#11 Men’s Hockey Set to Host #18 Quinnipiac in Frozen Apple at MSG on Saturday

Mike Schafer '86
The Jay R. Bloom ‘77 Head Coach of Cornell Men’s Ice Hockey

THE PUCK DROP

For the second time in eight days, the No. 11-ranked Cornell men’s hockey team will face off against ECAC Hockey rival No. 18-ranked Quinnipiac in a non-conference match at Madison Square Garden in New York City. This game marks the sixth edition of the biennial Frozen Apple series.

Puck drop between the Big Red and Bobcats is scheduled for 8 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and simulcast on TSN+ for Canadian viewers, with Grady Whittenburg providing play-by-play. An additional international streaming option will be available on Stretch Internet. Game action will also be broadcast over the airwaves on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM, cortacatoday.com), with Jason Weinstein (play-by-play) and former Big Red blueliner Tony Eisenhut ’88 (analyst) on the call.

ROBERTSON EARNS WEEKLY HONOR

Sophomore defenseman Ben Robertson was named ECAC Hockey’s Defender of the Week, the conference office announced Monday morning.

Robertson, who became the first Cornell player to earn the conference’s top weekly defender award since Sam Malinski on Feb. 6, 2023, logged a goal and an assist in the Big Red’s 5-0 shutout of Princeton last Saturday night at Lynah Rink. His two points were tied with six other ECAC Hockey blueliners for the league lead in points by a defenseman, but he was the only blueliner to have scored a goal and had multiple points on the weekend.

Both of Robertson’s points came during Cornell’s pair of power-play goals in the third period of its win over Princeton. His first point came when he threaded a pass from the top of the left faceoff circle to sophomore forward Ryan Walsh at the far post for a tip-in one-timer. Later in the period, Robertson added an insurance marker for Cornell, lasering a shot over the glove of Princeton goaltender Ethan Pearson from the left faceoff circle following a faceoff win by Walsh.

RETURN OF THE FROZEN APPLE

Saturday's game between Cornell and Quinnipiac marks the sixth installment of the biennial Frozen Apple series, which began in the 2012-13 season.

Cornell holds a record of 4-1 in the Frozen Apple series. The Big Red won its first matchup against Michigan in 2012 before securing consecutive 3-1 victories over Penn State in 2014 and New Hampshire in 2016. Harvard claimed the 2018 edition, 4-1, but Cornell bounced back in 2022, shutting out UConn 6-0, thanks to a hat trick by then-freshman forward Dalton Bancroft.

BACK IN THE NEW YORK GROOVE

Cornell will play its 29th all-time game at Madison Square Garden on Saturday evening and the 21st at its current location. The Big Red holds a record of 18-8-2 at the World’s Most Famous Arena, including a 7-1-1 mark in its last nine games.

Third-period goals from Ryan Walsh and Ondrej Psenicka fueled Cornell to defeat No. 5-ranked Boston University, 2-1, at last year’s biennial Red Hot Hockey event. Goaltender Ian Shane made 35 saves, leading the Big Red to hoist the Kelley-Harkness Trophy for a fourth straight time.

FRESHMAN SCORING AT MSG

First-year players have consistently shown their scoring ability at Madison Square Garden, with a freshman finding the back of the net in seven of the last eight games.

Since first-year players were eligible to compete on the Big Red’s varsity team for the 1975-76 season, 11 freshmen have scored at least one goal at Madison Square Garden. The players to have achieved the feat include Lance Nethery (1975-76), Riley Nash (2007-08), Teemu Tiitinen (2012-13), Anthony Angello (2015-16), Noah Bauld (2016-17), Tristan Mullin (2017-18), Liam Motley (2018-19), Kyler Kovich (2021-22), Ondrej Psenicka (2021-22), Dalton Bancroft (2022-23), and Ryan Walsh (2023-24).

Walsh scored the game-tying goal in the third period of last year’s 2-1 win over Boston University, ultimately setting up Psenicka for his game-winning goal.

Two years ago, Bancroft became the second Cornell player overall and the first freshman to score a hat trick at Madison Square Garden, joining Dick Bertrand ‘70, who did so on Dec. 22, 1969, in a 7-2 win over St. Lawrence.

LIGHTING THE LAMP AT MSG

Junior forward Ondrej Psenicka has scored in each of his first three games at Madison Square Garden. His three-game goal streak makes him one of four Big Red players to have scored in at least three consecutive games at the venue, joining Brian Campbell, who scored in four consecutive games between 1975 and 1976, John Hughes (three-game streak from 1967-69) and Trevor Yates (three-game streak from 2015-17).

By scoring a goal on Saturday night, Psenicka would join Campbell as the only Big Red players to score in four consecutive games at Madison Square Garden. Campbell achieved this feat across the 1975-76 and 1976-77 seasons.

Thanks to his hat trick against No. 6-ranked UConn at the latest rendition of the Frozen Apple in 2022, junior forward Dalton Bancroft is tied with Dave Groulx, Dave Peace, Dick Bertrand, Garth Ryan, Jim Vaughan, Paul Althouse, Yates, and Psenicka for the fourth-most goals scored by a Big Red player at Madison Square Garden. Only Campbell (5), John Hughes (5), and Doug Ferguson (4) have scored more at the venue.

LOOKING TO EXTEND THE STREAK

Cornell has won its last four games at Madison Square Garden, outscoring its opponents 16-5. The Big Red has held the opposition to one goal or fewer three times during its four-game winning streak in New York City.

With a win Saturday night, Cornell will have won five straight games at Madison Square Garden for the first time since compiling a nine-game win streak between Madison Square Garden III (final five games) and Madison Square Garden IV (first four games).

SHANE IS A PUCK STOPPER

In two career appearances at Madison Square Garden, senior goaltender Ian Shane has stopped 62 of the 63 shots he has faced, leading to a 0.50 goals-against average and a .984 save percentage.

Shane made his Madison Square Garden debut by making 27 saves to lead Cornell to a 6-0 shutout of then-No. 6-ranked UConn during the last iteration of the Frozen Apple on Nov. 26, 2022. Last season, Shane stopped 35-of-36 shots to aid the Big Red in hoisting the Kelley-Harkness Cup for a fourth consecutive time over Boston University.

MISTER RELIABLE

Sophomore forward Ryan Walsh went 15-of-21 on faceoffs against Princeton last Saturday, tying his second-highest faceoff win total in a game during his Cornell career.

In eight games played this season, Walsh has won 106-of-179 faceoffs, leading to a 59.2 percent win rate. Walsh’s faceoff percentage ranks 13th among Division I players with at least 100 faceoff wins and has the second-best faceoff percentage in ECAC Hockey, trailing Clarkson’s Ellis Rickwood (152-of-244 — 62.3 percent).

Walsh is one of four Division I hockey players with an average of at least 13 faceoff wins per game this season. He joins Northeastern junior Jack Williams (14.09), Brown sophomore Max Scott (14.00), and Notre Dame sophomore Danny Nelson (13.57).

SHANE'S WORLD, IT'S PARTY TIME, EXCELLENT!

Senior goaltender Ian Shane has excelled inside the blue paint during his time on East Hill. Over his 92 career appearances between the pipes for the Big Red, Shane has a 53-23-12 record with a 1.72 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage.

Shane’s 53 wins are the sixth-most by a Cornell goaltender in program history. Entering Saturday night, Shane is five wins away from matching Andy Iles ‘14 for the fifth-most wins in program history. The 53 wins also rank third-most among active Division I goaltenders, trailing Western Michigan graduate student Cameron Rowe (59) and Wisconsin graduate student Tommy Scarfone (58). Boston University senior Mathieu Caron (47) is the closest player to the 50-win threshold.

Following his 24-save shutout over Princeton last Saturday, Shane’s 12 shutouts during his tenure at Cornell are the most by all active Division I goaltender. Shane has three more blankings than Scarfone (nine) and three more than North Dakota graduate student T.J. Semptimphelter (eight).

