Box Score ITHACA, N.Y. — Junior forward Morgan Barron scored three times in less than 23 minutes before later adding an assist, and the Cornell men's hockey team nailed down a 6-2 victory over Yale on Saturday night at Lynah Rink.
 
Cornell was challenged by Mike Schafer '86, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Hockey, to come out with a stronger start than it had in its first three games of the season. The team answered the call in spades.
 
Sophomore defenseman Joe Leahy made the most of his first game of the season, assisting on Barron's first goal just 3:10 into the game before sliding in his own goal just over two minutes later to give fourth-ranked Cornell (4-0, 2-0 ECAC Hockey, 2-0 Ivy League) a two-goal lead before Yale (1-3, 1-3, 1-2) even had its first shot on goal.
 
"We talked about it before the game that they were going to come out pissed off about losing last night (at Colgate)," Barron said. "So we wanted to get that first five minutes under our belts."
 
The Big Red did more than just that – it took a stranglehold on the game. Barron's second goal came late in the first to extend the lead to three, then he struck with a laser on the rush during an early-second-period power play to push the lead to 4-0.
 
"He's a flat-out beast when he wins puck battles and the way he can shoot the puck … he has a pro shot," Schafer said. "When he combines that with determination and moving his feet like he did tonight, he can be almost unstoppable."
 
Sophomore forward Max Andreev scored one of Cornell's two power-play goals and added two assists for his first three-point night in the collegiate ranks. Junior goaltender Matthew Galajda made 13 of his 24 saves in the third period to earn his fourth straight victory.
 
Freshman forward Zach Tupker's first collegiate goal came on a brekaway early in the third period, giving Cornell its sixth goal.
 
"He just blew by that (defenseman) and made something out of nothing," Leahy said.

The Big Red's Lineup

How The Goals Were Scored

Cornell's 1st Goal
1st period, 3:10  •  Barron 3 (Stienburg, Leahy)  •  Cornell 1, Yale 0
•  Leahy took a shot from the left point that went wide to the short side, sending the puck bounding into the right corner. A bit of a scrum ensued near the half wall, with Stienburg eventually digging it out from beneath skates before slipping it back up the half wall. That's where Barron picked it up and skated toward the middle before ripping a shot to the short side over Kaczperski's glove.
 
Cornell's 2nd Goal
1st period, 5:12  •  Leahy 1 (Malinski, Malone)  •  Cornell 2, Yale 0
•  In what will likely be one of the prettiest passing plays for a Cornell goal this season, Malone started the play with a great look from the outside left hash mark to find Malinski open at the far point. Malinski was open for a quality opportunity, but instead dished it back against the grain of the play to find Leahy coming out of the left corner. Leahy was able to shovel in a backhand as he neared the crease.
 
Cornell's 3rd Goal
1st period, 13:01  •  Barron 4 (Andreev, Green)  •  Cornell 3, Yale 0
•  Green handed off the Andreev along the right half wall, then Andreev began to wheel around by the net with a step on his defender. Kaczperski attempted a sweeping stick check to thwart the wraparound, but he missed the puck. Andreev was able to get a backhand shot that went off the goaltender's left foot before Barron cleaned up the rebound from the crease.
 
Cornell's 4th Goal
2nd period, 2:31 (pp)  •  Barron 5 (Andreev, Kaldis)  •  Cornell 4, Yale 0
•  With Yale employing an aggressive forecheck on the penalty kill, Kaldis slipped a pass into the neutral zone to send the Big Red away on a four-on-two rush. Andreev gained the blue line and guided the puck over to Barron on the left wing. He took the space ahead of him before snapping a bullet over Kaczperski's shoulder.
 
Yale's 1st Goal
2nd period, 5:20  •  Kemp 1 (Lillibridge, Donhauser)  •  Cornell 4, Yale 1
•  As a power play was expiring, the Bulldogs worked the puck up from the left wall from one point to the other. Kemp got off a quick shot from the right side the deflected off a Cornell defender's skate and through Galajda's legs.
 
Cornell's 5th Goal
2nd period, 7:57 (pp)  •  Andreev 2 (Malinski, Barron)  •  Cornell 5, Yale 1
•  At the start of a power play, Andreev won a faceoff to Kaczperski's left with the help of his wingers. Andreev sent the puck back to Malinski at the right point. As he drifted toward center, Andreev positioned himself in the high slot for a tip that went over Kaczperski's glove.
 
Cornell's 6th Goal
3rd period, 3:36  •  Z. Tupker 1 (Green)  •  Cornell 6, Yale 1
•  The Big Red gained control of the puck behind its own net with Green sending the puck up around the right wall. Stienburg was tied up with a Yale player with the puck sliding beneath them and into space in the neutral zone. That's where Tupker picked it up as he blew by the last Yale defender for a breakaway, which he finished with a shot by the blocker of Nicholas McNab.
 
Yale's 2nd Goal
3rd period, 19:12.9  •  D'Orsi 1 (St. Ivany, Foley)  •  Cornell 6, Yale 2
•  With time winding down, St. Ivany worked the puck from the right corner up to D'Orsi at the right point. He lined up a shot from near the top of the circle that sailed past five players and a screened Galajda, high into the short side of the net.

Up Next

•  Cornell starts its ECAC Hockey travels in the same place it concluded them last year — in the North Country. The Big Red takes on Clarkson in a rematch of last year's ECAC Hockey championship game at 7 p.m. Friday, then wraps up the trip with a 7 p.m. Saturday tilt against St. Lawrence at SUNY Canton.