ITHACA, N.Y. — The No. 7-ranked Cornell men's hockey team and Dartmouth battled to a 2-2 tie before another sold-out crowd of 4,361 at Lynah Rink on Friday night.
Sophomore Dalton Bancroft and junior defenseman Tim Rego recorded the goals for the Big Red (4-0-1, 2-0-1 ECAC Hockey), who saw its season-opening four-game win streak end.
John Fusco scored both goals for Dartmouth (1-1-3, 1-0-3 ECAC Hockey), who also had a 31-save performance from sophomore goaltender Cooper Black.
"You got to give credit where it's due," said Mike Schafer '86, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Cornell Men's Ice Hockey. "Cooper Black played unbelievable tonight. He's a tough goalie to beat. We had a lot of different scoring chances on him tonight, and I think our guys got frustrated as the game went on. I thought we got away from our game plan against them."
Following a scoreless first period, Cornell opened the scoring 39 seconds into the second frame on a goal by Bancroft. Freshman forward Jonathan Castagna set up Bancroft's tally as he intercepted a Dartmouth pass inside its defensive zone.
Fusco would score the following two goals to give Dartmouth a 2-1 lead with under four minutes to play. The first tally came immediately after a faceoff win by Luke Haymes in the Big Green's offensive zone. Nikita Nikora chipped the puck back to Fusco at the right side of the point and his shot found its way past Cornell goaltender
Ian Shane, who finished the night with 20 saves. Fusco's latter goal came on a goalmouth scramble.
Cornell tied the game at 2-all with 59 seconds left in the middle stanza as freshman defenseman
Ben Robertson found Rego in the low slot at the bottom of the right faceoff circle, setting up Rego's one-timed goal.
Neither team scored in the third period or overtime as Shane stole the show by recording six saves in the extra five-minute segment.
In the shootout, Bancroft beat Black to his low blocker side to ignite the scoring in the one-on-one showdown. Dartmouth's Braiden Dorfman followed Bancroft's tally with his own as he backhanded a shot over Shane's glove. After both teams were held scoreless in the second round, senior forward
Gabriel Seger used a deke to catch Black moving laterally and deposit his attempt between the legs of the Big Green netminder.
Shane stopped Nikora's shot, guiding the Big Red to the coveted extra point in both ECAC Hockey and Ivy League standings.
"The crowd was outstanding tonight," Schafer said. "The students were absolutely phenomenal. Our Lynah Faithful doesn't understand when they're there early, it makes a huge difference."
POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM MIKE SCHAFER '86, THE JAY R. BLOOM '77 HEAD COACH OF CORNELL MEN'S ICE HOCKEY
GAME NOTES
• Cornell and Dartmouth met for the 145th time on Friday night. The Big Red's lead in the all-time series now stands at 87-50-8 and is unbeaten over its last six (4-0-2) and in 11 of the previous 14 meetings with the Big Green (8-3-3).
• Each of the last seven games, eight of the previous nine, and 17 of the prior 25 contests between Cornell and Dartmouth have been decided by one goal or less.
• The Big Red has allowed five goals through its first five games, which is the fewest by the Big Red since allowing four goals in its first five games in 2008-09.
• With his second-period assist, Robertson has begun his collegiate career with points in his first five games, becoming just the second Big Red freshman player since 1975-76 — when first-year players were first eligible to play — to have a five-game point streak to begin his collegiate career, joining current NHLer Morgan Barron, who posted points in his first seven collegiate games in 2017-18.
Longest Season-Opening Point Streak by Cornell Freshman
Since 1975-76, First Year Freshmen Eligible to Play
Morgan Barron (2017-18) — 7 games (3-4—7)
Ben Robertson (2023-24) — 5 games (0-5—5)
• Robertson's classmate Ryan Walsh extended his first collegiate point streak to three games with the secondary assist on Rego's game-tying goal. During his point streak, Walsh has two goals and one assist.
• Cornell limited Dartmouth to one shot on goal in the first period, marking the second time this season that the Big Red have allowed just one shot on goal in a single period, also doing so in the first period of its series finale against Minnesota Duluth two weeks ago.
• The shootout victory marked the Big Red's first time winning a shootout in an ECAC Hockey conference game. It was also the program's first win in a shootout since defeating AIC last season on Dec. 30, 2022.
• After allowing the pair of goals to Fusco, it marked just the second time this season that Cornell has trailed in a game. The Big Red has trailed for just 10:44 out of its 305 minutes played this season (3.5 percent of minutes played).
UP NEXT
Cornell will conclude its two-game homestand on Saturday when it welcomes bitter ECAC Hockey and Ivy League rival Harvard to Lynah Rink. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+ and over the airwaves on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM, whcuradio.com).
Fans attending the Cornell - Harvard game are kindly reminded that there is a zero-tolerance policy regarding fish being brought into Lynah Rink.
Throwing any object onto the ice before, during, or after the game, or any other disruptive behavior, will not be tolerated and will result in automatic ejection from the venue. Cornell has been notified that any disruption in the game caused by items thrown onto the ice will result in a two-minute minor penalty against the Big Red for delaying the game.
Fans are strongly encouraged to arrive early to ensure timely entry to the rink due to inspections at the door.