Among Cornell goaltenders, Shane’s 12 shutouts rank fifth in program history, one shutout shy of matching Cornell Athletics and Hockey Hall of Famer Ken Dryden ‘69 (13) for fourth all-time at Cornell.

Entering this weekend, Shane’s 1,822 saves rank as the 13th-most by a Cornell goaltender in program history. Shane is two saves away from tying Doug Dadswell (1,824 from 1984-86) for 12th and 22 saves shy of matching Matthew Galajda (1,844 from 2017-20) for 11th on the Big Red’s all-time saves list.

MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF

Senior goaltender Ian Shane’s career goals-against average of 1.72 is the 10th-best figure in NCAA Division I history, one of 35 sub-2.00 averages with at least 1,500 minutes played.

Shane’s goals-against average is currently surpassed by LeNeveu (1.29), Quinnipiac standout Yaniv Perets (1.34), Minnesota State phenom Dryden McKay (1.46), Michigan State and 18-year NHL veteran Ryan Miller (1.54), UMass’ Filip Lindberg (1.58), Dryden (1.59), former UMass Lowell and current Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (1.60), and former Big Red netminders Matthew Galajda (1.70) and David McKee (1.72).

Cornell has five of the top 10 career goals-against averages in NCAA history and is the lone program with multiple representatives in the top 10.

Ben Scrivens ‘10 recorded a career goals-against average of 1.93, contributing to Cornell having six out of the 35 sub-2.00 career goals-against averages in NCAA history, the highest number for any Division I program. Other Division I teams with multiple sub-2.00 averages include Quinnipiac (four), Maine and Notre Dame (three each), and Denver, Miami, Michigan State, and UMass (two each).

Among active Division I goaltenders with at least 1,500 minutes played, Shane is one of only two netminders with career goals-against averages below 2.00, alongside Maine’s Albin Boija (1.83).

Shane has a career save percentage of .9225, which ranks fourth among active Division I goaltenders with at least 500 saves. He is just one ten-thousandth of a point behind Colorado College’s Kaidan Mbereko (.9226). The top two figures are held by Boston College sophomore Jacob Fowler (.929) and Arizona State sophomore Gibson Homer (.925).

'TENDY POINT!

Senior goaltender Ian Shane recorded an assist on senior defenseman Tim Rego’s second-period goal against Harvard on Nov. 16, making Shane the first Cornell goaltender to earn a point since Matthew Galajda assisted Morgan Barron on a power-play goal in the second period of a 6-0 shutout over Brown on March 22, 2019, at the 2019 ECAC Hockey Championship semifinals in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Shane is Cornell’s 25th goaltender to record a point in a game and the 24th to notch an assist.

Paired with his 32-save performance in the Big Red’s tie with the Crimson, Shane became the 10th Cornell goaltender (11th instance) to have an assist and record at least 30 saves in the same game, joining Steve Kelleher (March 5, 1974 vs. St. Lawrence), Dave Chrastina (Jan. 5, 1975 vs. St. Lawrence), Darren Eliot (twice — March 15, 1980 vs. Dartmouth and Jan. 26, 1981 vs. Princeton), Doug Dadswell (Jan. 19, 1985 vs. Yale), Corrie D’Alessio (Jan. 23, 1988 vs. Yale), Ian Burt (Feb. 12, 2000 at St. Lawrence), Ben Scrivens (March 9, 2008 vs. Dartmouth), Mitch Gillam (Nov. 29, 2014 vs. Penn State at Madison Square Garden), and Galajda in accomplishing the feat.

STOUT DEFENSE

Cornell has boasted one of the nation’s stingiest defensive units, ranking in the top 10 in scoring defense each of the last seven campaigns and in nine of the previous 10 seasons it has competed in.

The Big Red’s ranking within the top 10 in scoring defense seven times over the last eight seasons is the most by any Division I program, ahead of Minnesota State (six) and ECAC Hockey rival Quinnipiac (five).

Over the last eight-plus seasons, Cornell has averaged 1.94 goals allowed per game, joining Minnesota State (1.91) as one of two Division I programs to yield under two goals against per game during the span.

