ITHACA, N.Y. — With a new coaching staff in place and a massive infusion of fresh talent, the Cornell men's hockey program enters the 2025-26 season in a period of transition following Mike Schafer '86's retirement after 30 legendary season at the helm of the Big Red.

Casey Jones '90, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Cornell Men's Ice Hockey, assumes the reins of his alma mater after serving as an associate head coach on last year's ECAC championship team. Jones brings additional championship experience from his 13-year tenure at Clarkson, where he led the Golden Knights to the 2019 ECAC title and multiple NCAA Tournament appearances.

"Absolutely there's a lot of pressure," Jones said when asked about the pressure of following a legend. "It's a hard person to follow, but there's expectations to win here. That's why I came. We ultimately want to win the big prize."

Cornell returns 12 letterwinners from last season's 19-11-6 team that captured its second consecutive ECAC championship and reached the NCAA Regional Finals for a third straight year. The Big Red must replace seven of the team's top 11 scorers, including four of the five players who scored 20-plus points.

"One thing that was nice about being in the role I was in last year was that I got a good opportunity to build relationships and get a chance to see them all play and have a good feel for our guys coming in," Jones said. "You don't usually get that opportunity as a head coach."

Jones assembled a new staff over the summer, elevating Sean Flanagan to associate head coach while bringing assistant coaches Chris Brown and Cam Clarke and director of hockey operations Josh Robinson.

While his personality differs from Schafer's, Jones emphasized that the core philosophy remains unchanged.

"I told our guys, accountability is going to be the same; we just get there different ways," Jones explained. "Ultimately, it's having the habits and the details. Our program is about details and habits."

With 14 newcomers joining the program, Jones sees depth as the team's greatest asset. "I think a strength of our team is going to be our depth," he said. "When you look at what we lost, we have a good returning core. We thought we brought in a good class that gives us depth at positions."

GOALKEEPERS
Letterwinners returning (1): Remington Keopple
Other returners (1): Justin Katz
Newcomers (2): Alexis Cournoyer, Erick Roest

Perhaps the most significant question mark heading into the season surrounds the goaltending position. Ian Shane, who posted a 17-11-6 record with a 2.21 goals-against average last season and backstopped the Big Red's ECAC tournament championship run as a No. 6 seed, has graduated. His departure creates an open competition between returning senior Remington Keopple and sophomore Justin Katz, along with freshmen Alexis Cournoyer and Erick Roest.

Keopple appeared in five games last season, making two starts, and finished his junior campaign with a statement performance — a 21-save shutout in the regular-season finale against RPI on March 1.

"He just couldn't knock Ian off, but you're trying to knock off an All-American goaltender," Jones said. "He's got a ton of experience and had a great summer."

The addition of Cournoyer, a fifth-round pick by Montréal in this past June's NHL Entry Draft, provides both depth and competition.

"We kind of replaced Rem a year early, just to protect us in the position and get us a chance to know that we got depth there," Jones explained. "We're excited about Alexis. He's a talented goaltender, got drafted, and makes that room deep and gives us comfort that we're going to have good goaltending.

"It's a big question mark a lot of people have about us, it's not a fear of our program. Our guys are comfortable with our goaltending. There's competition in net, it's a situation we feel like we're going to have good goaltending."

DEFENSEMEN
Letterwinners returning (4): George Fegaras, Jack O'Brien, Hoyt Stanley, Nicholas Wolfenberg
Other returners (1): Marian Mosko
Newcomers (6): Luke Ashton, Michael Fisher, Hudson Gorski, Donovan Hamilton, Luke McCrady, Xavier Veilleux

The defensive corps faces a significant rebuilding effort after losing four regulars — three to graduation and one who transferred. Juniors George Fegaras (1-13—14) and Hoyt Stanley (2-11—13) both return as the most experienced defensemen. Senior alternate captain Jack O'Brien provides additional stability after playing in 30 games last season.

"If you look at our team, lost our goaltender, lost a good chunk of people on the back end, so that's where you try to build from," Jones said. "We had a good crop of 'D,' we have our two big boys returning that are draft picks in Hoyt and George, who'll have to be the stalwarts back there."

Junior Marian Mosko and sophomore Nicholas Wolfenberg return after seeing limited action last season. The six newcomers will be critical to the defensive corps' success, particularly sophomore transfers Michael Fisher and Luke Ashton, who bring valuable Division I experience.

Fisher, a third-round pick of San Jose in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, spent last season with the BCHL's Penticton Vees after playing at Northeastern in 2023-24. Ashton arrives from Minnesota State, giving Cornell two experienced defensemen who can step in immediately.

