#20 Men's Hockey to Begin 2025-26 Campaign With Weekend Series at #13 UMass

Casey Jones '90
The Jay R. Bloom ‘77 Head Coach of Cornell Men’s Ice Hockey

PUCK DROP

• No. 20-ranked Cornell officially begins its 109th season of men’s hockey this weekend with a two-game series against No. 13 UMass (5-2-0, 0-1-0 Hockey East) at the Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass.

• Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday, with both games streaming live on ESPN+. Jay Burnham will call the play-by-play on both broadcasts and will have Colin Casey (Friday) and Adam Frenier (Saturday) providing analysis for the respective games.

OPENING WEEKEND

• Cornell holds a 37-17-4 (.672) record over the first two games of a season since 1995-96 — the first year under recently retired head coach Mike Schafer ‘86. The Big Red are 19-9-2 (.667) in season openers during that span and will seek its third straight opening-night win on Friday.

• This weekend marks the fourth consecutive year Cornell is opening its season against a ranked opponent, following matchups against Minnesota Duluth (No. 19 in 2022-23 and No. 11 in 2023-24) and No. 6 North Dakota (2024-25).

• A win Friday would be the sixth time Cornell has won at least three straight season openers. It would be the first occurrence since 2004-06, while also joining spans from 1963-78 (16 seasons), 1982-85 and 1990-93 (4 seasons each), and 1996-98 (3 seasons).

ON THE ROAD AGAIN…

• Cornell is opening the 2025-26 campaign on a four-game road trip, the program’s longest season-opening road stand since 2022-23, when the Big Red opened with a six-game road swing. That 2022-23 trip included a two-game series at No. 19 Minnesota Duluth before Cornell opened ECAC Hockey play at Princeton, No. 7 Quinnipiac, St. Lawrence, and Clarkson.

• This marks just the fourth time in Cornell’s modern era, since 1957-58, that the Big Red have played at least their first four regular-season games away from Lynah Rink. The other occasions came in 1959-60 (first nine games on road or at neutral sites), 2016-17 (first five games on the road), and 2022-23 (first six games on the road).

PASSING THE TORCH ON EAST HILL

• A new era has arrived on East Hill for the Cornell men’s hockey team as former captain Casey Jones ‘90 has assumed head coaching duties from legendary head coach Mike Schafer ‘86, who retired after a 30-year tenure.

• With Jones taking the reins, the 2025-26 season continues an impressive lineage of former players coaching the Big Red. This season marks the 39th consecutive year a Cornell graduate has served as head coach, joining Brian McCutcheon ‘71 (1987-95) and Schafer (1995-2025).

• Cornell owns the second-longest active streak in Division I hockey of having an alumnus serve as head coach, trailing only Boston University, which has had a graduate at the helm for each of the last 53 seasons, highlighted by Jack Parker’s 40-year tenure from 1973-74 to 2012-13. New Hampshire (36 years) and Boston College (32 years) are the only other programs with at least a 30-year streak of former players serving as men’s hockey head coach.

• Dating to the 1970-71 season, the first year Dick Bertrand ‘70 served as Cornell’s head coach, the Big Red have featured an alum as head coach in 50 of the last 56 years.

• Jones is one of 11 new head coaches in Division I hockey this season and one of three new coaches in ECAC Hockey, joining RPI’s Eric Lang and Yale’s Joe Howe, who is serving as interim head coach of the Bulldogs for the 2025-26 season.

ECAC HOCKEY PRESEASON POLL

• The ECAC Hockey conference office announced Sept. 25 that Cornell was picked to finish third in its annual coaches’ preseason poll. Cornell received one of the 12 first-place votes, finishing as one of three teams with more than 100 points (111).

• Quinnipiac was tabbed to finish as ECAC Hockey’s regular-season champion, garnering nine first-place votes and finishing with 129 points, ahead of Clarkson, which had the remaining two first-place votes, by 11 points (118). Dartmouth (97 points) finished 14 points behind the Big Red, as it was selected to finish fourth to round out the projected first-round byes for the 2026 ECAC Hockey Championship.

• Union was right behind Dartmouth with 93 points, and Harvard (79), Colgate (77), and Princeton (55) were slated to host first-round games. Rounding out the 12-team poll were St. Lawrence (48), Brown (47), RPI (42), and Yale (27).

PERENNIAL POWER

• Cornell began the season ranked No. 17 in the preseason USCHO.com poll, which was released Sept. 22. It marked the Big Red’s ninth consecutive season starting ranked in the top 20 of the preseason USCHO poll.

• It is the second-longest streak in program history, trailing only an 11-year span when the Big Red were ranked in the preseason poll from 2002 to 2012.

• Cornell is one of four Division I programs that have been ranked in the preseason top 20 in each of the last nine seasons, joined by Denver, North Dakota and Providence.

• North Dakota (25 consecutive years) and Denver (24 straight) are the only two Division I programs that have been ranked in the top 20 of the preseason poll since USCHO permanently increased its poll from 15 to 20 teams for the 2005-06 season. North Dakota’s streak — the longest active in Division I hockey — dates to the 1997-98 season.

• Providence is the only other team ahead of Cornell, having been named a preseason top-20 team in each of the last 13 preseason polls, dating to the 2013-14 campaign.

• Across USCHO’s 29 preseason polls, Cornell has been included 23 times, making the Big Red one of seven Division I programs to appear in at least 20 preseason polls, joined by North Dakota (29), Boston College (27), Michigan (27), Minnesota (26), Boston University (25) and Denver (25).

TIME TO STUDY THE ROSTER…

• Cornell has 14 newcomers on this year’s roster — 12 freshmen and two sophomore transfers — matching the program’s highest total since 2021-22, when the Big Red added 14 freshmen following the COVID-19 cancellation of the 2020-21 season.

• Only four teams in program history have had more newcomers: 1992-93 (18), 1957-58 (16), 1964-65 (16), and 1978-79 (16). The 1978-79 team included four transfers from Penn, which disbanded its program that year.

• Newcomers comprise 45.2 percent of Cornell’s roster, the 13th-highest percentage in the program’s modern era (since 1957-58) and the highest since 2021-22 (46.7 percent).

• Cornell’s 12 freshmen are tied with Alaska, Boston University, Bowling Green, Colorado College, UMass Lowell, and Miami (Ohio) for second-most in Division I, trailing only Michigan Tech (13).

YOU FEEL THAT (NHL) DRAFT?

• Cornell has nine players drafted by NHL clubs, the program’s highest total since 2005-06. Only the 1990-91 (14) and 2004-05 (10) teams had more NHL draft picks on their roster.

• For the first time in program history, Cornell has three draft picks selected within the first three rounds: junior forward Jonathan Castagna (70th overall, Utah via Arizona), sophomore defenseman Michael Fisher (76th, San Jose) and junior defenseman George Fegaras (83rd, Dallas). The Big Red previously had two players selected in the first three rounds 10 times, most recently in three of the last four seasons.

• Fisher is the highest-drafted Cornell defenseman since Sasha Pokulok went 14th overall to Washington in 2005.

• Freshman goaltender Alexis Cournoyer was Cornell’s lone selection in June’s NHL Entry Draft, taken in the fifth round (145th overall) by Montréal. He became the 13th Big Red goaltender to be drafted and the first since David LeNeveu went in the second round (48th overall) to Phoenix in 2002.

• Cornell’s nine NHL draft picks are tied with Colorado College for 11th-most in Division I. Boston University leads the nation with 19, followed by Michigan State (15), Denver (14), Michigan and Minnesota (13 each), Boston College and North Dakota (12 each), and Harvard, Western Michigan and Wisconsin (10 each).

(BIG) RED MEANS STOP

• Cornell has firmly established itself as one of the nation’s premier defensive programs, ranking among the top 10 in Division I for scoring defense 12 times over the past two decades — the most by any Division I team during that span. The Big Red are one of three programs to post 10 or more top-10 finishes in that period, alongside Denver and Minnesota State (10 each).

• Over the last nine seasons, Cornell has finished top 10 nationally in scoring defense seven times, tying Minnesota State for the most in Division I. The Big Red have also placed top 12 in each of their last eight seasons, one more than Denver and Minnesota State, and in 10 of their last 11 campaigns, matching Minnesota State for the national lead.

• Across the past decade, Cornell has allowed an average of 1.985 goals per game, joining only Minnesota State (1.889) as the lone Division I programs to yield fewer than two goals per contest.

• That consistency extends beyond recent years — Cornell has not conceded 100 or more goals in a season since 1997-98, a streak spanning 26 consecutive seasons. The run stands as the longest active in Division I hockey, double the next-closest streaks by Minnesota State and Providence (13 each). Clarkson (8) and Quinnipiac (7) rank second and third, respectively, in ECAC Hockey.

LIGHTING THE LAMP (CARNELIAN) RED

• On the opposite end of Cornell’s defensive prowess, the Big Red have also shown a consistent ability to light the lamp. Cornell has averaged at least three goals per game in each of the past seven seasons, dating back to 2017-18.

• The Big Red’s seven-year streak of averaging three or more goals per game is the second-longest active run in Division I hockey, trailing Western Michigan’s nine-season streak. Boston University and North Dakota each enter the year with six consecutive seasons above the three-goal mark, while Quinnipiac holds ECAC Hockey’s second-longest active streak at five seasons.

• Since the 2017-18 season, Cornell ranks 12th nationally in goal scoring (3.204), one of just 17 Division I programs averaging at least three goals per contest. The Big Red’s average is second-best in ECAC Hockey behind only Quinnipiac (3.436, sixth nationally), while Denver leads all Division I teams at 3.650 goals per game.

PUTTING THE ‘BIG’ IN BIG RED

• Cornell ranks second nationally in average height (6-foot-1.7) and weight (198.0 pounds) this season, according to College Hockey, Inc. research, trailing UMass (6-foot-1.9) and Notre Dame (200.3 pounds), respectively.

• The Big Red are one of seven programs to rank in the top 10 in both average height and weight, alongside Brown, Harvard, North Dakota, Notre Dame, St. Cloud State, and UMass.

• This year’s average height and weight both rank among the largest averages in Cornell’s modern era, dating back to 1957-58. The average height surpasses the previous record set in 2015-16 by 0.16 inches, while the weight ranks as the fourth-heaviest in program history, only trailing the squads from 2015-16 (198.86 lbs.), 2014-15 (198.85 lbs.), and 1999-00 (198.70 lbs.).

• Freshman goaltender Alexis Cournoyer is not your stereotypical Cornell goaltender. The 6-foot-4 native of Trois-Rivières, Québec, is the tallest netminder on record in the modern era of the Big Red men’s hockey program. Cournoyer edged the late Cornell Athletics and Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Ken Dryden ‘69 (1966-69), Jean-Marc Pelletier (1995-97), and Hayden Stewart ‘18 (2014-18) for the unique distinction.

• Sophomore defenseman Luke Ashton (6-foot-5) is tied for being the tallest blueliner in program history, matching the heights of R.J. Farnworth (1983-84), Ryan O’Byrne (2003-06), Sasha Pokulok (2004-06), and Dan Wedman (2014-17). Ashton, along with sophomore forward Parker Murray and freshman forward Reegan Hiscock — both of whom also measure at 6-foot-5 — are the first Big Red trio to stand at 6-foot-5 or taller since 2017-18, when Beau Starrett, Anthony Angello, and Dwyer Tschantz ‘18, all registered 6-foot-5 measurements.

MAKING A STRONG IMPRESSION

• When opening a brand-new season, the uncertainty of how first-year players will acclimate to the college game is seemingly always questioned. That has not been the case for Cornell over the last seven seasons, as the Big Red have had a freshman score in each of their previous seven season-opening contests.

• Last year against No. 6-ranked North Dakota at Lynah Rink, defenseman Nicholas Wolfenberg scored at the 12:32 mark of the first period to give Cornell a 3-1 lead in an eventual 4-1 victory over the Fighting Hawks.

• Wolfenberg became the third Cornell freshman blueliner to score in a season opener, joining Sasha Pokulok, who scored against Army in a 7-1 win on Oct. 29, 2004, and Joakim Ryan, who scored twice in a 5-4 loss to Mercyhurst on Oct. 29, 2011.

• Forwards Ryan Walsh (2023-24), Winter Wallace (2022-23), Ondrej Psenicka (2021-22), Jack Malone (2019-20), Max Andreev (2018-19), and Morgan Barron (2017-18) are the others to score their first collegiate goals in the Big Red’s last six season openers.

• Anthony Angello also scored in his first collegiate game in the 2015-16 season, giving Cornell a first-year goal-scorer in eight of the previous nine seasons.

ITHACA, N.Y. — Ken Dryden '69, the legendary Cornell men's hockey goaltender who still holds the program record for career wins (76) and backstopped the Big Red to its first national championship in 1967, died Friday after a courageous battle with cancer. He was 78.

