ITHACA, N.Y. – Freshman Dalton Bancroft's power-play goal 6:26 into the third period proved to be the difference in a 3-2 victory for the No. 16-ranked Cornell men's hockey team over Princeton in front of a sold-out Lynah Rink on Saturday night.

Bancroft, who also had an assist on Cornell's first goal, was joined by junior forward Gabriel Seger and fellow freshman forward Sean Donaldson in the scoring column. Senior defenseman Sam Malinski assisted on all three goals for Cornell (12-6-1, 9-3-0 ECAC).

Sophomore goaltender Ian Shane stopped 28 of 30 shots he faced on the night, improving to 11-5-1 on the year.

"We just found a way to win tonight," said Mike Schafer, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Hockey. "The power play carried the day for us. We didn't win as many battles, so that's a credit to [Princeton]. They played hard, which they always do, and I thought we did enough to get the job done tonight."

Noah de la Durantaye recorded assists on the pair of Princeton's goals in the loss, and Ethan Pearson made 23 saves between the pipes for the Tigers (10-11-0, 6-9-0 ECAC).

How It Happened

Capitalizing on a Princeton holding penalty, Seger opened the scoring by redirecting a shot from the point by Malinski at the 13:37 mark of the opening period. Bancroft also earned an assist on the opening marker.

With the assist, Malinski extended his point streak to six games, which is the longest by a Big Red blueliner since Alex Green early on in the 2019-20 season.

Princeton's Pito Walton evened the game up with less than two minutes left in the period when he deposited his own rebound past Shane.

Cornell regained the lead just past the 15-minute mark when Donaldson wristed a shot from the right faceoff dot that beat Pearson on his short side.

Malinski earned his second assist on the night on Donaldson's tally, giving him 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) during his six-game point streak.

Princeton countered with a power-play goal of its own over two minutes after Donaldson. Liam Gorman tipped in a shot from his brother, Brendan, to even the game at 2-all.

Bancroft gave Cornell its third lead of the night when he one-timed a pass from Malinski past Pearson from the left faceoff circle.

The Big Red staved off a late push by the Tigers after pulling its goaltender with 1:45 remaining. Despite the extra-man advantage, Cornell did not allow a shot on goal, as the pair of attempts went wide or were blocked.

Game Notes

• Saturday was the 160th all-time meeting between the two Ancient Eight rivals, dating back to the first meeting which occurred in March 1901. Cornell improved to 99-53-8 over Princeton and is 51-14-3 all-time at Lynah Rink. The win also moves the Big Red to 18-3-0 over its 21 games against the Tigers.

• Cornell's three power-play goals are the most by the program since also scoring three against Clarkson in the 2019-20 regular-season finale.

• Following his three-assist night – tying his career high – Malinski has nine assists in six career games against Princeton.

• With his first-period goal, Seger recorded his fifth career marker against Princeton. In his nine appearances against the Tigers, the native of Uppsala, Sweden, has eight points.

Vote for Shane

Sophomore goaltender Ian Shane was named a nominee for the 2023 Hobey Baker Memorial Award on Thursday.

To vote for Shane, fans are asked to log onto hobeybaker.com/vote.

Voting will continue until midnight on Sunday, March 5.

Looking Ahead

Cornell will return to the road next weekend when the Big Red takes on a pair of Ivy League opponents in Dartmouth and Harvard. Each game is slated for 7 p.m. puck drops with action being broadcast on ESPN+, as well as WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM).