By Brandon Thomas
Cornell Athletic Communications
 
ITHACA, N.Y. — It was not only a moment the Cornell men's hockey team sorely needed on Saturday night, it was a moment that was nearly four years in the making.
 
Senior forward Liam Motley ignited the crowd with his first goal in front of the Lynah Faithful and in the process drew a penalty that led to another goal 35 seconds later, spurring the Big Red past a plucky Yale side to the tune of a 3-0 victory. Senior Nate McDonald made 14 saves for his first shutout in just his fourth collegiate start.
 
"Kids like Motley, and Nate McDonald, and Zach Bramwell – guys that haven't gotten a lot of ice time in their first few years here, but they're such an important part of our program," said Mike Schafer '86, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Hockey at Cornell. "To persevere and be great teammates and (have) great attitudes. Guys like that are invaluable, as far as culture is concerned. It's not just the guys that play on a regular basis – it's the guys that are battling to get in and get ice time."
  
Freshman forward Ondrej Psenicka and junior defenseman Travis Mitchell capped the scoring for the Big Red, with senior forward Kyle Betts drawing assists on both tallies. Junior forward Matt Stienburg also extended his scoring streak to seven games with an assist on Motley's goal, which broke 26 minutes of scoreless hockey. It all added up to Cornell (7-1, 5-1 ECAC Hockey, 3-1 Ivy League) wrapping up the 2021 home portion of its schedule with its fifth straight victory.

The key play started on a faceoff to the left of Yale (0-6, 0-5, 0-3) goaltender Luke Pearson. The Big Red executed a set play that saw senior forward Max Andreev win the puck back for Stienburg to poke forward into the path of Motley, cutting around the pile of players and toward goal from the outside of the circle. Motley eluded a defender sliding across the slot, then waited for Pearson to hit the ice before wristing a shot into the wide side of the net.
 
"This in-and-out (of the lineup) stuff, it happens, but that's made me a lot better player so far," said Motley, who played in just five games two years ago before losing the 2020-21 season to the COVID-19 pandemic. "I experienced that a lot my sophomore year as well. That's something that's really pushed me to become a better player."
 
The excitement of scoring in front of his home fans for the first time was easy to see when he sprang up from being tripped to the ice in one smooth motion so that he could engage student fans in Section D. The Big Red needed a goal of any kind – but to get one that provided such a spark was a bonus.
 
"He's such a character guy for us. Whether he's in the lineup for us or not, he just brings unbelievable energy," freshman defenseman Hank Kempf said. "He's one of the funniest guys on our team, and he just brings that juice for us whenever. To see a guy like that, a senior, to get a goal like that, it just meant so much for our team and was a catalyst for that turnaround."
 
And though Motley doesn't get any quantitative credit for the Big Red's second goal on the game's next shift, it was ultimately created by the poised play for the goal that drew a tripping penalty in the process. Psenicka converted, redirecting a point shot by Mitchell past Pearson to quickly turn an anxious scoreless affair into a two-goal cushion for the hosts.

The power play delivered again early in the third period in similar fashion – only this time, Mitchell's snapper toward Psenicka's post-up in the slot sailed past everyone and into the net for his second goal of the season.
 
"(That power-play) group just came out and kept it really simple," Schafer said. "Both times, (they were) looking down the middle for Ondrej in front of the net and just getting pucks down to the net. Ondrej's a big screen down there, so it's hard for the goaltender to see around to find it."
 
McDonald took care of the rest. While his 14-save effort doesn't stand out numerically, he made the key saves when necessary. He shrugged off a Briggs Gammill backhand with 5:49 to play in the first period after a Big Red turnover at its own blue line, then he slid across to his left to stop a one-timed shot near the top of the goal mouth by Justin Pearson just a couple minutes after Psenicka's goal.
 
"We came into the game and asked him to control his rebounds, which I thought he did a lot better job of tonight, and I think he was actually a little bit more composed tonight," Schafer said.
 
With the victory, Cornell moves into solo possession of first place in ECAC Hockey with 14 points through six games. The Big Red makes a sojourn out of conference play in its next action, taking ot famed Madison Square Garden for the eighth rendition of Red Hot Hockey at 8 p.m. Saturday against Boston University.