"Ken Dryden was not only one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of hockey, but also a symbol of excellence, intellect, and leadership who represented Cornell with unmatched distinction," said Dr. Nicki Moore, Cornell's Meakem & Smith Director of Athletics & Physical Education. "His impact on the game, on our university, and in communities throughout his homeland in Canada will endure far beyond the ice. Cornell Athletics & Physical Education mourns his passing, and we extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and all who were inspired by his extraordinary life."

"Ken Dryden was the quintessential student-athlete," added Casey Jones '90, the current Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Cornell Men's Ice Hockey. "He was a great ambassador for Cornell and hockey in general. Our thoughts are with his family and friends."

"Intelligent, classy, articulate, kind, athletic, and thoughtful are just a few characteristics that come to mind," stated former Cornell men's hockey head coach Mike Schafer '86. "Ken Dryden was a legend and a trailblazer in the sport of hockey. Cornell University, Cornell Hockey, the Montreal Canadiens, and the hockey community have lost one of the greatest ambassadors for our sport. Our thoughts go out to his family, and especially his wife, Lynda."

At Cornell, Dryden compiled a remarkable 76-4-1 record with a 1.59 goals-against average and .939 save percentage, while leading the Big Red to the first three of its four consecutive ECAC Hockey Tournament titles (1967-69), two ECAC Hockey regular-season championships (1968 and 1969), and the 1967 NCAA title. His career goals-against average and save percentage still rank second in program history among eligible goaltenders.

After graduating from Cornell in 1969 with a degree in history, Dryden launched an extraordinary eight-year NHL career with the Montréal Canadiens. He won six Stanley Cups, five Vezina Trophies, the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1971 as the Stanley Cup Playoffs' MVP, and the Calder Trophy in 1972 as the league's Rookie of the Year.

In 1973, Dryden earned the first of his five Vezina Trophies after leading the league in wins (33), goals-against average (2.26), and save percentage (.926). He remains one of four goaltenders in NHL history to win the award at least five times, alongside Jacques Plante (seven), Bill Durnan (six), and Dominik Hasek (six).

Dryden stepped away from hockey for the 1973-74 season, briefly retiring while earning a law degree from McGill University and working at a Toronto law firm, before returning to the Canadiens in 1974. Over the next five seasons, he anchored one of the NHL's most dominant dynasties, guiding the Canadiens to four straight Stanley Cups (1976-79) and capturing the Vezina Trophy each year. During that stretch, he posted a 150-33-30 record with a 2.13 goals-against average, .920 save percentage, and 28 shutouts.

"From the moment Ken Dryden joined Montréal as a 23-year-old rookie in 1971, he made an immediate and lasting impact on the NHL, the Canadiens franchise, and the goaltending position," said NHL Commissioner and fellow Cornell alumnus Gary Bettman '74 in a statement." After playing six regular-season games during that first year, Ken proceeded to lead his team to a Stanley Cup while winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' most valuable player. It is almost incomprehensible to believe that he accomplished all of that the year prior to winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as the League's best rookie in 1971-72.

"Ken's early success was only a harbinger of what was to come. In eight years with the Canadiens, Ken would lead a team filled with future Hall of Famers to six Stanley Cup championships, quickly becoming a beloved figure in his adopted hometown of Montréal. He won five Vezina Trophies as the League's top goaltender, including four consecutive awards from 1975-76 to 1978-79. Named as a member of the League's Greatest 100, he was the NHL's dominant goaltender during the 1970s.

"On a personal note, Ken was a fellow Cornellian whose career ranks among the greatest runs in collegiate hockey and famously led the Big Red to the 1967 NCAA Championship. On behalf of the National Hockey League, we mourn the passing of a legendary Canadian and extend our sincere condolences to his wife Lynda, family, and many friends and fans all over the hockey world."

Dryden was inducted into the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame in 1978 and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983, both in his first year of eligibility. His No. 29 sweater was retired by the Canadiens in 2007, and his No. 1 sweater was retired by Cornell in 2010, alongside Joe Nieuwendyk's No. 25.

The Dryden family has requested privacy at this time. Those wishing to honor his memory are encouraged to make a donation to the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre or the Concussion Legacy Foundation.

