#17 Men's Hockey Opens Record Homestand With Series Against Omaha

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

PUCK DROP

• Playing at Lynah Rink for the first time since Nov. 22, the No. 17-ranked Cornell men’s hockey team (7-4-0, 6-2-0 ECAC Hockey) opens an eight-game homestand this weekend when it welcomes Omaha (7-11-0, 3-7-0 NCHC) for a two-game series. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+ with action called by Jason Weinstein (play-by-play) and Tony Eisenhut ‘88 (analysis).

RECORD HOMESTAND AT LYNAH

• Cornell’s eight-game homestand, which begins this weekend against Omaha and runs through Jan. 24, is the longest within a single season in program history, besting six-game streaks from the 1958-59, 1960-61, 1965-66, 1974-75, and 1976-77 seasons.

• The homestand — which includes non-conference series against Omaha and Alaska before ECAC Hockey matchups with Princeton, Quinnipiac, Dartmouth, and Harvard — represents the final eight games of Cornell’s 15-game stretch of contests played within New York State.

• The Big Red’s longest overall homestand occurred across the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons, when Cornell played nine straight games at Lynah Rink. The streak began when it hosted the final two regular-season games and all three of its playoff games against Clarkson, where it fell to the Golden Knights in a three-game quarterfinal series. Cornell then played its first four regular-season games of the 2004-05 campaign at home. The program’s lone six-game homestand that spanned two seasons came across the 1977-78 and 1978-79 seasons (final game of 1977-78 and first five games of 1978-79).

FAITHFUL TO LYNAH

• Cornell enters this weekend boasting an 82-22-9 (.7655) home winning percentage since 2017-18, ranking third nationally behind Minnesota State (.7946) and Denver (.7760) — one of just five programs with at least a .700 win percentage over that span.

• The Big Red are 4-0-0 at home this season, joining fellow ECAC Hockey and Ivy League foe Princeton (6-0-0) as the lone two remaining undefeated teams at home in Division I hockey. It marks the first time Cornell has started 4-0-0 at home since 2021-22. A win Friday would be the 17th time in program history Cornell has won its first five home games, while a weekend sweep would mark the 13th time starting 6-0-0 at home.

• Dating back to last season’s finale, Cornell’s six-game win streak at home is tied with RIT for the longest active home win streak in Division I hockey. It is the Big Red’s longest home win streak since winning 11 games between Feb. 2020 and Nov. 2021, during a 21-game unbeaten streak (19-0-2).

• Cornell has won at least nine home games in each of the last nine seasons played, the fifth-longest active streak in Division I behind Minnesota (49 seasons), Denver (26), North Dakota (23), and Minnesota State (13). Since Jan. 1, 2024, the Big Red are 21-5-2 (.7857) at Lynah Rink, ranking fourth nationally.

ALEXIS-CELLENCE BETWEEN THE PIPES

• Freshman goaltender Alexis Cournoyer has been stellar through his first nine collegiate games, compiling a 6-3-0 record with a 1.69 goals-against average and .937 save percentage. Among all Division I goaltenders who have played at least 33 percent of their team’s minutes, Cournoyer ranks fifth and third nationally in goals-against average and save percentage, respectively.

• Cournoyer is one of six Cornell goaltenders since 2005-06 with a sub-2.00 goals-against average through his first nine career games. His 1.692 mark ranks ahead of Ian Shane (1.697, 2021-22), Mitch Gillam (1.744, 2013-15), Hayden Stewart (1.810, 2014-15), Austin McGrath (1.921, 2018-19), and Matthew Galajda (1.924, 2017-18).

• Among qualifying Division I freshman goaltenders this season, Cournoyer ranks second in goals-against average, only behind North Dakota’s Jan Špunar (1.67), and owns the best save percentage. Cournoyer is one of four freshmen with a sub-2.00 goals-against average, alongside Špunar, Michigan’s Jack Ivankovic (1.90), and Denver’s Quentin Miller (1.92). He is also one of four first-year goaltenders with at least a .930 save percentage, joining Špunar (.934), Northern Michigan’s Oliver Auyeung-Ashton (.932), and Miller (.931).

