ITHACA, N.Y. — Third-period goals by sophomore forward Ryan Walsh and senior defenseman Tim Rego and an empty-net goal by senior forward Kyle Penney avenged a 3-2 deficit to guide the No. 9-ranked Cornell men's hockey team to a 5-3 victory over No. 6-ranked North Dakota before a crowd of 4,091 at Lynah Rink on Saturday night.

Walsh paced the Big Red offense behind his career-high three points, registering one goal and two assists. Sophomore forward Jake Kraft and Rego also logged multi-point nights, scoring a goal and adding an assist. Senior forward Jack O'Leary also scored for Cornell (2-0-0), who has opened each of its last two seasons with two-game sweeps of NCHC opponents.

Senior goaltender Ian Shane stopped 25 of 28 shots to break his tie with Brian Cropper '71 for the sixth-most wins by a Cornell goaltender in program history.

North Dakota freshman forward Sacha Boisvert led the Fighting Hawks (3-4-0) with a two-point outing, scoring a goal and chipping in a helper. Junior forward Dylan James and fifth-year forward Louis Jamernik V also potted markers for the Fighting Hawks. Sophomore goaltender Hobie Hedquist shoved aside 23 of the 27 shots he faced between the pipes.

After North Dakota registered the first two shots of the contest 76 seconds into the game, Cornell's defense held the Fighting Hawks without a shot attempt for the next 13:42 and did not yield a shot on goal against for 14:11.

While the Big Red kept North Dakota's offense at bay, it opened the scoring early for the second consecutive night as Kraft tallied the game's first goal 2:59 into the contest. Kraft had his initial shot attempt saved by Hedquist, leading to senior defenseman Hank Kempf ripping a slap shot from the blue line that was also stopped by the Fighting Hawks' netminder. Kraft then deposited the rebound past Hedquist on the left side of the crease.



During a second-period Cornell power play, a takeaway by Jamernik V at the Cornell offensive zone blue line led to a short-handed breakaway opportunity. Shane stood tall in net, halting Jamernik's shot to preserve the Big Red's one-goal lead.



Following a neutral zone faceoff win by sophomore forward Tyler Catalano in the waning seconds of the same power play, O'Leary doubled the Big Red's lead when he one-timed a pass from Catalano in the middle of the slot. Rego earned the secondary assist after carrying the puck into the offensive zone after the faceoff win.



North Dakota retaliated with three unanswered goals over a span of 8:15, beginning with James' tally which came 14 seconds after O'Leary's goal. Jamernik V and Boisvert scored 2:09 apart to take a 3-2 lead into the second intermission.

A failed reversal deep in the defensive zone by North Dakota in the opening minute of the third period led to Cornell tying the game up at 3-all. Kraft intercepted the pass which led to Walsh leveling the contest just 50 seconds into the third period.
 


Cornell regained the lead on a wrap-around goal by Rego, which ended up proving to be the game-winning goal, as he pounced on the rebound of a missed shot by his blueline partner, Michael Suda. Freshman forward Charlie Major recorded his first collegiate point on the goal, garnering the secondary assist.



Penney tacked on an empty-net goal with 1:26 left to restore Cornell's two-goal lead.



POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM MIKE SCHAFER '86, IAN SHANE, AND TIM REGO


GAME NOTES
• Saturday was the 12th all-time meeting between Cornell and North Dakota, with the Big Red increasing its lead in the series over the Fighting Hawks, 7-5-0. Cornell has won six of the last seven meetings against North Dakota.

• Cornell's five goals was its highest output against North Dakota in the 12 meetings, besting four-goal outputs on Jan. 7, 2022 in Grand Forks and Friday's 4-1 win.

• Over the last five years, the Big Red improved to 69-8-9 when scoring first, 56-5-5 when leading after the first period, and 66-10 when a game is decided by multiple goals.

• Cornell upped its record to 15-3-1 over its last 19 games against opponents ranked within the top six of the USCHO.com poll. Over its last 14 games against opponents ranked in the top six, Cornell has allowed just 15 goals while posting an 11-3-0 record.

• With his win, Shane broke his tie with Brian Cropper '71 to assume sole possession of sixth place for the most career wins by a Big Red goaltender. Nationally, Shane remains one of three active Division I goaltenders with 50-plus career victories, joining Western Michigan graduate student Cameron Rowe (56) and Wisconsin graduate student Tommy Scarfone (56).

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
6. Ian Shane (2021-Present) — 51
7. Brian Cropper (1968-71) — 50

• Shane has posted an 12-3-0 record over the last 15 meetings against opponents ranked No. 6 or better, logging a 1.19 goals-against average and a .957 save percentage, stopping 400 of the 418 shots he has faced across his 908:49 of action between the pipes.

• Behind his 25-save effort, Shane surpassed John Detwiler '60 for the 14th-most saves in Cornell program history. Shane (1,701 saves) is 44 away from tying Laing Kennedy '63 for the 13th-most saves in program history. The former Big Red goaltender turned athletic director made 1,745 saves during his tenure with Cornell from 1960-63.

• Kraft registered his second career multi-point performance, also having two points against St. Lawrence on Feb. 2, 2024.

• Rego's goal was his first since scoring against Harvard on Jan. 26, 2024, snapping his 19-game streak without a goal. 

UP NEXT
Cornell will continue its four-game, season-opening homestand when it welcomes Yale (0-2-0) and Brown to Lynah Rink next weekend to commence ECAC Hockey and Ivy League play. Both contests will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and be carried over the airwaves on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM).