ITHACA, N.Y. — The No. 8-ranked Cornell men's hockey team showcased its scoring prowess in front of a sold-out crowd of 4,267 at Lynah Rink on Saturday night, defeating the University of Toronto, 6-2, in its lone exhibition of the 2024-25 campaign.

Sophomore defenseman Ben Robertson paced the Big Red offense behind a three-point effort, all of which came from assists. Sophomore forwards Ryan Walsh and Jonathan Castagna each tallied two goals for the Big Red. Senior forwards Sullivan Mack and Kyle Penney also lit the lamp for Cornell. Senior defenseman Tim Rego rounded out the Big Red quartet of players to register multi-points, assisting on two of Cornell's three first-period markers.

Goaltending duties for Cornell were split between senior Ian Shane, junior Remington Keopple, and freshman Justin Katz. Shane opened the night by making three first-period stops, while Keopple stopped three of four Toronto shot attempts in the middle stanza. Katz made a team-high seven saves on eight shots during his time in goal in the third period.

Toronto forward Ben Woodhouse scored both goals for the Varsity Blues, with the latter being a short-handed marker. Sebastian Resar made 32 saves over 51-plus minutes in goal before being assessed a game misconduct for kicking. Jordan Fairlie stopped four of five shots in his eight minutes of relief.

Mack opened the scoring with a power-play goal before Penney and Walsh chipped in goals two minutes apart to give Cornell a 3-0 lead.

Castagna potted the first of his two goals on the night with a power-play marker 2:12 into the second period during a Big Red five-minute power play.

Woodhouse trimmed Cornell's lead to 4-1 past the halfway point of the second period, capitalizing on a Big Red neutral zone turnover.

Cornell scored two more goals to increase its lead to 6-1 as Walsh notched the Big Red's third power-play goal of the night before Castagna split Toronto's defense with a highlight-reel goal while both teams played with four men.

Another Cornell turnover led to Woodhouse's second goal, which rounded out the scoring on the night.

GAME NOTES
• Saturday was the 13th all-time meeting between Cornell and Toronto. Cornell improved to 8-4-1 against the Varsity Blues, registering its first victory over the Canadian-based university since logging a 5-2 triumph on Nov. 26, 1988, which was Toronto's last time playing at Lynah Rink.

• Cornell improved its record over Toronto on home ice to 6-0-1, all of which have come at Lynah Rink. All six of Cornell's home victories against the Varsity Blues have featured the Big Red scoring at least five goals. Across the seven all-time contests at Lynah Rink, the Big Red has averaged 6.29 goals per home game against Toronto.

• The Big Red increased its win streak in exhibition contests to 11 games, outscoring its opponents during that stretch 61-14. Cornell's unbeaten streak in exhibition games was also increased to 27 games (25-0-2), which includes outscoring the opposition by 101 goals (139-38).

• Cornell has scored at least four goals in each of its last seven exhibitions, averaging 5.57 goals per game. The Big Red has also tallied at least four markers in 21 of its last 29 exhibitions, dating back to the 2008-09 season (5.10 goals per game).

UP NEXT
Cornell will begin its 2024-25 regular-season slate next weekend when it welcomes No. 7-ranked North Dakota to Lynah Rink for a two-game series that begins Friday, Nov. 1. Puck drop for both contests between the Fighting Hawks and Big Red is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The series between Cornell and North Dakota is even at 5-all through the first 10 meetings between two of college hockey's legendary hockey programs, dating back to the first meeting which occurred in the national semifinals of the 1967 NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Championship in Syracuse, N.Y., on March 16, 1967. Cornell defeated Boston University en route to its first-ever national championship title.

After losing four of the first five meetings to North Dakota, Cornell has turned the tide and won four of the last five meetings, three of which came on the Fighting Hawks' home ice.

North Dakota will make its second-ever trip to Lynah Rink next weekend. The only other instance was in the middle of the 2009-10 season (Jan. 22 and 23, 2010).