ITHACA, N.Y. — The Elmira Jackals of the ECHL announced Thursday that they have signed Cornell senior defenseman Jacob MacDonald to a standard player contract.
 
MacDonald joins the Jackals after playing 104 career games with the Big Red, accumulating four goals and 17 assists for 21 points. After playing in just eight games as a freshman, he played in all but one of Cornell's games for the next three years, logging tons of minutes at even strength and on the penalty kill. MacDonald's plus-6 rating was tied for the team lead in 2013-14, when he posted five points in the final five games. The Elmira Jackals are an NHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres and an AHL affiliate of the Rochester Americans.
 
MacDonald will be available to make his professional debut in the Jackals' two-game home series on Friday and Saturday against the Florida Everblades, who have MacDonald's former teammate Andy Iles '14 on their roster. MacDonald is the third player from the 2014-15 Cornell hockey team to sign on with a professional team this spring, with both Cole Bardreau (Philadelphia Flyers) and Joakim Ryan (San Jose Sharks) recently signing NHL contracts.