ITHACA, N.Y. — Junior forward Ryan Walsh had a two-goal night and freshman forward Caton Ryan had a goal and an assist to help lead the No. 20-ranked Cornell men's hockey team to a 5-2 victory over Yale before a sold-out crowd Saturday night at Lynah Rink.

The multi-point nights for both Walsh and Ryan helped punctuate their three-goal weekends as the Big Red (4-2-0, 3-1-0 ECAC Hockey) came away with six points in its first home weekend of the season.

"It's always good to get six points in a sweep in the first home weekend," Walsh said.

Freshman forward Reegan Hiscock and senior forward Nick DeSantis also scored for Cornell, who received 27 saves from freshman goaltender Alexis Cournoyer.

Ronan O'Donnell and David Chen scored for Yale, and Jack Stark made 21 saves in the setback for the Bulldogs (2-3-0, 2-2-0 ECAC Hockey).

Following a scoreless opening period, Cornell exploded with a four-goal second period. Walsh ignited the offensive outburst with a one-timer on the power play 7:02 into the frame.

"I just shot the puck and it happened to go in the net," Walsh said. "Getting a power-play goal to start things off was nice."

Hiscock doubled the Big Red's lead just over two minutes later, but O'Donnell answered for Yale 27 seconds after that to cut the deficit to 2-1.

DeSantis restored Cornell's two-goal cushion before Walsh capitalized on a scramble along the goal line. Freshman forward Aiden Long backhanded the puck off the side of the net, and Walsh threw it toward the goal as Stark hugged the post. The puck deflected off Stark's glove and into the net.

"I didn't know how it went in. I just chipped it from one foot out, and I didn't even know it went in until guys started celebrating around," Walsh said.
 
Between the second and third periods, a 62-minute delay due to an ice issue created an unprecedented challenge for both teams.

"It's one of those things where it's hard to prepare for almost an hour between the second and third," Walsh said. "There's also uncertainty if we were even going to play. Guys were trying to stay loose because it was a two-goal game and that easily could have flipped."

Casey Jones '90, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Cornell Men's Ice Hockey, emphasized the mental challenge the delay presented.

"Both teams are going through it. We just talked about being mentally sharp," Jones said. "We started pretty good, managed the game early, but I thought we got a little loose as we went. It's a tough situation to be in. Let our guys handle it, get the three points, and let's get out of here."

Jones was particularly appreciative of the Lynah Faithful who stuck around during the lengthy delay.

"I really appreciate the fans sticking around, big time," Jones said. "A large percentage of the crowd hung tough, and that means a lot to us. Our guys were talking about it on the bench — the loyalty of the fans to stick around meant a lot to us."

After play resumed, Yale nearly made things interesting. O'Donnell blocked a shot by junior defenseman Michael Fisher at the point, creating a 2-on-1 rush. Chen used a toe-drag deke to get around senior defenseman Jack O'Brien's shot-block attempt, and after Cournoyer made the initial save, Chen buried his own rebound to cut the lead to 4-2 six minutes into the third period.

Ryan answered more than eight minutes later, redirecting a shot from the left point by O'Brien for his third goal of the weekend to restore the three-goal cushion and ultimately put the game out of reach.

POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM CASEY JONES '90 AND RYAN WALSH


GAME NOTES
• Cornell increased its unbeaten streak against Yale to 12 games, improving to 10-0-2 during the span and outscoring the Bulldogs 47-15. The Big Red has only lost to Yale once in its last 18 meetings (12-1-5), as it increased its lead in the series to 95-63-10.

• The Big Red has scored five or more goals against Yale in each of its last three meetings, marking the fourth time in program history it has accomplished the feat, joining spans of seven games (Feb. 11, 1974, to Jan. 22, 1977) and a pair of four-game stretches between Feb. 21, 1984, to March 8, 1985, and Dec. 12, 1970, and Feb. 16, 1972.

MOST CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH FIVE-PLUS GOALS VERSUS YALE
Cornell Program History
• 7 games, Feb. 11, 1974 – Jan. 22, 1977
• 4 games, Dec. 12, 1970 – Feb. 16, 1972
• 4 games, Feb. 21, 1984 – March 8, 1985
• 3 games, Feb. 15, 2025 – Present

• With his assist on Walsh's first goal, junior defenseman George Fegaras has assists in three straight games, his longest streak of his collegiate career. It also matches his longest point streak, previously set this past Jan. 18-25.

• Walsh had his fourth career multi-goal game and his first since scoring twice in the Big Red's upset of top-ranked Michigan State in the semifinal of the Toledo Regional of the 2025 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship.

• Cornell went 1-for-2 on the power play, scoring a power-play goal for the second consecutive game. The Big Red's penalty kill went 3-for-3 on the night and has now killed off 10 straight penalties and 15 of its last 16.

NEXT UP
Cornell continues its four-game homestand next weekend when it welcomes Union (8-2-1, 2-2-0 ECAC Hockey) and RPI (3-9-0, 2-2-0 ECAC Hockey) to Lynah Rink. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. puck drops and will be streamed on ESPN+.