"We can't live in the transfer market," Jones noted. "It was two guys that wanted [to be in the] Ivy League. When you're talking to San Jose, for Fisher, and you're talking to Columbus director player of personnel, with Luke, all of a sudden you get a little push from them because of the opportunity."

Freshman Xavier Veilleux, a fifth-round selection by the New York Islanders, adds another blue-chip prospect to the mix.

"Xavier is one that we feel really strongly about," Jones said. "Won a championship last year [with Muskegon in the USHL], he's won everywhere he's been, which is exciting for us. We could see how he fits right into culture."

FORWARDS
Letterwinners returning (7): Jonathan Castagna, Tyler Catalano, Nick DeSantis, Sean Donaldson, Jake Kraft, Charlie Major, Ryan Walsh
Other retuners (3): Luke Devlin, Parker Murray, Winter Wallace 
Newcomers (6): Connor Arseneault, Giovanni DiGiulian, Reegan Hiscock, Aiden Long, Chase Pirtle, Caton Ryan

The forward group returns its most important piece: junior captain Ryan Walsh who led the team with 17 goals and 31 points last season. Walsh's breakout sophomore campaign established him as one of the premier centers in ECAC Hockey. The Boston Bruins prospect will be counted on to likely anchor the top line and provide leadership for a young team.

"We have some horses there that are coming back, that I expect are going to be big-time players," Jones said. "Ryan, Jonathan Castagna, and Charlie Major jump to the forefront as dynamic players that should give us a real good pop offensively up front."

Castagna returns after posting 15 points (5 goals, 10 assists) in 32 games last season. The 2023-24 ECAC All-Rookie Team selection will look to build on his promising freshman campaign.

Major could be an X-factor for Cornell's offense this season as the Skaneateles, N.Y., native appeared in 35 games as a freshman last season and showed flashes of his offensive potential, which included recording 12 points (4 goals, 8 assists) in the team's final 13 games. With a full season under his belt and more ice time available, Major has the skill set to emerge as a primary scoring threat alongside Walsh and Castagna.

Junior forward Luke Devlin and senior forward Winter Wallace will look to bring an added physical presence to the lineup after both players missed all of last season due to injury.

The six incoming freshman forwards all bring impressive credentials and immediate scoring potential. "If you look at our incoming class, there's good numbers," Jones said. "Aiden Long finished eighth in USHL in scoring, that usually translates. He's got good size and he'll get an opportunity. Caton Ryan had a phenomenal second half in the BCHL. Chase Pirtle, Reegan Hiscock had tremendous years in Victoria."

Long posted 59 points (22 goals, 37 assists) in 62 games last season with Madison in the USHL and was a finalist for the USHL's inaugural Gaudreau Award. Hiscock, a 6-foot-5 power forward from Newfoundland, nearly averaged a point per game with Victoria (BCHL) and added 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 17 playoff games. Pirtle, Hiscock's linemate in Victoria, contributed 116 points (50 goals, 66 assists) over two BCHL seasons. Gio DiGiulian also had a strong season with Lincoln, collecting 51 points (22 goals, 29 assists) in 58 games.

"I feel really good about our sticks and our hockey IQ," Jones noted. "I feel even better about the fact that the freshmen class coming in is competitive. That's the thing I've liked about them on the ice. I would guess out of the gate, there's going to be probably three of them playing in the top nine right off the bat, just out of need. They're going to get plenty of opportunity and from what I've seen so far I think they're ready to help us here."

SCHEDULE OUTLOOK
The Big Red begins its 2025-26 season this weekend when it travels to UMass for a two-game non-conference series, marking the first of four consecutive away games for the Big Red, as it opens ECAC Hockey play next weekend against Harvard (Nov. 7) and Dartmouth (Nov. 8).

Jones' first regular-season home game as the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Cornell Men's Ice Hockey will be Friday, Nov. 14, when the Big Red hosts Brown in its home opener to start a four-game homestand. Cornell will also face Yale (Nov. 15), Union (Nov. 21), and RPI (Nov. 22) during the homestand before heading to New York City for Red Hot Hockey against Boston University (Nov. 29).

The 2025 portion of the season will conclude with a trip to the North Country for games against Clarkson (Dec. 5) and St. Lawrence (Dec. 6), followed by Cornell starting an eight-game homestand after the winter break. The longest single-season homestand in program history will begin with two non-conference series against Omaha (Jan. 2-3) and Alaska (Jan. 9-10), then continue with league games against Princeton (Jan. 16), Quinnipiac (Jan. 17), Dartmouth (Jan. 23), and Harvard (Jan. 24).

After the homestand, Cornell will play seven of its final 10 regular-season games on the road, with the only home games during the span being against Colgate (Feb. 7) and concluding the regular-season slate against St. Lawrence (Feb. 27) and Clarkson (Feb. 28).