SCOUTING UMASS

• UMass (5-2-0, 0-1-0 Hockey East) begins a four-game homestand and an eight-game stretch against ranked opponents this weekend. The Minutemen split last weekend at Omaha, winning the opener 5-4 before falling 5-2 in the finale.

• Jack Musa (6-6—12) is tied for seventh nationally in points and ranks sixth in points per game, trailing Penn State’s Charlie Cerrato (2.13) and JJ Wiebusch (1.88), Michigan’s Michael Hage (1.75), and Minnesota Duluth’s Max Plante and Jayson Shaugabay (1.75).

• Musa is tied with Václav Nestrašil (6-3—9) for the team lead in goals, with both sitting in an eight-way tie for sixth nationally. Jack Galanek (0-6—6) is tied with Musa for the team lead in assists.

• Michael Hrabal has started all seven games for the Minutemen, posting a 5-2-0 record with a 2.86 goals-against average and .907 save percentage across 419:25.

• UMass ranks in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense (3.86 goals per game) and power-play percentage (26.9 percent).

103 YEARS, 263 MILES, 11 MEETINGS

• Cornell and UMass enter this weekend’s two-game series having faced each other 11 times previously. The Big Red, who lead the all-time series, 6-3-2, are unbeaten in the last two meetings against the Minutemen (1-0-1) and six of the previous seven contests (4-1-2).

• This weekend marks the third straight season Cornell and UMass are playing each other, the first such streak in the 103-year history of the series. Cornell and UMass previously played single games in 1922-23 (4-0 Cornell) and 1923-24 (3-2 UMass), both on Beebe Lake in Ithaca, and also met in the 2007-08 (scoreless tie in Ithaca) and 2008-09 (5-2 Cornell in Amherst) seasons.

CORNELL - UMASS CONNECTIONS

• Jack Musa was teammates with Nick DeSantis on the 2021-22 Madison Capitols and with Jake Kraft and Ryan Walsh on the 2022-23 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, where Donovan Hamilton and James Norton also played together in 2023-24. Jack Galanek spent three seasons (2022-25) with Xavier Veilleux on the Muskegon Lumberjacks, overlapping with George Fegaras (2022-23) and Václav Nestrašil (2023-25). Galanek, Veilleux, and Nestrašil won the 2025 Clark Cup with Muskegon. Connor Arseneault and Landon Nycz (Sioux City Musketeers) and Erick Roest and A.J. Lacroix (Tri-City Storm) were teammates on their respective clubs last season. Michael Hrabal and Hamilton played on the 2022-23 Omaha Lancers. Hrabal (sixth round) and Jonathan Castagna (seventh round) were both selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft and currently have their NHL rights owned by Utah. Hoyt Stanley (fourth round, 2023), Nicholas Van Tassell (seventh round, 2023), and Cameron O’Neill (fifth round, 2022) are all Ottawa Senators draft picks. Parker Murray, Larry Keenan, and Francesco Dell’Elce were teammates on the 2023-24 Penticton Vees. Luke Devlin and Mikey DeAngelo both played for USA U18 in 2021-22. Dell’Elce attended St. Andrew’s College with Castagna and Devlin in 2021-22, then played there with Castagna and Arseneault in 2022-23. Marian Mosko and Daniel Jencko represented Slovakia together at the 2021 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, while Mosko, Jencko, and Lukáš Klecka all played for Slovakia at the 2023 World Junior ‘A’ Challenge. Mosko and Charlie Lieberman were teammates at South Kent U18 Prep in 2021-22. UMass goaltender Jackson Irving’s father, Bruce, was a three-year member of the Cornell men’s hockey team (1981-84).

TRIO OF THIRD-PERIOD GOALS AID #16 MEN'S HOCKEY TO COMEBACK WIN OVER UMASS

BOX SCORE | RECAP | HIGHLIGHTS

TEMPE, Ariz. (JAN. 3, 2025) — Third-period goals by senior defenseman Tim Rego, junior forward Dalton Bancroft, and sophomore forward Jonathan Castagna aided the No. 16-ranked Cornell men's hockey team (6-3-3) to a 4-2 victory over UMass (8-8-2) in the opening game of the Desert Hockey Classic at Mullett Arena on Friday afternoon.

Joining the Big Red trio in netting goals was sophomore forward Ryan Walsh. Sophomore defenseman Hoyt Stanley had the lone multi-point night for the Big Red, his first collegiate multi-point outing, as he logged assists on Cornell's latter two third-period goals. Senior goaltender Ian Shane made 22 saves between the pipes, upping his career win total to 55.

