HAMILTON, N.Y. — Power-play goals by Colgate defensemen Michael Neumeier and Reid Irwin during a five-minute major penalty in the third period broke open a 3-3 tie, guiding Colgate (8-8-2, 5-2-1 ECAC Hockey) to a 6-3 victory over the No. 12-ranked Cornell men's hockey team (5-3-3, 3-3-2 ECAC Hockey) at the Class of 1965 Arena on Saturday night.

Max Nagel added an empty-net goal with 7.9 seconds left to solidify the Raiders' victory.

Joining Neumeier, Irwin, and Nagel in scoring for Colgate were Jake Schneider, Nic Belpedio, and Brett Merner. Andrew Takacs made 17 saves en route to his seventh win on the season.

Senior forward Ondrej Psenicka scored twice for the Big Red and sophomore defenseman George Fegaras added a pair of assists. Senior forward Kyler Kovich also scored for Cornell, snapping his 30-game goalless streak. Senior goaltender Ian Shane made 13 saves in between the pipes for Cornell and junior netminder Remington Keopple stopped all three shots he faced in relief.

For the second straight night, Colgate opened the scoring in the first period as the Raiders capitalized on Cornell icing the puck. On the ensuing offensive-zone faceoff, Alex DiPaolo won the draw back to Schneider at the top of the near faceoff circle, lasering a shot past Shane to take a 1-0 lead just shy of 15 minutes into the contest.

Colgate's lead would be short-lived as Kovich pounced at a loose puck at the bottom of the right faceoff circle following a fanned one-timer by sophomore forward Tyler Catalano on a pass by Jake Kraft from behind Colgate's net. Kovich's goal was his first since scoring against St. Lawrence on Nov. 11, 2022.



Belpedio gave Colgate the lead again on a snapshot from the left side of the point for his third goal of the year at the 5:34 mark of the middle frame.

The Raiders doubled their lead during a 4-on-4 situation late in the middle frame after both teams were assessed roughing penalties. Merner beat Shane to his far-blocker side on a wrist shot from the left side of the near faceoff circle.

Psenicka scored both goals in 2:02 over the second and third periods to draw Cornell level with Colgate, 3-3.

Psenicka's first goal came on a redirection of Fegaras' shot from the point with 21.3 seconds left in the second period. Junior forward Dalton Bancroft notched the secondary helper.



Not even two minutes into the third period, Psenicka lasered a shot from the near faceoff circle, beating Takacs over his glove-side shoulder to tie the contest.



Five-plus minutes into the third period, Cornell was assessed a high-sticking penalty and a butt-ending penalty following a relatively lengthy video review. The Big Red successfully killed the 5-on-3 opportunity, but Neumeier and Irwin scored 46 seconds apart to give the Raiders a 5-3 edge during the remaining three minutes of power play time.

Nagel's empty-net goal helped the Raiders match their season-high for goals, which was previously achieved in a 6-5 overtime victory over Sacred Heart on Oct. 11.

GAME NOTES
• Saturday was the 170th meeting between Cornell and Colgate, as the Big Red's lead over the Raiders now stands at 90-63-17. The six-goal output by Colgate was its highest against Cornell since posting a 6-1 victory at Starr Rink on Feb. 8, 2014.

• Cornell has scored in 49 consecutive games against Colgate, dating back to the Raiders' last shutout of the Big Red on Jan. 30, 2004. During the span, the Big Red has averaged 2.76 goals per contest and has netted multiple goals in 43 games during its goal-scoring streak versus the Raiders.

• The Big Red also extended its streak of not being shut out to 48 games, the fifth-longest active streak in Division I hockey after Boston University had its 87-game goal-scoring streak snapped on Saturday with a 4-0 loss to UMass.

LONGEST ACTIVE GOAL-SCORING STREAKS
Division I Programs
1. 83 games, Colgate
2. 76 games, Minnesota
3. 68 games, Arizona State
4. 60 games, Denver
5. 48 games, Cornell
6. 43 games, Wisconsin

• Assisting on both of Psenicka's goals, Fegaras has registered both of his multi-assist performances over his last three games. Since making his season debut against Quinnipiac three weekends ago, Fegaras has five assists in his first five games.

• With his assist on Psenicka's third-period goal, Jack O'Leary increased his point streak to four games, establishing a new career high for the senior forward.

UP NEXT
Cornell will be idle for the next three weekends before returning to action on Friday, Jan. 3, when the Big Red plays UMass (8-6-2) in the first game of the Desert Hockey Classic hosted by Arizona State. Puck drop is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET (3 p.m. MT). After its game with UMass, the Big Red will play either Robert Morris or the host Sun Devils — whichever has the same result as the Big Red — the following day.