ITHACA, N.Y. – Matched up against a line containing the nation's leading scorer, the Cornell men's hockey team's line centered by freshman Kyle Betts did more than just hold its own Saturday – it powered the Big Red's offense in a 6-2 rout of Canisius at Lynah Rink.
 
Betts scored three goals to lead a group of four players with three points apiece, and fifth-ranked Cornell (11-2) closed out the calendar year with a resounding victory over a Canisius (10-6-1) squad which leads the Atlantic Hockey standings and held a regular-season USCHO.com poll national ranking of 20th for the first time in program history. The Big Red continue to hold the nation's best winning percentage (.846).
 
All three of Betts' goals were identical on the score sheet, with sophomore winger Jeff Malott accumulating the primary assists and senior winger Alex Rauter picking up secondary helpers. Senior forward Trevor Yates also scored twice and added an assist for Cornell, bumping his team-leading goal total to 10.
 
Betts opened the scoring late in a disjointed first period that saw both teams shaking off the rust from the recent holiday hiatus. Cornell had a golden opportunity to double the lead a short time later, but it came up empty on 1 minute, 39 seconds of a two-man advantage.
 
Canisius, which entered the game with the nation's third-most proficient power play at 26.5%, equalized 4:45 into the second period on a goal by Nick Hutchison. Yates' unassisted goal at the 9:17 mark stemmed the tide, then a dominating shift led to Betts' second goal 80 seconds later.
 
A little less than four minutes later, the freshman added his fourth goal in the last two games while also becoming the second Cornell player with a hat trick this season, joining sophomore forward Noah Bauld (Nov. 17 vs. St. Lawrence).
 
Despite the three-goal deficit after 40 minutes, the Golden Griffins did not go away quietly. Just 12 seconds into the third period, Dylan McLaughlin scored to ignite the visitors. With Canisius a two-on-one rush about seven minutes later, Cornell senior goaltender Hayden Stewart made a key save on Grant Meyer. Stewart made 24 to earn the victory, making his second consecutive start after having just one start over the last two seasons.
 
Yates' second goal with 7:20 to play proved to be the dagger, and freshman Morgan Barron capped the scoring off Yates' feed with 3:50 to play.

The Big Red's Lineup:

How The Goals Were Scored:
Cornell's 1st Goal
1st period, 16:18  •  Betts 2 (Malott, Rauter)  •  Cornell 1, Canisius 0  
• Betts won a faceoff in the Big Red zone to the right of Stewart to Rauter on the half wall. He banked it up boards to Betts near the blue line, and he passed to Malott up the middle for a clean breakout – though the Griffins had all of its defenders back. Malott drove wide to the left and beat his defender wide, though he quickly ran out of angle at the bottom of the circle in the Canisius zone. He curled the puck back across the goal mouth, and Betts carved his way through defenders to pop it into the net.
 
Canisius' 1st Goal
2nd period, 4:45  •  Hutchison 9 (McLaughlin, Stief)  •  Cornell 1, Canisius 1
• Beau Starrett had a chance on a shorthanded two-on-one, but Canisius goalie Daniel Urbani made a save and a sloppy Big Red line change on the backcheck gave the visitors an indentical counter-attack. McLaughlin saucered a pass over the sprawling defnseman to Hutchison, who cut across the top of the crease and slipped in a backhander along the ice.
 
Cornell's 2nd Goal
2nd period, 9:17  •  Yates 9 •  Cornell 2, Canisius 1
• After both teams caused turnovers at their respective blue lines, Yates was the last to gather in the neutral zone and charge into the Canisius end. As he approached the top of the right circle, he ripped a shot that beat Urbani blocker-side and inside the far post.
 
Cornell's 3rd Goal
2nd period, 10:37  •  Betts 3 (Malott, Rauter)  •  Cornell 3, Canisius 1
• The Big Red kept the heat on after regaining the lead, keeping the puck in the Canisius zone. Brendan Smith shoved a puck from the left point toward goal that hit Rauter in the mid-section. The puck ended up in the left corner, where he sent a pass to Betts at the inside hash mark. He snapped a fall-away shot over Urbani's glove.
 
Cornell's 4th Goal
2nd period, 14:26  •  Betts 4 (Malott, Rauter)  •  Cornell 4, Canisius 1  
• With the Big Red buzzing again, the Griffs gained possession in front of their net and appeared to be on their way to breaking out of the zone before Rauter swooped in and caused a turnover. Malott picked up the puck toward the bottom of the left circle and passed to Betts drifting back into the slot, and he one-timed a shot under Urbani.
 
Canisius' 2nd Goal
3rd period, :12  •  McLaughlin 12 (Schmelzer)  •  Cornell 4, Canisius 2 
• The Griffs won the draw and quickly gained the zone to start the period. While McLaughlin's feed from down low on the right wing was cut down and the Big Red had a chance to keep possession, Schmelzer won a battle in the corner. In the meantime, McLaughlin made a wide circle around the net and into the top of the slot, where he swooped in and beat Stewart high to the glove side.
 
Cornell's 5th Goal
3rd period, 12:40  •  Yates 10 (Barron, Smith)  •  Cornell 5, Canisius 2  
• Canisius dumped the puck into the Cornell zone and made a line change. Stewart steered the puck to Smith toward the corner, and he quickly made an outlet pass up the left wing before the Griffs could set up their forecheck. That allowed Barron to find Yates coming through the neutral zone with speed. He attacked up the middle, then snapped a shot from the top of the slot that beat relief goaltender Blake Weyrick to the glove side.
 
Cornell's 6th Goal
3rd period, 16:10  •  Barron 4 (Yates)  •  Cornell 6, Canisius 2
• Cam Donaldson hounded a Griffs defenseman on a neutral-zone forecheck, leading to a turnover. Yates picked up the puck, gained the zone up the middle, and found Barron speeding up the left wing. He swooped around his defender in the circle, then cut across the goal mouth to slide in an easy backhander to cap the scoring.

Up Next:
• Cornell will play the rest of its regular season with 16 consecutive games within ECAC Hockey, starting with home games next weekend against Princeton at 7 p.m. Friday and Quinnipiac at 7 p.m. Saturday.