ITHACA, N.Y. — Scoring three goals in the final three minutes of a game is usually enough for a hockey team to win, but that wasn't the case for the Cornell men's team on Friday night. Princeton built a three-goal lead by the midway point of the second period, then held off a late surge from the Big Red to escape Lynah Rink with a 5-4 victory. It was Cornell's first loss at home since March 15, 2019.

Junior forward Ben Berard had a goal and an assist in his return to the lineup after a four-game absence, and junior defenseman Sam Malinski had three assists. Freshman goaltender Ian Shane made 18 saves, taking his first collegiate loss.

Cornell (12-4-1, 7-2-1 ECAC Hockey) faced an early deficit after a strange collection of bounces set up Joe Berg for an unassisted goal from the slot 10 minutes, 8 seconds into the game. Adam Robbins scored less than four minutes later to catalyze a Princeton (4-10-1, 3-5-0) squad that entered the game on an eight-game losing streak.

The Big Red showed signs of turning the tide leading to a pivotal moment in the second period. Princeton's Spencer Kersten converted from the goal mouth at the 7:13 mark to inflate the visitors' lead to 3-0, but Cornell challenged a check from about 90 seconds early that it felt could warrant a major penalty. The video review didn't overturn the call on the ice and allowed the goal to stand — but the series of events seemed to spark the Big Red. From there, it was a race against the clock.

Sophomore forward Kyle Penney got Cornell on the board with 6:27 left in the second period on a redirection of a Malinski point shot, then the Big Red drew a couple penalties. Nothing would come of those opportunities, though, and the 3-1 score persisted until a flurry of five goals in the game's final three minutes.

Junior forward Jack Malone scored with 2:57 left to cut the Big Red's deficit to one, but Kersten's second of the night 62 seconds later made it 4-2. That appeared to be the dagger, until junior defenseman Travis Mitchell scored an extra-attacker goal with 49.7 seconds to play. Cornell kept Shane on the bench in favor of an extra attacker, and Ian Murphy's 150-foot clearance with 24.1 seconds left found the empty net.

Again, Cornell would rally. On a six-on-four, senior forward Kyle Betts cleanly won a faceoff to the right of Princeton goaltender Jeremie Forget, then Malinski slid a quick pass across the blue line for a Berard one-timer that beat Forget over the shoulder with 10.5 seconds to play. It proved to be the last strike of the night.

The Big Red returns to Lynah at 7 p.m. Saturday, when it hosts top-ranked Quinnipiac.