Through its first eight games this season, Cornell’s 2.00 goals allowed per game average is the 10th-best scoring defense in Division I hockey and second in ECAC Hockey, only trailing Clarkson (1.86 — 9th). Minnesota State paces the nation with a 1.50 goals allowed per game average (24 goals against in 16 games).

Last season, the Big Red led all Division I programs in scoring defense, allowing 1.86 goals per game. Cornell’s figure was 17 points ahead of second-place Wisconsin (2.03). The Big Red also gave up the fewest goals in Division I hockey, surrendering just 65 goals across its 35 games, 14 goals fewer than second-place Quinnipiac (79).

Cornell has finished first or second in scoring defense four times in the last six seasons it has participated in.

THAT'LL LEAVE A MARK…

Sophomore defenseman Hoyt Stanley blocked a team-high four shots in the Big Red’s 5-0 shutout of Princeton last Saturday, marking the third time he has absorbed at least four opponent’s shots in a game this season. The four blocked shots ties Stanley’s single-game high, all of which have occurred this season.

Per data compiled by College Hockey News, Stanley is one of 13 Cornell players (20 instances) to have at least three games with four-plus blocked shots in a season since 2012-13, when blocks became an officially tracked statistic.

Should Stanley block four-plus blocked shots on Saturday night, he would tie Reece Willcox (2014-15 and 2015-16), Alec McCrea (2017-18), Yanni Kaldis (2017-18), Matthew Nuttle (2018-19), and Tim Rego (2023-24) for the 10th-most games with four-plus blocked shots in a season by a Cornell player.

Stanley’s 2.38 blocks per game average entered this weekend ranked as the eighth-highest average in Division I hockey and the third-best clip in ECAC Hockey. Brown’s Alex Pineau (2.83) and Clarkson’s Tristan Sarsland (2.43) had higher averages than Stanley.

ON THE PLUS SIDE…

Entering this weekend, senior forwards Ondrej Psenicka and Kyle Penney and senior defenseman Tim Rego rank within the top 10 nationally in career plus-minus ratings among active Division I players.

Psenicka’s plus-50 rating makes him one of five active Division I players with at least a plus-50 rating, joining Denver forward Jack Devine (plus-63), Ohio State defenseman Aidan Hansen-Bukata (plus-58), Minnesota State forward Rhett Pitlick (plus-54) and Boston College blueliner Eamon Powell (plus-53).

Penney’s plus-47 rating is tied with Boston College forward Ryan Leonard for seventh nationally. Rego’s plus-46 figure matches Minnesota forwards Mason Nevers and Mike Koster for ninth among active skaters.

Cornell is the only Division I program to have a trio of players with career plus-minus ratings of plus-45 and is one of three programs with multiple players with plus-45 ratings (Boston College and Minnesota).

The Big Red is the only Division I program with five players with a career plus-minus rating of at least plus-35. Senior forward Jack O’Leary (plus-39) and senior defenseman Hank Kempf (plus-38) join Psenicka, Penney, and Rego.

SPREADING THE WEALTH

Cornell received production from nearly every skater who appeared in at least one game last season, as 21 of the 23 skaters (91.3 percent) registered at least one point, and 19 of the 21 players with a point last season logged at least two points.

Through its first four weekends of play, Cornell has maintained its goal of repeating last year’s scoring production. Twenty of the 23 players (87.0 percent) who have appeared in at least one game have recorded at least one point, and 17 already have at least two points.

The sophomore class — who led the team in goals (44), assists (70), and points (114) last season — has generated 43.8 percent of the team’s scoring and paces the squad in goals (10), assists (18), and points (28). Cornell’s 10-player senior class is behind with nine goals, 14 assists, and 23 points.

ALL HE DOES IS WIN, WIN, WIN

Mike Schafer ‘86, the Jay R. Bloom ‘77 Head Coach of Cornell Men’s Ice Hockey, is one of six active Division I men’s hockey head coaches with 500 career victories.

