ITHACA, N.Y. — Junior forward Cam Donaldson scored once and added an assist ahead of freshman forward Ben Tupker's first collegiate goal, as the Cornell men's hockey team gutted out a 3-1 victory over Northern Michigan on Saturday to win a high-octane non-league series at Lynah Rink.

Junior goaltender Matthew Galajda made 29 saves to earn the victory for Cornell (13-1-3), which entered the weekend ranked first in the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine, though came out of Friday's first game against 17th-ranked Northern Michigan (13-8-3) with a 2-2 tie. Sixteen of Galajda's stops came in a first period that saw the Wildcats firing on all cylinders, but Galajda's efforts had the Big Red even at 1 entering the first intermission. Junior defenseman Alex Green scored Cornell's first goal just 64 seconds into the game.

The Big Red struck early again in the second period, with Donaldson tipping in a shot from junior forward Morgan Barron after a two-on-one rush was thwarted. Cornell then took the only two-goal lead of the entire weekend on Tupker's first strike in just his third collegiate game. One of four changes to Cornell's lineup after Friday's game, Tupker jammed home a rebound created by a shot from freshman defenseman Travis Mitchell that was tipped by freshman forward Matt Stienburg at the top of the crease.

Barron had a pair of assists for Cornell to keep the team lead in scoring, and he was part of penalty-killing unit that was a perfect 7-for-7 on the weekend.

The Big Red, which concludes the non-league portion of its regular season with a 5-0-2 record, shifts back to ECAC Hockey for its final 12 games before the playoffs. That stretch at home next weekend, with Cornell taking on Dartmouth at 7 p.m. Friday and rival Harvard at 7 p.m. Saturday at Lynah Rink.

The Big Red's Lineup:

How The Goals Were Scored:

Cornell's 1st Goal
1st period, 1:04  •  Green 4 (Barron, Donaldson)  •  Cornell 1, Northern Michigan 0
•  After the Big Red won a faceoff in its defensive zone, Locke eventually chipped the puck into the neutral zone along the left wall. A Wildcats defenseman stepped up to try to cut down the play, but Donaldson swooped in and chipped it back to the center of the ice to create a two-on-one. Barron dished off to Green, who entered the right circle before unleashing a shot that sailed just below Kent's blocker.
 
Northern Michigan's 1st Goal
1st period, 14:26  •  Roeder 3 (Van Unen)  •  Cornell 1, Northern Michigan 1
•  The Big Red failed to clear its defensive zone three times, culminating in a pass from a defenseman toward a winger in the slot that didn't connect. That allowed Van Unen to skate into the high slot with it, only to have it touched off his stick by a sprawling Liam Motley. But Roeder followed up the play and one-timed a slap shot that found its way into the net under Galajda's blocker.
 
Cornell's 2nd Goal
2nd period, :48  •  Donaldson 3 (Barron, Locke)  •  Cornell 2, Northern Michigan 1
•  With a puck battle occurring along the wall just inside the Big Red blue line, Locke managed to tie up his defender long enough to allow Barron to poke the puck past a pinching defenseman and speed away on a two-on-one. Barron opted to shoot from the left circle, only to be stopped by Kent – but Barron then whirled a backhand of the rebound back to the top of the crease, where Donaldson was able to redirect it through Kent's legs.
 
Cornell's 3rd Goal
3rd period, 6:48  •  B. Tupker 1 (Stienburg, Mitchell)  •  Cornell 3, Northern Michigan 1
•  A Widlcats defenseman attempted a pass from his own zone that hit a forechecking Stienburg and bounced into the left corner of the NMU zone. Stienburg and Tupker were able to dig the puck free and send it back up the wall to the point. That's where Mitchell quickly sent the puck toward goal. Stienburg tipped the original shot – which was saved by Kent – but Tupker was wide open to shovel the rebound under the crossbar.