• Cournoyer’s .937 save percentage ranks second out of four Big Red goaltenders with at least a .930 save percentage through his first nine career games since 2005-06, trailing only Gillam’s .944 mark from 2013-15.

(BIG) RED MEANS STOP

• Cornell has allowed 19 goals through its first 11 games, marking the 14th time the Big Red have surrendered 20 or fewer by game 11 — the fewest since 2019-20, when Cornell yielded just 15 goals.

• The program record remains with the 1967-68 squad (14 goals allowed), while the teams from 2002-03 and 2019-20 (15 each), 1965-66, 2004-05, and 2008-09 (16 each), 2001-02, 2011-12, and 2014-15 (18 each), and 1966-67, 1968-69, 1969-70, and 2015-16 (19 each) also meet the criteria.

• Cornell’s defensive prowess owns the third-best scoring defense in Division I as of Wednesday morning (1.727 goals allowed per game), trailing Dartmouth (1.571) and Michigan State (1.722). The Big Red have ranked among the top 10 nationally in scoring defense 12 times over the past two decades — more than any other program — and are one of three teams (Denver and Minnesota State, 10 each) with at least 10 top-10 finishes in that span.

• Over the last nine seasons, Cornell has finished in the top 10 in scoring defense seven times, tied with Minnesota State for the most in Division I, and in the top 12 in each of its last eight seasons, the longest active streak nationally. The Big Red have also ranked in the top 12 in 10 of the past 11 seasons.

• Since 2014-15, Cornell has allowed 1.975 goals per game — joining Minnesota State (1.896) as the only Division I programs under 2.00 in that span — and has not conceded 100 goals in a season since 1997-98, a 26-year streak twice as long as any other active run (Minnesota State and Providence, 13 each). Within ECAC Hockey, Clarkson (8) and Quinnipiac (7) rank second and third, respectively.

MAKING A MAJOR RETURN

• Since returning from a one-week absence in mid-November, sophomore forward Charlie Major has accrued eight points (3-5—8) as part of a career-long five-game point streak.

• During his current point streak, Major has recorded an assist in each of the last four games, marking the program’s longest assist streak since defenseman Michael Suda ‘25 last season (March 1-15, 2025) and the longest by a Big Red forward since Dalton Bancroft’s four-game streak between March 15-23, 2024.

• Major has scored three of Cornell’s seven game-winning goals this season — two of which have come during his current five-game point streak. His game-winning goal at St. Lawrence on Dec. 6 made him the first Cornell player with three game-winners by the team’s 11th game of a season since Matt Stienburg also had three in his freshman season in 2021-22.

• With a game-winning goal this weekend, Major would be the fourth player in program history to score four game-winning goals by the 13th game, joining Edmund ‘Stubby’ Magner (six in 1910-11), Nick D’Agostino (five in 2011-12), and Doug Marrett (four in 1972-73).

JONNY-ON-THE-DOT

• Junior forward Jonathan Castagna boasts the nation’s top faceoff win percentage among players with a minimum of 125 faceoff wins, winning 131 of 205 draws (63.9 percent). He is one of 10 players this season to have won at least 125 faceoffs and own a success rate of at least 60.0 percent.

• Since Jan. 1, 2025, Castagna has been the nation’s most reliable player at the faceoff circle, winning .624 percent of his draws (338-of-542), serving as the lone active Division I player, with at least 300 faceoff wins, to have at least a 60 percent win percentage on faceoffs. Colorado College’s Klavs Veinbergs is the next-closest player with a .598 clip (417-of-697). 

• Castagna’s team-leading 131 faceoff wins has resulted in his 11.91 faceoff wins per game average which ranks ninth nationally and first among players in ECAC Hockey. Combined with junior forward Ryan Walsh (122 wins, 11.09 per game, 14th nationally), Cornell is the lone Division I program with multiple players averaging at least 10 faceoff wins per game this season.