Schafer’s 546 wins are the 18th-most wins by a Division I head coach in college hockey history and is nine wins shy of matching former Michigan Tech head coach John MacInnes, who won 555 games with the Huskies during his 26-year tenure from 1956-82.

Among active Division I men’s head coaches, Schafer has the fourth-most career wins, trailing Quinnipiac’s Rand Pecknold (648), Mercyhurst’s Rick Gotkin (609), and Notre Dame’s Jeff Jackson (594).

SCOUTING QUINNIPIAC

No. 18-ranked Quinnipiac enters Saturday night's contest with a 6-6-0 overall record and a 3-3-0 mark in ECAC Hockey play. The Bobcats are coming off splitting its Central New York road trip last weekend, where they defeated Cornell at Lynah Rink, 3-1, before dropping an overtime decision to Colgate, 3-2.

Jeremy Wilmer (4-9—13) leads the Bobcats in assists and points. Mason Marcellus (4-8—12), Travis Treloar (5-5—10), and Andon Cerbone (2-8—10) join Wilmer in logging double-digit-point totals. Treloar, Aaron Schwartz  (5-3—8), and Tyler Borgula (5-2—7) are tied for the team lead in goals.

Sophomore Dylan Silverstein (4-4-0, 1.91, .921) has been Quinnipiac’s starting goaltender in three of the last four games, aiding Quinnipiac to a 2-1-0 record. Fellow sophomore Matej Marinov (2-2-0, 2.90, .891) has started in four of his five outings this season, most recently stopping 18 shots in a victory over Brown on Nov. 15.

23 YEARS, 268 MILES, 52 MEETINGS

Cornell and Quinnipiac will meet for the 53rd time on Saturday night. The Big Red leads the series 27-21-4 and is 10-5-1 over its last 16 games against the Bobcats.

The results of the last six games have alternated between Cornell and Quinnipiac. Should Quinnipiac register a victory on Saturday, the Bobcats will have won consecutive games against the Big Red for the first time since posting a 6-3 victory at M&T Bank Arena on March 13, 2016, in the decisive third game of the 2016 ECAC Hockey Championship quarterfinals, and defeating Cornell, 3-1, at Lynah Rink on Nov. 18, 2016.

Saturday’s game marks the fifth consecutive game which Cornell and Quinnipiac will be playing each other as ranked opponents. Of the soon-to-be 53 meetings between the programs, Saturday will be the 20th time both teams will be playing each other when ranked in the top 20 of the USCHO.com poll (37.7 percent of matchups).

The Big Red will be playing a ranked Bobcats squad for the ninth consecutive time. Of the last 30 games between the ECAC Hockey rivals, 25 have featured Quinnipiac being ranked at the time of the contest. Cornell has a record of 11-15-2 against a ranked Quinnipiac squad.

Saturday will mark the second-ever meeting between the two programs at a neutral site. In their only previous meeting away from either team’s home ice, Cornell defeated Quinnipiac 6-1 in the semifinal of the Worcester Regional during the 2002 NCAA Division I Men’s Hockey Championship.

Junior forward Dalton Bancroft has scored five goals against Quinnipiac over four career games, tying Brian Ferlin for the second-most goals scored by a Cornell player against the Bobcats. Should he score on Saturday night, Bancroft would match Joe Devin ‘11 and Mitch Vanderlaan ‘19 for the most goals scored against Quinnipiac by a Cornell player in program history.

