SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — Freshman forward
Jonathan Castagna registered his second four-point night of the season to lift the No. 13-ranked Cornell men's hockey team to its 6-1 victory over Union in ECAC Hockey action at Messa Rink at Achilles Center on Saturday night.
Junior forward
Sullivan Mack and senior forward
Gabriel Seger, who played two seasons with Union, chipped in with a goal and an assist apiece. Fellow junior forward
Ondrej Psenicka and sophomore forward
Winter Wallace tacked on late third-period tallies for the Big Red (15-4-4, 10-4-2) to extend the program's unbeaten streak to 12 games (9-0-3), marking the longest unbeaten streak by a Division I hockey program this season.
Junior goaltender
Ian Shane stopped 23 shots in the victory, improving his record to 15-2-4.
Cullen Ferguson potted the lone marker for Union (13-13-2, 7-7-2 ECAC). Kyle Chauvette stopped 17 Big Red shots between the pipes for the Garnet Chargers.
Castagna scored the game's first goal for the second consecutive night after he kept the puck inside Cornell's offensive zone following a failed clearing attempt by Union. Using a shifty deke to gain separation from Union defenders, Castagna lasered a wrist shot from the bottom of the left faceoff circle over Chauvette's near-side shoulder.
Not quite nine minutes later, Castagna scored his second tally of the period, pouncing on the loose puck after O'Leary had his initial shot attempt blocked by former Big Red forward Ben Tupker.
Union, who entered the night boasting the third-best penalty kill in the nation, held Cornell off the scoreboard during a five-minute power play that spanned the final 3:18 of the first period and the opening 1:42 of the middle stanza.
Cornell eventually doubled its lead with a pair of goals over 47 seconds as Seger pounced on a loose puck on the doorstep of Chauvette's crease before Mack and Castagna teamed up on a 2-on-1 chance following an offensive zone turnover by Union.
Seger's goal was his seventh point (two goals, five assists) against his former team in just three career games.
Castagna registered his third point of the night on Mack's goal, while Mack posted his third consecutive game with multiple points.
Union snapped Cornell's streak of goals at four when Ferguson's slap shot from the point evaded traffic during a power play for the Garnet Chargers.
Psenicka added an insurance marker on a 125-foot shot into an empty Union net before Wallace scored on an offensive zone faceoff win by Castagna, who registered his fourth point of the evening. Wallace's goal was his first since Feb. 25, 2023, snapping his 21-game goalless streak.
GAME NOTES
• Saturday was the 81st all-time meeting between the Big Red and the Garnet Chargers. Cornell improved its record over Union to 49-22-10 while increasing its unbeaten streak over the Garnet Chargers to nine straight contests (8-0-1). The Big Red have also won 15 of the last 19 against Union (15-2-2) while outscoring Union 78-32.
• Cornell has scored at least four goals in its last six games and 12 of its previous 17 against Union. Over the last 17 meetings with the Garnet Chargers, the Big Red averages 4.41 goals per game.
• The Big Red has at least six goals in each of its last three games against Union, marking the first time Cornell has netted six-plus goals in three straight contests against the Garnet Chargers since scoring seven goals apiece in meetings on Feb. 22, 1928, Feb. 15, 1930, and Jan. 10, 1931, all of which came on Beebe Lake.
• With the victory, Cornell surpassed Wisconsin (10-0-1) for the longest unbeaten streak in Division I hockey this season. It is the longest unbeaten streak in Division I hockey since Quinnipiac went 16-0-1 from Oct. 23, 2022 to Jan. 14, 2023, which ended up getting snapped by the Big Red, 4-0, last Jan. 20 at Lynah Rink.
10-PLUS-GAME UNBEATEN STREAKS
This Season
• 12 games — Cornell (9-0-3) — Dec. 29, 2023 - Present
• 11 games — Wisconsin (10-0-1) — Nov. 25, 2023 - Jan. 13, 2024
• 10 games — Arizona State (6-0-4) — Dec. 1, 2023 - Jan. 6, 2024
• Cornell's 12-game unbeaten streak is the third-longest stretch without a loss in the
Mike Schafer '86 era, dating back to 1995-96. It is the Big Red's best 12-game stretch since composing an 18-0-1 record from Jan. 14 to March 26, 2005.
