HAMILTON, N.Y. – Freshman goaltender Matthew Galajda made 23 saves to post back-to-back shutouts this weekend, highlighting the Cornell men's hockey team's 2-0 win over Colgate on Saturday night at Class of 1965 Arena.
 
Freshman forwards Cam Donaldson and Kyle Betts scored the goals for Cornell (16-2-1, 10-1-1 ECAC Hockey), which moved into a tie for first place in the league following Dartmouth's upset of Clarkson earlier in the evening. The Big Red entered the weekend ranked fourth in the nation in both major polls.
 
Galajda's shutout was his fifth in just 16 collegiate starts, moving him into a tie with All-American David McKee for the program record for shutouts from a freshman. By stopping all 47 Colgate shots on the weekend, he posted Cornell's first consecutive shutouts since Nov. 20-21, 2015 when Mitch Gillam '17 blanked Yale and Brown.
 
Playing in front of a record crowd in its two-year-old building, 19th-ranked Colgate (10-10-4, 6-5-1) came out the aggressor and threatened a few times in the early going. The home side also drew the game's first power play and buzzed around with plenty of possession, but the Big Red stood tall with a couple saves from Galajda and big shot blocks from junior forward Mitch Vanderlaan and junior defenseman Matt Nuttle. Cornell is now perfect on its last 10 penalty kills.
 
After about the midway point of the frame, Cornell dominated territorially – but couldn't break through. Among the better chances was when freshman forward Morgan Barron drove wide on his defender on a clear one-on-one, then cut back across the crease only to be thwarted by one of Colton Point's 12 saves in the stanza.
 
The Raiders started to gain momentum in the second period, and they owned the game's best scoring chance at the 7:08 mark as Mike Panowyk skated on a clean breakaway from center ice – but his little move to set up a quick shot on the forehand was kicked away by Galajda's right skate. Sophomore defenseman Yanni Kaldis then made a terrific diving play to spoil a three-on-one about two minutes before Donaldson's goal.
 
After the Big Red built its lead, it hung on through a frenzied finish with Colgate pulling Point in favor of an extra attacker. He finished the game with 33 saves.
 
Cornell stretched its unbeaten streak to eight games (7-0-1), which is second-longest in the nation (Notre Dame, 16).

The Big Red's Lineup:

How The Goals Were Scored:
Cornell's 1st Goal
2nd period, 16:34  •  Donaldson 2 (unassisted)  •  Cornell 1, Colgate 0  
•  The Big Red worked the puck out of its zone up the left wing, where a Colgate defenseman briefly gained control near his blue line – but he coughed it up just enough to allow Donaldson to poke it free and storm into zone unimpeded. As he entered the inside of the left circle, Donaldson picked his spot to the near post and zipped a shot under Point's blocker.
 
Cornell's 2nd Goal
3rd period, 10:41  •  Betts 5 (Vanderlaan, McCrea)  •  Cornell 2, Colgate 0  
•  McCrea sent a pass up the right side toward a teammate locked up with a Raiders defender in the neutral zone, but the puck slid all the way through with icing negated. Vanderlaan was first to collect in the left corner, then the Big Red worked the puck along the back boards. Betts stepped out from Point's left and wrapped a forehand through the goalie's legs.
 
Up Next:
• Cornell continues its travels next weekned with a pair of ECAC Hockey and Ivy League contests Friday at Harvard and Saturday at Dartmouth.