WALSH PARTICIPATES AT SPENGLER CUP

• Junior captain Ryan Walsh participated in the 97th Spengler Cup this past week with the United States Collegiate Selects team in Davos, Switzerland. The U.S. Collegiate Selects marked the first time a select team representing college hockey participated in the prestigious annual tournament. Only two U.S.-based college programs — Minnesota (1981) and North Dakota (1982) — have previously competed in the event.

• Walsh appeared in both of the U.S. Collegiate Selects’ pool play games, amassing 24:12 of ice time. After being a scratch in the USCS’ 5-3 semifinal win against Sparta Praha on Tuesday, Walsh registered a goal and assist in 12:46 of ice time, as the hosts, HC Davos, claimed its tournament-leading 17th Spengler Cup title with a 6-3 win in the championship on Wednesday afternoon.

• According to roster data dating back to 1983 from Elite Prospects, Walsh became the 14th Cornell player named to a Spengler Cup roster, joining Lance Nethery (HC Davos, 1983-89), Dan Ratushny (Team Canada, 1988, 1990, 2000), Brad Chartrand (Team Canada, 1997), Jason Elliott (TPS, 2002), Dave LeNeveu (Team Canada, 2009), Charlie Cook (HC Davos, 2010), Mike Iggulden (Team Canada, 2010), Mike Knoepfli (HC Fribourg-Gottéron, 2012), Kirill Gotovets and Ben Scrivens (Dinamo Minsk, 2016), Ryan Vesce (HC Lugano, 2016; EHC Olten, 2017), Riley Nash (Team Canada, 2022), and Alex Green (Straubing Tigers, 2024).

OFF TO A GOOD START

• Cornell’s 7-4-0 record through its first 11 games under Casey Jones ‘90 is the best 11-game start by a first-year Cornell coach since Brian McCutcheon ‘71 also went 7-4-0 to begin the 1987-88 season.

• The .636 win percentage posted by Jones is tied with Talbot Hunter, Nicky Bawlf, Ned Harkness, and McCutcheon for the second-best clip through a coach’s first 11 games at Cornell, all of whom also had 7-4-0 records. Only Dick Bertrand ‘70 had a better mark, opening his first 11 games as Cornell’s head coach with a 9-2-0 record.

• A weekend sweep of Omaha would keep Jones tied with Hunter and McCutcheon (9-4-0) for the second-best win percentage for a Cornell coach through his first 13 games, also trailing Bertrand (11-2-0, .846).

• Among the 11 Division I programs currently playing under first-year head coaches, Cornell’s .636 win percentage through the first 11 games ranks fourth, trailing RIT (9-2-0, .818), North Dakota (8-3-0, .727), and Michigan Tech (7-3-1, .682).

POWERFUL ON THE POWER PLAY

• Cornell has scored a power-play goal in six of its last seven games, which included scoring with the man advantage in four straight games between Nov. 14-22.

• The Big Red’s 35.0 percent power-play success rate since Nov. 14 ranks fifth nationally, trailing Notre Dame (42.9 percent), Minnesota (40.9 percent), Minnesota Duluth (36.8 percent), and Ohio State (35.3 percent).

• Entering this weekend, Cornell’s 25.7 percent success rate on power plays this season ranks seventh nationally and second among ECAC Hockey programs, trailing only Dartmouth (27.0 percent). The Big Red have converted on nine of its 35 power-play opportunities this season.

FRESH IMPACT

• Cornell’s 12-player freshman class has made an immediate impression, combining for 33 of the Big Red’s 93 points this season (35.5 percent). Cornell is one of 11 Division I programs receiving at least 35 percent of its offensive production from first-year players.

• Fourteen of Cornell’s 34 goals this season have come from first-year players, led by forwards Gio DiGiulian and Caton Ryan with four tallies each. The Big Red’s 41.2 percent goal-scoring share from freshmen ranks eighth nationally and third among ECAC Hockey programs, trailing Quinnipiac (48.4 percent) and St. Lawrence (44.7 percent).

