MANCHESTER, N.H. — First-period goals by junior forward Jack O'Leary and senior forward Ben Berard, and a 27-save shutout by sophomore goaltender Ian Shane, helped lead the No. 12-ranked and No. 4-seeded Cornell men's hockey team to a 2-0 victory over the No. 4 overall seed and No. 4-ranked Denver at SNHU Arena on Thursday evening.

O'Leary added an assist on Berard's marker, while senior forwards Matt Stienburg and Max Andreev also had helpers for the Big Red (21-10-2).

"Our guys, going into it, had a ton of respect for them, but didn't fear them," said Mike Schafer '86, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Ice Hockey. "I think that's important in a big game like this against a really good hockey team. I commend our guys to come out tonight, and on a big stage, play the kind of hockey that we know we're capable of, and we've been playing all year long. I'm very proud of our players."

The victory against the reigning national champions ensures Cornell's spot in the final of the Manchester Regional where it will go up against the No. 2 seed and No. 5-ranked Boston University on Saturday at 4 p.m. with a spot in the Frozen Four on the line. 

Cornell improved to 9-3 all-time in matchups in the regional semifinal as both teams registered 27 shots in the contest.

Denver's senior netminder Magnus Chrona made 25 saves in the setback for the Pioneers (30-10-0).
 

How It Happened

Cornell dominated offensively early, registering six of the game's first seven shots. The Big Red's continual offensive zone time allowed O'Leary to score 2:48 into the contest. O'Leary backhanded a shot on the door step of the crease thanks to an aggressive Big Red forecheck.

Berard came out of the penalty box following a tripping penalty, and later capitalized on a loose puck near the right post of Denver's goal to give the Big Red a two-goal lead just past the halfway point of the period. The marker increased Berard's team lead in goals to 11.

Both teams had a chance at converting on a five-minute power play in the second period, but neither team was able to find the back of the net.

Cornell stifled Denver's offense as it took until the 12:59 mark of the period to record its first shot of the period. The Pioneers ended up not recording a shot on goal in nearly 14 minutes against Shane.

"They're a dangerous team. Those guys can turn a 2-0 game to 2-2 pretty quickly, so you have to respect them and respect that they're going to push," Shane said. "They're national champions, they're not going to go away quietly. We knew that going into the second and third period that they're going to really give us their best game."

Denver had a grade-A scoring chance to trim its deficit in half, but Shane made a cross-crease save on a one-timer by Carter Mazur.

Both goaltenders were busy in the third period, as there were a combined 26 shot attempts but neither team managed to score.

Shane, who made 16 of his 27 saves in the third period, made a couple of stops while Denver had its goalie pulled to preserve his fifth shutout of the season and the eighth of his collegiate career.

Three of Shane's four shutouts this season have come against teams ranked in the top 10, becoming the lone Division I netminder to accomplish the feat. Wisconsin's Jared Moe and St. Cloud State's Jaxon Castor are the only other goaltenders with multiple shutouts of top 10 teams this season.

Game Notes

• Cornell and Denver met for the 13th time in program history on Thursday evening, and was the fifth time the two programs met in the NCAA Tournament.

• With the victory, the Big Red is now 6-7 all-time against the Pioneers and have won its last two NCAA Tournament games against Denver.

• The Big Red became the No. 4 seed to win a regional semifinal game in Manchester, joining Miami (Ohio) in 2007, New Hampshire in 2011, and Notre Dame in 2017.

• With O'Leary's goal, Cornell improved to 19-3-1 when netting the game's first goal this season, and is 93-15-7 over the last five seasons.

• After take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, Cornell now has a 15-2-1 mark this year when lead after the first 20 minutes of play.

• Cornell killed off both of Denver's power plays, increasing the Big Red's streak of consecutive kills to 17.

• Freshman forward Nick DeSantis was awarded a penalty shot in the third period, but his shot was stopped by Chrona. It was the first time Cornell was stopped on a penalty shot since Trevor Yates against Yale on Feb. 11, 2017. It was the first penalty shot for the Big Red in an NCAA Tournament game since Locke Jillson was stopped by Michigan's Shawn Hunwick, which occurred 11 years to the day.

• It was Cornell's second penalty shot of the season, marking the first time two penalty shots were taken by the Big Red in a season since 2006-07. Tony Romano was stopped by Yale's Alec Richards on Jan. 19, 2007, and Blake Gallagher was unsuccessful against St. Lawrence's Alex Petizian on Feb. 3, 2007.

Looking Ahead

Cornell will face the No. 2 seed and No. 5-ranked Boston University in the Manchester Regional final on Saturday at 4 p.m. Game action will be broadcast on ESPNU, ESPN+, and TSN+. The radio broadcast will be carried on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM) with Jason Weinstein and Tony Eisenhut '88 on the call.