ITHACA, N.Y. – Mitch Vanderlaan and Tristan Mullin scored their first goals of the season, and the Cornell men's hockey team used a three-goal third period for a 5-1 victory over Princeton on Saturday night at Lynah Rink.
 
Cam Donaldson and Max Andreev had a goal and an assist apiece for 17th-ranked Cornell (5-3, 3-1 ECAC Hockey, 3-0 Ivy League), which effectively bounced back from a disappointment loss the night prior. Matthew Galajda made 19 saves to earn the victory, including a flash of the right pad to improbably thwart Alex Riche's deflection of a point shot to keep the Big Red ahead midway through the second period.
 
"It was similar to last night, but we finished it this time," said Mike Schafer, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Hockey at Cornell. "Mitch scored his first goal, Tristan scored his first goal, and it was great that we came back and did a great job."
 
Mullin's goal pushed Cornell's lead to 3-1 with 8 minutes to play after Kyle Betts' hustle negated an icing call, then his slick backhand pass set up Mullin's shot from the left circle. Cam Donaldson's fourth goal of the season blew the game open about two minutes later before Andreev's 190-foot bank-shot goal into an empty net closed the scoring.
 
It was a particularly satisfying win for a Big Red squad that for a second night in a row was dressing every healthy player it had on its roster. Cornell has been particularly depleted on defense, which still managed to quiet one of the nation's most potent offensive teams and was a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill against a Princeton power play that entered the night converting at better than 40 percent of its opportunities – second-best in the nation.
 
"(Associate head coach) Ben Syer did a great job juggling the bench and keeping those guys ready to go," Schafer added.
 
For the fifth time in its eight games this season, Cornell opened the scoring inside the first seven minutes. This time, it was Vanderlaan on a rebound at the 1:47 mark. Beau Starrett's redirection of Cody Haiskanen's shot later in the frame gave the home side a 2-0 lead.
 
Princeton (3-3-1, 3-2-1, 1-1-1) got its lone strike early in the second period on a four-on-four goal from Josh Teves. But Cornell continued its trend of of finding offensive answers against the Tigers. In its last six games against Princeton, Cornell has 27 goals – an average of 4.5 per game.
 

Notes:

• Of Cornell's 25 goals this season, 16 have been scored by underclassmen.
• Tonight's game pushed the Big Red's total to 10 of man games lost to injury among its top six defensemen (Green 5, Smith 3, Haiskanen 2). Just eight games into this season, that number matches that of the entire 2017-18 season (Smith 5, Green 4, McCrea 1).
• Matt Nuttle continues to lead the team with a plus-8 rating after finishing tied for second in the nation last year in that category (plus-23). Over his upperclassman seasons, he's been on the ice for just six even-strength goals against in 41 games (vs. 37 goals for).
• With his goal in the third period, Donaldson now has points in each of his four career games against Princeton.
 

The Big Red's Lineup:

 
 

How The Goals Were Scored:

Cornell's 1st Goal
1st period, 1:47  •  Vanderlaan 1 (Nuttle, Donaldson)  •  Cornell 1, Princeton 0
• Donaldson started the play by throwing a big hit on the forecheck to gain possession in the Princeton zone. He set up a late-breaking Nuttle on the far side and though he fumbled the puck a bit, he stayed with it to get it toward the goal mouth. From there, Vanderlaan swooped in to slide the rebound under the Ferland.
 
Cornell's 2nd Goal
1st period, 11:02  •  Starrett 2 (Haiskanen, Cairns)  •  Cornell 2, Princeton 0
• With the Big Red entering the Tigers' zone, Chase Brakel had the puck at the bottom of the left circle. He was checked off his feet, but kept possession and made a pass from his knees back to Cairns at the left point. His hard pass across the blue line was quickly snapped toward goal by Haiskanen and tipped in by Starrett near the front of the net.
 
Princeton's 1st Goal
2nd period, 1:32  •  Teves 2 (Kuffner)  •  Cornell 2, Princeton 1
• With the teams playing four-on-four, Princeton gained the Cornell zone only to have the play broken up. But the Kuffner stayed with the play and got the puck back in the high slot. He then slipped a pass to Teves breaking into the slot, and he scooped a backhand over Galajda's glove.
 
Cornell's 3rd Goal
3rd period, 12:00  •  Mullin 1 (Betts, Bauld)  •  Cornell 3, Princeton 1
• Betts hustled to negate a would-be icing call in the left corner to gain possession, then passed back to Bauld up the wall. Outnumbered on the wall with three Tigers in pursuit, a pair of quick backhand passes from Bauld and Betts set up an open Mullin in the left circle. He gathered the puck and wristed a shot inside the near post and into the roof of the net past Ferland.
 
Cornell's 4th Goal
3rd period, 14:04  •  Donaldson 4 (Andreev, Kaldis)  •  Cornell 4, Princeton 1
• Kaldis held the offensive blue line and slid the puck down into the left corner. From there, Andreev drew a pair of defenders along the wall before slipping a blind backhand back to a wide-open Donaldson. He immediately darted toward goal, faking a shot to draw Ferland to the ice before continuing into the low slot for a forehand finish inside the far post.
 
Cornell's 5th Goal
3rd period, 18:11  •  Andreev 2 (Nuttle) (en)  •  Cornell 5, Princeton 1
• With Princeton pulling Ferland in favor of an extra attacker, Nuttle won a puck battle before Andreev gained control behind the goal line near the left corner. He ripped the puck of the near glass just passed Teves stick at the blue line – but he also played his angle perfectly to have the puck slither the length of the ice and into the empty net.
 

Up Next:

• The Big Red turns its attention to The World's Most Famous Arena, where it takes on rival Harvard at The Frozen Apple next Saturday at famed Madison Square Garden in New York.