Box Score (PDF)
 
ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell men's hockey team jumped out to a multiple-goal lead for the third straight game on Friday — but this time, the Big Red stayed ahead for good. Five different players scored goals, four had multiple points, and Cornell sailed to a 5-1 victory over Colgate in front of a sellout crowd at Lynah Rink.
 
Christian Hilbrich and Trevor Yates scored goals 66 seconds apart, and Cornell (4-1, 2-1 ECAC Hockey) enjoyed a 2-0 lead just 2:17 into the game. The Big Red dominated the first period outside of a pair of penalties, which Colgate (4-6, 1-2) made the most of by setting up Mike Borkowski's power-play goal.
 
The Big Red restored its three-goal lead in the late stages of the opening 20 minutes with Mitch Vanderlaan netting his third goal in the season's opening five games. Alec McCrea earned his second assist of the night with a quick pass up ice, then Yates steered the puck on to Vanderlaan to create a two-on-one. As he entered the right circle, he beat Colgate starting goaltender Charlie Finn to give Cornell a 3-1 lead.
 
But unlike in last Friday's 4-3 win over Princeton and last Saturday's 5-4 overtime loss to Quinnipiac, the Big Red stayed comfortably in front for the duration of the game. In fact, it built on the lead. Patrick McCarron and Matt Buckles scored in the second period, giving Cornell five goals through two periods for the first time since Jan. 30, 2010 (a 5-3 win over Clarkson).
 
Mitch Gillam made 23 saves to earn the victory, including five stops in the first 4:17 of the third period with the Raiders trying to mount a comeback. The Big Red defense swallowed up a ton of shots in front of him, blocking a total of 20 shots from 14 different skaters.
 
The weekend series between the Big Red and Raiders shifts to Hamilton for a 7 p.m. Saturday rematch at Starr Rink.
 
Notes
* The 4-1 start is Cornell's best since it began the 2009-10 season with the same mark. The Big Red also has at least four goals in four straight games for the first time since the beginning of the 2011-12 campaign.
* Jeff Kubiak assisted on McCarron's goal to push his points streak to five straight games.
* McCrea, a freshman defenseman, now leads the team with five assists.