NEW YORK — Junior goaltender
Ian Shane made a season-high 35 saves to guide the No. 16-ranked Cornell men's hockey team to a 2-1 victory over No. 5-ranked Boston University before 15,289 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, retaining the Kelley-Harkness Cup as the Big Red posted its fourth consecutive victory over the Terriers in the biennial Red Hot Hockey contest.
Junior
Ondrej Psenicka — who netted the game-winning goal — and freshman forward
Ryan Walsh found the back of the net for Cornell (5-3-1, 2-3-0 ECAC Hockey), who snapped its four-game winless streak.
Doug Grimes netted his first collegiate goal for the Terriers, while Mathieu Caron made 17 saves in the setback for Boston University (9-4-1, 5-1-1 Hockey East), who saw its five-game win streak come to a close.
The Terriers' top two leading scorers, freshman forward Macklin Celebrini and sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson, were both held scoreless on Saturday. It marked the second time this season in which they were both held off the scoreboard in the same game, also having been done on Oct. 20 by Notre Dame.
Both teams were held off the scoreboard in the opening 20 minutes, highlighted by Shane making 10 first-period stops. The best save came on a short-handed breakaway attempt by Sam Stevens with under a minute to play.
Cornell and Boston University swapped scoring chances in the second period before Grimes potted his first collegiate tally on a failed clearing attempt by the Big Red in its defensive zone. Shane LaChance intercepted the clearing attempt on the left half-wall.
Grimes' goal snapped Shane's shutout streak at Madison Square Garden at 94:13, as Shane saved the first 44 shots he faced at the venue, dating back to last season's 6-0 victory over then-No. 6-ranked UConn.
Walsh snapped Cornell's streak of unsuccessful power plays at 18 when he lasered a wrist shot from the middle of the slot past Caron to even the game just shy of four minutes into the third period. Freshman defenseman
Ben Robertson and junior blueliner
Tim Rego were credited with helpers on the goal.
Psenicka gave the Big Red its first lead of the night four and a half minutes later, capitalizing on a fantastic spinning pass from freshman forward
Jonathan Castagna. Sophomore forward
Nick DeSantis recorded the secondary assist on the goal, which snapped his six-game streak without a point.
Early on Boston University's third power play of the night, Shane spun clockwise to bat a loose puck out of his crease and prevent another Terriers scoring chance.
Shane would stop the next seven shots to preserve the victory for the Big Red.
POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM MIKE SCHAFER '86, THE JAY R. BLOOM '77 HEAD COACH OF CORNELL MEN'S ICE HOCKEY
GAME NOTES
• Cornell and Boston University met for the 52nd time on Saturday night. The Big Red's lead in the series over the Terriers increased to 27-22-3 with the victory while snapping its modest two-game losing streak to the Terriers.
• With the win, Cornell is now 9-1-1 over its last 11 games against opponents ranked in the top five of the USCHO.com poll. The Big Red has conceded just five goals over its previous seven games against top-five opponents.
Last Seven Games Against Top-5 Opponents
Jan. 8, 2022 — #5 North Dakota — W, 3-1
Jan. 22, 2022 — vs. #1 Quinnipiac — W, 2-1 (OT)
Feb. 25, 2022 — at #5 Quinnipiac — W, 1-0
Jan. 20, 2023 — vs. #1 Quinnipiac — W, 4-0
March 23, 2023 — vs. #4 Denver — W, 2-0
March 25, 2023 — vs. #5 Boston University — L, 1-2
Nov. 25, 2023 — vs. #5 Boston University — W, 2-1
• Saturday's contest marked the 28th Big Red game played at Madison Square Garden and the 20th at the current location. The Big Red is now 18-8-2 all-time at MSG, which includes a 7-1-1 mark over its last nine at the venue.
• Walsh's goal marked the seventh time in the last eight games at Madison Square Garden in which a freshman has scored a goal. He joins the likes of Anthony Angello (2015), Noah Bauld (2016), Tristan Mullin (2017), Liam Motley (2018), Kyler Kovich and Ondrej Psenicka (2021), and Dalton Bancroft (2022).
Freshmen to Score at MSG
Last Eight Games
Anthony Angello (2015 — vs. Boston University)
Noah Bauld (2016 — vs. New Hampshire)
Tristan Mullin (2017 — vs. Boston University)
Liam Motley (2018 — vs. Harvard)
Kyler Kovich (2021 — vs. Boston University)
Ondrej Psenicka (2021 — vs. Boston University)
Dalton Bancroft (2022 — vs. UConn)
Ryan Walsh (2023 — vs. Boston University)
• Psenicka became the fourth Cornell player to register a goal in three consecutive games at Madison Square Garden, joining Brian Campbell (4 games from 1975-76), John Hughes (3 games from 1967-69), and Trevor Yates (3 games from 2015-17).
Consecutive Games with a Goal at MSG
Cornell Program History
Brian Campbell (1975-76) — 4 games (5 goals)
John Hughes (1967-69) — 3 games (5 goals)
Trevor Yates (2015-17) — 3 games (3 goals)
Ondrej Psenicka (2021-23) — 3 games (3 goals)
• Seger concluded the night by going 20-of-30 at the faceoff circle, winning 66.7 percent of his draws. In draws against Celebrini, one of the highest-rated prospects in the upcoming 2024 NHL Draft, Seger went a perfect 9-of-9 at the dot.
UP NEXT
Cornell will return to Central New York to square off against its geographic rival, Colgate, in its annual home-and-home series next weekend. The series will begin at the Class of 1965 Arena in Hamilton on Friday, Dec. 1, before shifting to Lynah Rink the following night. Both contests are scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+ and over the airwaves on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM, whcuradio.com).
