AMHERST, Mass. — Power-play goals bookended No. 13 UMass' 2-1 victory over the No. 20-ranked Cornell men's hockey team on Friday night at the Mullins Center, with the Minutemen striking early and late to spoil the Big Red's season opener.

Václav Nestrašil netted the game-winner with 1:39 remaining in regulation, redirecting Daniel Jenčko's shot off his hip and past Cornell goaltender Remington Keopple just 12 seconds into the power play. The goal capped a special teams performance that saw the Minutemen convert on both of their man advantages.

UMass (6-2-0) had set the tone from the opening faceoff, drawing a penalty just 13 seconds into the game. The Minutemen capitalized immediately when Larry Keenan's shot from the point deflected off junior defenseman Hoyt Stanley's left skate, allowing Lukáš Klečka to roof a backhanded shot at the left post at 1:43.

Cornell (0-1-0) responded midway through the opening period when freshman forward Gio DiGiulian capitalized on a rebound, burying a second chance off sophomore defenseman Michael Fisher's initial shot. Senior defenseman Jack O'Brien also assisted on the goal.



Despite outshooting UMass 27-16, the Big Red couldn't solve Minutemen goaltender Michael Hrabal. He turned aside 26 of 27 shots to secure the victory, while Keopple finished with 14 saves for Cornell.

"That was an unfortunate end," said Casey Jones '90, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Cornell Men's Ice Hockey. "I thought we made real good progress from our exhibition games heading into the season with that game. I felt really comfortable with our play. It's a result probably wasn't deserved, but it is what it is, we got to get after it tomorrow."

GAME NOTES
• UMass earned its first victory over Cornell since Dec. 29, 2011 (5-2 in Estero, Fla.), trimming the Big Red's all-time series lead to 6-4-2 in 12 meetings.

• DiGiulian's goal extended Cornell's remarkable streak of scoring in season openers to 68 consecutive years. The Big Red last failed to score in a season opener on Jan. 17, 1948, in a 9-0 loss to Army on Beebe Lake in Ithaca.

• DiGiulian also became the eighth straight Cornell freshman to score in a season opener and the ninth in the last 10 seasons.

FRESHMAN GOALS IN SEASON OPENERS
Last 10 Seasons
• 2015-16 — Anthony Angello (Niagara)
• 2016-17 — None
• 2017-18 — Morgan Barron (Alabama-Huntsville)
• 2018-19 — Max Andreev (Michigan State)
• 2019-20 — Jack Malone (Michigan State)
• 2021-22 — Ondrej Psenicka (Alaska)
• 2022-23 — Winter Wallace (Minnesota Duluth)
• 2023-24 — Ryan Walsh (Minnesota Duluth)
• 2024-25 — Nicholas Wolfenberg (North Dakota)
• 2025-26 — Gio DiGiulian (UMass)

• Seven freshmen made their collegiate debuts for Cornell: forwards DiGiulian, Caton Ryan, Aiden Long, Reegan Hiscock, and Chase Pirtle, plus defensemen Xavier Veilleux and Donovan Hamilton.

NEXT UP
Cornell and UMass conclude their two-game series Saturday, Nov. 1, at 6 p.m. Game action will be streamed live on ESPN+.