ITHACA, N.Y. — First-period goals scored by junior forward
Nick DeSantis, sophomore forward
Tyler Catalano, and freshman defenseman
Nicholas Wolfenberg proved to be enough for the No. 9-ranked Cornell men's hockey team as it defeated No. 6-ranked North Dakota, 4-1, before a sold-out crowd of 4,267 at Lynah Rink on Friday night.
Senior goaltender
Ian Shane made 23 saves in goal for the Big Red in its season opener, logging his 50th career victory to become just the seventh Cornell netminder to accomplish the feat.
Dylan James potted the lone tally on the night for the visiting Fighting Hawks (3-3-0), who received a 16-save performance from Hobie Hequist, who replaced starter T.J. Semptimphelter after he allowed three goals on four shots over the first 12:32 of action.
"We did some good things and did some bad things," said
Mike Schafer '86, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Cornell Men's Ice Hockey. "I thought we lost our physicality halfway through the game and didn't finish our checks. You give [North Dakota] time and space, they're going to make plays. Their defense, on video, they're dynamic, so we need to play better toward it. We need to manage the puck between the blue lines a lot better."
DeSantis opened the scoring just 1:39 into the contest on a wrap-around attempt, beating Semptimphelter to his left pad side.
North Dakota retaliated with its own goal two-plus minutes later, capitalizing on a neutral-zone turnover by Cornell at its attacking blueline. Sacha Boisvert pounced on the puck and set up James for his third goal of the season.
Not even two minutes later, Cornell retook the lead when Catalano redirected a shot from the left point by sophomore defenseman
Ben Robertson. Fellow sophomore blueliner
Hoyt Stanley earned the secondary assist.
Past the halfway point of the first period, Wolfenberg wristed a shot from the right point that evaded traffic and found twine for his first collegiate tally.
Both teams were held off the scoreboard in the second period as each side had 10 shots on goal, but Cornell hung onto its 3-1 lead.
Despite North Dakota outshooting Cornell, 9-5, in the third period, senior forward
Sullivan Mack deposited the Big Red's fourth goal into an empty net with four seconds left.
POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM MIKE SCHAFER '86, THE JAY R. BLOOM '77 HEAD COACH OF CORNELL MEN'S ICE HOCKEY
GAME NOTES
• Friday was the 11th all-time meeting between the Big Red and Fighting Hawks since the inaugural meeting between the two programs in the 1967 NCAA Tournament in Syracuse, N.Y. Cornell took the lead in the series, 6-5-0, while also posting its third consecutive victory over North Dakota. It has won five of its last six games against the Fighting Hawks, dating back to the 2008-09 season.
• The three-goal victory was Cornell's largest against North Dakota, besting its 3-1 win in the last meeting between the teams in Grand Forks on Jan. 8, 2022.
• Cornell registered its fifth consecutive home-opening victory, tying for the second-longest streak in program history, which came during
Mike Schafer '86's first five seasons as the Big Red's head coach (1995-99). The current streak trails the program-record 16-year streak of home-opening wins between 1963-78, which featured Cornell outscoring its opponents by 98 goals (136-38).
LONGEST WIN STREAKS IN HOME OPENER
Cornell Program History
• 16 seasons (1963-78)
• 5 seasons (1995-99)
• 5 seasons (2019-Present)
• Under
Mike Schafer '86, Cornell is 18-6-3 (.722) in home openers and 19-9-2 (.732) all-time in season openers.
• Over the last five years, the Big Red improved to 55-5-5 when leading after the first period and 71-0-3 when taking the lead into the third period. Cornell is also 65-10 when a game is decided by multiple goals during the designated time frame.
• Cornell upped its record to 14-3-1 over its last 18 games against opponents ranked within the top six of the USCHO.com poll. Over its last 13 games against opponents ranked in the top six, Cornell has allowed just 12 goals while posting a 10-3-0 record.
• Shane has posted an 11-3-0 record over the last 14 meetings against opponents ranked No. 6 or better, logging a 1.06 goals-against average and a .962 save percentage, stopping 375 of the 390 shots he has faced across his 848:49 of action between the pipes.
• With his 50th career victory, Shane tied Brian Cropper '71 for the sixth-most career wins by a Big Red goaltender. Nationally, Shane joined Western Michigan graduate student Cameron Rowe (56) and Wisconsin graduate student Tommy Scarfone (55) as the lone trio of Division I goaltenders with 50-plus career victories.
MOST GOALTENDER WINS
Cornell Program History
1. Ken Dryden (1966-69) — 76
T2. David McKee (2003-06) — 65
T2. Ben Scrivens (2006-10) — 65
4. Matthew Galajda (2017-20) — 60
5. Andy Iles (2010-14) — 58
T6. Brian Cropper (1968-71) — 50
T6. Ian Shane (2021-Present) — 50
• Shane improved to 3-0-0 all-time against North Dakota, fashioning a 1.27 goals-against average and .949 save percentage (93 saves on 98 shot attempts).
• Freshman forward
Charlie Major and freshman defenseman
Nicholas Wolfenberg made their collegiate debuts on Friday night. Wolfenberg's first-period goal increased the Big Red's streak of having a freshman score in its season opener to seven consecutive seasons, joining Morgan Barron (2017-18), Max Andreev (2018-19), Jack Malone (2019-20),
Ondrej Psenicka (2021-22),
Winter Wallace (2022-23), and
Ryan Walsh (2023-24). Anthony Angello (2015-16) also scored in his collegiate debut, giving Cornell a freshman goal scorer in eight of its last nine season openers.
FRESHMAN GOAL SCORERS IN SEASON OPENERS
Last Nine Seasons
• 2015-16 (Anthony Angello — at Niagara)
• 2016-17 (None)
• 2017-18 (Morgan Barron — vs. Alabama-Huntsville)
• 2018-19 (Max Andreev — vs. Michigan State)
• 2019-20 (Jack Malone — at Michigan State)
• 2021-22 (Ondrej Psenicka — vs. Alaska)
• 2022-23 (Winter Wallace — at Minnesota Duluth)
• 2023-24 (Ryan Walsh — vs. Minnesota Duluth)
• 2024-25 (Nicholas Wolfenberg — vs. North Dakota)
• Wolfenberg became the third Cornell freshman defenseman to score in a season opener, joining Sasha Pokulok against Army on Oct. 29, 2004, and Joakim Ryan, who scored twice against Mercyhurst on Oct. 29, 2011. Wolfenberg is the first blueliner to score in a season-opening game since Yanni Kaldis in a 3-2 win over Michigan State exactly five years to the date (Nov. 1, 2019).
FRESHMAN DEFENSEMAN TO SCORE IN SEASON OPENERS
Cornell Program History
• Sasha Pokulok, 10/29/04 vs. Army (W, 7-1)
• Joakim Ryan (2 goals), 10/29/11 vs. Mercyhurst (L, 4-5)
• Nicholas Wolfenberg, 11/1/24 vs. North Dakota (W, 4-1)
• Schafer's 543rd win as a head coach broke his tie with former legendary Army head coach Jack Riley (1950-86) and former Bowdoin bench boss Terry Meagher (1983-2016) for the 23rd-most wins by a collegiate hockey coach.
UP NEXT
Cornell and North Dakota will conclude its two-game series at Lynah Rink on Saturday, Nov. 2, with a 7 p.m. puck drop. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+ and over the airwaves on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM).