CORNELL - QUINNIPIAC CONNECTIONS

Kyle Penney and Cooper Moore played on the 2019-20 Chilliwack Chiefs ... Hank Kempf and Luke Devlin were teammates on the 2020-21 Muskegon Lumberjacks with Davis Pennington ... Ondrej Psenicka and Aaron Bohlinger were on the 2019-20 Waterloo Black Hawks ... Charlie Leddy, Matthew McGroarty, Dylan Silverstein, and Jeremy Wilmer played with Ben Robertson on the 2020-21 USNTDP Juniors ... Leddy, Silverstein, and Devlin were teammates on the 2021-22 USNTDP Juniors ... Robertson played with Nate Benoit on the Omaha Lancers and Waterloo Black Hawks from 2021-23 ... Devlin and Remington Keopple played with Chase Ramsay on the 2021-22 Des Moines Buccaneers ... Michael Salandra played with with Devlin (2022-23) and Justin Katz (2022-24) on the West Kelowna Warriors ... Nick DeSantis and McGroarty were coached by Cornell director of hockey operations/assistant coach Corey Leivermann on the 2021-22 Madison Capitols ... Marian Mosko was teammates on the Fargo Force with Mason Marcellus (2021-23), Matej Marinov (2022-23), and Noah Eyre (2022-23) ... Eyre was teammates with Katz on the Powell River Kings last year ... Victor Czerneckianair and Benoit played with Kyler Kovich on the Tri-City Storm (2020-21) ... Andon Cerbone was teammates with Ian Shane (2020-21 Chicago Steel) and Tyler Catalano (2022-23 Youngstown Phantoms) ... Shane and Noah Altman played on the 2020-21 Bismarck Bobcats.

QUINNIPIAC NHL CONNECTIONS

Chase Ramsay is the son of Jim Ramsay, who served as the head athletic trainer for five years with the Winnipeg Jets (1989-94) and 29 seasons with the New York Rangers (1994-2023). Over Jim's final six seasons with the Rangers, he was the team's director of conditioning and sports medicine. Jim is currently in his second season with the Montréal Canadiens, serving as the director of sports medicine, performance and head athletic therapist. Along with his NHL experience, Jim has been the head athletic trainer for Team Canada at three World Championships (2001, 2004, 2005) and four Olympic Games (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014), where he has received four gold medals (2002 Olympics, 2004 World Championships, 2010 Olympics, 2014 Olympics) and a silver medal (2005 World Championships).

#18 QUINNIPIAC TALLIES PAIR OF THIRD-PERIOD GOALS TO DOWN #6 MEN'S HOCKEY

BOX SCORE I RECAP | HIGHLIGHTS | GALLERY

ITHACA, N.Y. (NOV. 22, 2024) — Quinnipiac freshman forward Chris Pelosi broke a 1-1 tie 8:11 into the third period, and sophomore forward Mason Marcellus tacked on an empty-net goal with 1.7 seconds remaining, to aid the visiting Bobcats to a 3-1 victory over the No. 8-ranked Cornell men's hockey team before a crowd of 3,980 at Lynah Rink on Friday night.

Sophomore goaltender Dylan Silverstein made 15 saves between the pipes for the Bobcats to improve to 4-3-0.

Quinnipiac's victory was its first at Lynah Rink since posting a 4-2 victory over the Big Red on Nov. 16, 2018. It was also the Bobcats' first road win against either Colgate or Cornell since defeating the Raiders, 5-1, on Jan. 21, 2022, snapping a five-game losing streak.

Cornell sophomore forward Jonathan Castagna scored the lone tally on the night for Big Red with 2:35 left in the first period. Senior defenseman Tim Rego earned the only assist on the goal. Fellow senior Ian Shane made 20 saves in the setback as his record fell to 3-2-2.

SHANE GUIDES #8 MEN'S HOCKEY TO SHUTOUT WIN OVER PRINCETON

BOX SCORE | RECAP | HIGHLIGHTS | GALLERY

ITHACA, N.Y. (NOV. 23, 2024) — Senior goaltender Ian Shane recorded 24 saves en route to his Division I-leading 12th career shutout as the No. 8-ranked Cornell men's hockey team (4-2-2, 2-2-2 ECAC Hockey) defeated Princeton (1-4-1, 1-4-1 ECAC Hockey), 5-0, before a sold-out crowd at Lynah Rink on Saturday night.

Aiding Shane in his shutout, four players registered two-point nights, highlighted by senior forward Ondrej Psenicka, sophomore defenseman Ben Robertson and sophomore forward Ryan Walsh, who all had a goal and added an assist. Robertson's classmate and fellow blueliner George Fegaras chipped in two assists.