LONGEST UNBEATEN STREAKS
Mike Schafer '86 Era (Since 1995-96)
• 19 games — 18-0-1 — Jan. 14, 2005 - March 26, 2005
• 15 games — 14-0-1 — Feb. 1, 2003 - March 30, 2003
• 12 games — 9-0-3 — Dec. 29, 2023 - Present
• During Cornell's unbeaten streak, Shane has posted a 9-0-3 record with a 1.46 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage. Since the calendar flipped to 2024, Shane is 9-0-1 with a 1.38 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage.
• The win also extended Cornell's unbeaten streak in games away from Lynah Rink to 10, marking the sixth instance in program history where it has not lost 10 straight games on the road or at a neutral site. It is the best stretch since winning 10 consecutive games on the road from Jan. 14 to March 26 in 2005.
LONGEST ROAD UNBEATEN STREAKS
Program History
• 18 games — 17-0-1 — Nov. 26, 1966 - March 18, 1967
• 17 games — 17-0-0 — Dec. 6, 1969 - March 21, 1970
• 15 games — 15-0-0 — Dec. 20, 1968 - March 14, 1969
• 13 games — 13-0-0 — Feb. 5, 1910 - Dec. 26, 1911 (two seasons)
• 10 games — 10-0-0 — Jan. 14, 2005 - March 26, 2005
• 10 games — 7-0-3 — Nov. 25, 2023 - Present
• Cornell also increased its unbeaten streak to begin 2024 to 10 games, marking the best stretch to open a calendar year since winning the first 21 games in 1970. It is also the fourth time the Big Red has not lost any of its first 10 games to begin a year.
LONGEST UNBEATEN STREAKS TO OPEN CALENDAR YEAR
Program History
• 21 games — 21-0-0 — 1970
• 18 games — 18-0-0 — 1969
• 16 games — 16-0-0 — 1968
• 10 games — 9-0-1 — 2024
• The victory also increased Cornell's conference win total to 10, marking the seventh consecutive 10-win season in ECAC Hockey play and the 21st time in the last 24 seasons. Under
Mike Schafer '86, 24 of the 28 seasons in which the Big Red has played have featured Cornell posting at least 10 victories in conference play.
• Cornell has allowed two or fewer goals in its last 12 games, marking the longest streak since going 13 games over the final eight games last season and the first five games this season. It is currently tied for the sixth-longest streak in program history and is the longest within a season since the Big Red opened the 2019-20 campaign with 14 consecutive games without conceding three goals.
Most Consecutive Games Allowing Two Goals or Less
Cornell Program History
• 23 games — 1.04 goals per game — Jan. 7, 2005 - Oct. 28, 2005 (over two seasons)
• 14 games — 1.35 goals per game — Nov. 1, 2019 - Jan. 10, 2020
• 13 games — 1.23 goals per game — Jan. 11, 1967 - March 9, 1967
• 13 games — 1.07 goals per game — Dec. 13, 1967 - Feb. 3, 1968
• 13 games — 0.92 goals per game — Feb. 18, 2023 - Nov. 10, 2023 (over two seasons)
• 12 games — 0.58 goals per game — Jan. 20, 1903 - Jan. 2, 1909 (over five seasons)
• 12 games — 1.33 goals per game — Dec. 29, 2002 - Feb. 14, 2003
• 12 games — 1.33 goals per game — Jan. 10, 2004 - Feb. 20, 2004
• 12 games — 1.50 goals per game — Dec. 29, 2023 - Present
• With his third-period assist, Seger became the seventh
Division I skater to amass 70 career assists. He joins the likes of Northern Michigan's Andre Ghantous (98), Denver's Massimo Rizzo (87), Sacred Heart's Braeden Tuck (74), Augustana's Ryan Naumovski (73), Quinnipiac's Collin Graf (71), and Arizona State's Lukas Sillinger.
CAREER ASSIST LEADERS
Active Division I Players
• 98, Andre Ghantous (Northern Michigan)
• 87, Massimo Rizzo (Denver)
• 74, Braeden Tuck (Sacred Heart)
• 73, Ryan Naumovski (Augustana)
• 71, Collin Graf (Quinnipiac)
• 70, Gabriel Seger (Cornell)
• 70, Lukas Sillinger (Arizona State)
UP NEXT
Cornell will return to Lynah Rink for a pair of ECAC Hockey and Ivy League contests as the Big Red will host Brown (8-13-2, 6-9-1 ECAC) and Yale (10-13-1, 7-9-1 ECAC) next weekend.
Both contests will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and over the airwaves on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM, whcuradio.com).