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 OMAHA

• Coming off a 4-1 victory over Manitoba in an exhibition contest on Tuesday, Omaha concludes its non-conference slate this weekend when it travels to Ithaca, N.Y., to face Cornell.

• The Mavericks enter this weekend’s series against Cornell with a 7-11-0 overall record and 3-7-0 mark in NCHC play. Omaha has lost nine of its last 12 games, with all three triumphs during the span coming in road contests against then-No. 3 Minnesota Duluth (2-0 on Nov. 15), Yale (3-1 on Nov. 29), and Augustana (4-1 on Dec. 20).

• Freshman forward Luke Woodworth (3-10—13) paces Omaha’s offense in scoring and is tied with senior defenseman Griffin Ludtke (0-10—10) for the team lead in assists. Sophomore forward Maxime Pellerin (6-6—12) is right behind Woodworth in points, while having the most goals of all Mavericks players.

• Senior goaltender Simon Latkoczy (4-7-0, 3.56, .895) began the season serving as Omaha’s go-to starting netminder, but has not played since exiting just 1:17 into the Mavericks’ contest at No. 4 North Dakota on Dec. 12 with an apparent injury. Freshman Dawson Cowan (3-4-0, 2.89, .912) has assumed the starting role since then, starting in Omaha’s last three games. Cowan has made at least 20 saves in all seven of his appearances on the season.

12 YEARS, 1006 MILES, 4 MEETINGS

• Cornell and Omaha will meet for the first time since 2014-15 as the Big Red open an eight-game homestand this weekend. The programs have split their two all-time series, with Cornell holding a 2-1-1 record in the four meetings.

• In the first-ever series, Cornell swept Omaha at the Omaha Civic Auditorium with victories of 5-3 (Oct. 25, 2013) and 4-3 (Oct. 26, 2013). The following year, the Mavericks earned a series win at Lynah Rink, playing to a 1-1 tie (Oct. 31, 2014) before claiming a 2-1 victory the following night (Nov. 1, 2014).

• With Cornell entering this weekend ranked No. 17 in the USCHO.com poll, all six meetings between the programs will have featured the Big Red being ranked at the time of the contest.

CORNELL - OMAHA CONNECTIONS

• Luke Devlin and Remington Keopple played with Joe Gramer on the 2021-22 Des Moines Buccaneers. Devlin also played with Jacob Guévin on the 2020-21 Muskegon Lumberjacks. Donovan Hamilton (2022-23 Omaha Lancers) and Nicholas Wolfenberg (2023-24 Salmon Arm Silverbacks) played with Marcus Broberg. Erick Roest (Tri-City Storm) and Hudson Gorski (Chicago Steel) each spent time last season with Cameron Briere. Marian Mosko (HK Dukla Trencín U16 and U18 teams, 2017-19) and Nick DeSantis (2021-22 Madison Capitols) played with Simon Latkoczy; Mosko and Latkoczy are two of 19 Slovakian-born players in college hockey this season. Alexis Cournoyer and Jérémy Loranger played together on the 2022-23 Trois-Rivières Estacades. Luke Ashton (2024, 6th round) and Loranger (2025, 7th round) were both selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the NHL Entry Draft.

OMAHA'S NHL CONNECTIONS

• Marcus Broberg is the younger brother of St. Louis Blues defenseman Philip Broberg, who is in his fifth NHL season. The eighth overall pick from the 2019 NHL Entry Draft has 55 points in 189 games between Edmonton and St. Louis. Cameron Briere is the son of Steve Briere, who served as a goaltending coach in the NHL for nine seasons between Toronto (2015-22) and Seattle (2022-24).

#18 MEN'S HOCKEY DEALT 2-1 LOSS BY OMAHA

BOX SCORE | RECAP | HIGHLIGHTS | POSTGAME INTERVIEWS

ITHACA, N.Y. (NOV. 1, 2014) – Freshman forward Trevor Yates scored his first collegiate goal and the Cornell men's hockey team largely improved from its first game to its next, but still ended up on the short side of a 2-1 score Saturday night at Lynah Rink.
 