Princeton's Ethan Pearson made 19 saves in the setback for the Tigers.

The Big Red went 2-for-5 on the power play on Saturday night and killed all four of Princeton's power-play opportunities, which included seven shots on goal. 

2024-25 Roster

If you’ve never been to a Big Red hockey game at Cornell’s Lynah Rink, there are quite a few things you’ve never experienced. You’ve never camped in line to get season tickets and ensure your spot as one of the raucous and devoted "Lynah Faithful." But most importantly, if you’ve never been to Lynah, you’ve never experienced all the best that college hockey offers.

Lynah Rink, which enters its 68th year serving as the home of Big Red hockey this season, was formally dedicated on April 6, 1957, a month after its opening to the public on March 4, 1957. The facility, which was built following a $500,000 anonymous donation (approximately $5.59 million in 2024), honors the late James Lynah '05, who served as the director of athletics at Cornell from 1935-43.

The donation to build Lynah Rink reresurrected the Cornell hockey  program following a 10-year hiatus, ensuring hockey returned as a varsity sport for the 1957-58 season.

Cornell began sponsoring hockey as a varsity sport with the 1900-01 season, which featured all Big Red home games played on the university’s outdoor rink on Beebe Lake. Due to a series of abnormally mild winters, the program was left — literally — on thin ice, causing Cornell to drop the program entirely after the 1947-48 campaign.

Since its opening in March of 1957, Lynah Rink has received numerous face-lifts since hosting its inaugural event on March 21, 1957, a 7-3 victory for the NHL’s New York Rangers in an exhibiton against the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL). Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Gump Worsley stopped 44 shots in the victory for the Rangers.

Among the renovations, Cornell spent nearly $1 million in the summer of 2000, to replace the rink floor, drainage system, frost protection and refrigeration piping, and adding new boards and seamless glass.

During the summer of 2006, a 16,700-square-foot expansion added new locker rooms, coaches offices, study lounges, new athletic training space, and approximately 450 new seats in the seating bowl.

Over last season’s winter break, updated Cornell branding on the façade and south concourse brought a more modern look to the facility.

Though many physical aspects of Lynah Rink have changed over time, the crowd remains constant. Lynah Rink can hold 4,267 boisterous Cornell hockey fans, who provide unwavering support for the Big Red while creating an unparalleled atmosphere in college hockey.

Although many rinks in the nation are bigger in capacity, few are known to be louder. The Cornell fans, aptly named the "Lynah Faithful," stream into every home contest, making themselves as much a part of the game as the players do. Whether they’re cheering for the Big Red or joining the pep band in their rendition of "Give My Regards to Davy," the Lynah Faithful reaffirms the old saying, "There’s no place like home."

Since the doors opened on Lynah Rink, the Cornell men's hockey program has won a pair of NCAA Division I men’s hockey championships in 1967 and 1970, garnering an ECAC Hockey-record 13 tournament championships (1967-70, 1973, 1980, 1986, 1996-97, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2024) and 26 Ivy League titles, 22 of which have been won outright.

Cornell will return to Lynah Rink for the final time in 2024 when it begins its annual home-and-home series with Central New York rival Colgate on Friday, Dec. 6 before beginning its seven-game road trip at the Class of 1965 Arena in Hamilton, N.Y., the following night.

Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. puck drops. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+ and over the airwaves on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM, cortacatoday.com).

The upcoming seven-game road trip is Cornell's longest string of games without playing at home since having eight straight games (one neutral site and seven road games) between Nov. 27, 2021 and Jan. 15, 2022.

Cornell's 49 days between home games is the most prolonged stretch without playing a game at Lynah Rink in the same season since going 62 days without a home contest during the 2021-22 season (Nov. 20, 2021 to Jan. 21, 2022).

The 49-day stretch without home games is tied with the 1980-81 season for the 10th-longest span between home games within the same season in program history, trailing spans of 61 days (2021-22), 59 days (2009-10), 56 days (1997-98), 55 days (1999-00, 2012-13, 2018-19, 2019-20), 54 days (2002-03), and 52 days (1990-91).