Larry Keenan and Michael Cameron scored in the setback for UMass, who also had a 31-save performance by Jackson Irving in his second career start.

Keenan opened the scoring with 32 seconds left in the first period when he one-timed a shot off a feed from Francesco Dell'Elce that deflected off Shane's glove and trickled into the net.

Neither team found the back of the net across the opening 16 minutes of action before Walsh wristed a shot from the far faceoff circle to tie the game 13 seconds after a Cornell power play had expired.

Cornell had a 2-on-1 short-handed scoring chance with Castagna having his shot shoved aside by Ingram which ultimately lead to Cameron pouncing at a rebound of a one-timed shot by Dell'Elce at the near-side faceoff circle, giving UMass a 2-1 on a power-play marker with 17.2 seconds left.

The Big Red came out in the third period swarming as it out-shot UMass, 16-5, over the 20-minute period. The Big Red ended up tying the game at the 6:52 mark when Rego received a cross-ice pass from sophomore defenseman Ben Robertson at the near half-wall, leading to a wrap-around goal that just beat a sprawling Ingram.

Five-plus minutes later, a nifty deke by Bancroft gave Cornell a 3-2 lead as the shot by the junior forward beat Ingram over his near-side shoulder.

Castagna put the game on ice, winning a defensive zone faceoff with 14 seconds left, and sent a near-150-foot shot down the ice into an empty UMass net to double the Big Red's lead.

#19 MEN'S HOCKEY HOLDS OFF RALLY BY U.S. NTDP FOR EXHIBITION WIN

BOX SCORE | RECAP | HIGHLIGHTS

ITHACA, N.Y. (OCT. 25, 2025) — Junior forward Jake Kraft recorded a goal and two assists, one of four players with multi-point nights, to lead the No. 19-ranked Cornell men's hockey team to a 5-4 exhibition victory over the U.S. National Team Development Program Under-18 Team on Saturday night at Lynah Rink.

Junior forward Ryan Walsh and sophomore forward Charlie Major each added a goal and an assist for Cornell, which outshot the visitors 37-19. Junior defenseman George Fegaras chipped in a pair of assists for the Big Red.

"We did some good things, but not a very good team game for us," said Casey Jones '90, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Cornell Men's Ice Hockey. "I thought we were a bit selfish, extended shifts, didn't manage pucks. We have to snap in a little bit in terms of defensive responsibilities."

Victor Plante opened the scoring for the NTDP 4:44 into the contest, which featured Jamie Glance registering a secondary assist. Glance finished as the lone multi-point scorer for the Under-18 squad, notching a goal and an assist.

Junior forward Luke Devlin tied the game for Cornell nearly four minutes after Plante's opening tally. After coincidental roughing penalties forced Cornell and the NTDP to play 4-on-4 for two minutes, Walsh gave the Big Red its first lead of the night only to be countered by AJ Garcia 31 seconds later, sending the teams into the first intermission tied at 2-2.

Cornell netted three unanswered goals in the second period to take a 5-2 lead. Kraft restored the Big Red's advantage early before Major doubled Cornell's lead with a power-play goal past the halfway point. Freshman forward Caton Ryan netted the eventual game-winner at 17:19.

The NTDP's attempted comeback was spearheaded by Sammy Nelson's goal with one-tenth of a second remaining in the second, which cut the NTDP's deficit to 5-3. Cornell held on for the victory despite Glance's extra-attacker goal with 25 seconds left that made it a one-goal game.

"I was happy we got pushed a little bit at the end," Jones said. "I really liked ourselves for the first 14-15 minutes of the third. We played our style of hockey, that's how we have to play. They got that one goal and get a little bit of a look at how we have to defend down the stretch."

Senior goaltender Remington Keopple earned the win in relief, stopping five of seven shots over the final 29:28. Freshman netminder Alexis Cournoyer started and made 10 saves on 12 shots in the first 30:32.

Brady Knowling made 32 saves for the NTDP, which fell to 1-9-1-1 on the year.

2025-26 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 resurrected 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 continues its season-opening four-game road trip next weekend when it begins ECAC Hockey play against fellow Ivy League rivals Harvard and Dartmouth. Puck drop for both games is scheduled for 7 p.m., and will be streamed live on ESPN+.