By Brandon Thomas
Cornell Athletic Communications
 
ITHACA, N.Y. – It was just like old times at Lynah Rink on Saturday night.
 
The Cornell men's hockey team got off to a quick start with a pair of goals inside three minutes, and junior forward Matt Stienburg added two goals of his own to help power the Big Red to a 5-0 exhibition victory over Princeton.
 
Sure, it was just a limited-capacity and mask-donning crowd. Sure, it was just a dress rehearsal. And, sure, roughly half of the Big Red's roster has turned over since it last engaged in intercollegiate competition after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. But Saturday's game was more than just an exercise in catharsis – it was also a return to a resounding victory befitting of a program that was ranked atop the national polls when it was last in competition.
 
Last the masses saw the Big Red, then-freshman Ben Berard was capping a hat trick against Clarkson with 9.4 seconds remaining in the 2019-20 regular season's final game. On Saturday, it took all of 18 seconds for now-junior Berard to strike again, cashing in a rebound after freshman defenseman Hank Kempf's shot from the point was tipped in the low slot by fifth-year forward Brenden Locke.
 
Another familiar face struck at the 2:54 mark when fifth-year forward Kyle Betts converted a rebound after yeoman's work along the end wall from senior forward Liam Motley. Cornell's dominating start ultimately resulted in a 16-2 advantage in shots on goal through the first period.
 
The Big Red's two second-period goals both came on the power play. Stienburg's first strike came after a net-front scrum following a pair of chances from senior forward Max Andreev, then freshman forward Justin Ertel shoveled a backhand into the net from a sharp angle on a rebound created by junior forward Jack Malone's deft redirection of a point shot from fifth-year defenseman Cody Haiskanen.
 
Stienburg then capped the scoring 48 seconds into the third period after creating a turnover on the forecheck, tucking in a wraparound by the right skate of Princeton goaltender Aidan Porter.
 
Cornell deployed each of its three goaltenders for one period, resulting in a combined 14-save shutout for the group. Freshman Joe Howe accounted for half of those stops in the third period.
 
The teams engaged in more than just the game on Saturday, also incorporating early-afternoon sessions dedicated specifically to special teams play.
 
"It was a day of learning, and I was obviously happy with how we started the game," said Mike Schafer '86, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Hockey. "I was happy with our power play – we didn't do much this morning, but we did a much better job tonight. We made some adjustments. And the penalty killing did a good job – they went 0-for-8 (on the power play). Our goaltenders, the couple power-play chances (Princeton) got, they were there to rise to the challenge and make the saves.
 
"There are still a lot of unknowns, but we (displayed) a lot of good habits here tonight," he added.
 
The Big Red is next in action with its final exhibition game, which comes at 7 p.m. Saturday against the U.S. National Team Development Program's Under-18 team. Tickets for the game go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Monday.

Assistant director of athletic communications Brandon Thomas is in his 11th season as his office's primary contact for the team. He can be reached at brandon@cornell.edu.