buzzer sounded, the Red swarmed its goaltender with a particular excitement. Not only did Cornell respond to the deficit with a five-goal final frame, but it did so with its season on the line.

“These kids –– I just want them to come out and play hard, and so much goes into that,” Schafer said. “We’re counting our lucky stars. We overcame a lot of stuff, but it’ll be fun.”

Cornell has appeared in three championship games since its last title 14 years ago.

“Our will to win never goes away,” Bancroft said. “We’re always positive, even if we’re down goals.”

Cornell will take on St. Lawrence –– which upset Quinnipiac in the other semifinal game earlier on Friday –– with the Whitelaw Cup on the line on Saturday at 5 p.m.

The post Men’s Hockey Completes Epic Third Period Comeback, Punches Ticket to ECAC Title Game 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.