Freshman goaltender Hayden Stewart made 21 saves in his first collegiate start, perhaps none bigger than a blocker save on Justin Parizek's breakaway chance 7 minutes, 51 seconds into the game. Cornell (0-1-1) had a spectacular opening two shifts of the game, firing four shots on goal in the first minute. But the rest of the frame was largely sloppy, illustrated by goals produced by broken line rushes.
 
Omaha (4-1-1) struck first with Avery Peterson's goal 1:59 before the first intermission. Dominic Zombo entered the zone and lost control of the puck, but the Cornell defensemen never got assertive touches on the puck to clear. Peterson followed the play through the slot and eventually slid a shot under Stewart's left pad.
 
But Cornell struck back 71 seconds later. After Cornell's choppy zone entry on the right wing, Jeff Kubiak won a battle along the boards and Yates chipped the puck away from a Mavericks defenseman toward the top of the circle. He got off an attempted shot that was blocked by Omaha's other defenseman, but Kubiak came streaking through the slot to pick up the loose puck and deked to his backhand around Massa. Kubiak's angle quickly disappeared, but Yates converted from the right side of the crease.

As it turned out, that would be the only shot to elude Massa. The Omaha goalie remains undefeated on the season, making 32 saves on Saturday to improve his goals-against average to 1.38 and save percentage to .952.

The winning goal came from Austin Ortega, who also assisted on the Mavericks' first strike. From center ice, Luc Snuggerud fired a puck in the general direction of the Big Red goal that took a funny bounce off the glass behind the net. That allowed Tanner Lane to get off a shot from the left circle that Stewart saved. Will Ortega then looped around from behind the net to take a couple of whacks at the rebound, with the second one sneaking inside the near post.
 
Cornell will play its only true road games in the 2014 portion of its schedule when it opens ECAC Hockey play at 7 p.m. Friday at Princeton, followed by a 7 p.m. Saturday date at Quinnipiac.

#17 MEN'S HOCKEY ERUPTS FOR FIVE UNANSWERED TO POWER PAST ST. LAWRENCE

BOX SCORE | RECAP | HIGHLIGHTS

CANTON, N.Y. (DEC. 6, 2025) — Five unanswered goals across the second and third periods helped break open a 2-2 tie to guide the No. 17-ranked Cornell men's hockey team to a 7-2 victory over St. Lawrence on Saturday night at Appleton Arena.

Seven different players had multi-point nights for the Big Red, highlighted by junior forward Jonathan Castagna's team-high three points (one goal, two assists). Cornell snapped its two-game losing streak and improved to 7-4-0 overall and 6-2-0 in ECAC Hockey play. The balanced offensive attack featured goals from seven players, propelling the Big Red to its most lopsided victory of the season.

Senior goaltender Remington Keopple made his first start and appearance since the Big Red's season opener, stopping 18 of 20 shots in the victory.

Rasmus Svarstrom and Tyler Cristall each factored on both goals for St. Lawrence (2-15-1, 1-7-0 ECAC Hockey), which suffered its ninth consecutive loss. Colin Winn made 25 saves in the setback.

Cornell dominated the opening period, outshooting St. Lawrence 18-4 and building a 2-0 lead on goals by senior forward Nick DeSantis and junior forward Tyler Catalano. Catalano's goal came with 2:17 left in the frame and was his first in 41 games, dating back to Nov. 15, 2024.

"Like I said last night, I thought we started the game last night really well, and I thought our first period tonight might have been our best period of the year," said Casey Jones '90, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Cornell Men's Ice Hockey. "I thought we came out flying."

The Saints stormed back in the second period with two power-play goals from Cristall and Svartstrom to tie the game at 2-2. But sophomore forward Charlie Major answered for Cornell on the power play and Castagna added another late in the period to restore the two-goal cushion heading into the third.

"It was good. We needed a response after Friday night," senior defenseman and alternate captain Jack O'Brien said. "I think we came out flying. We got a little stagnant in the second but then, like, all this about overcoming adversity, and I think we showed that in the third."

Cornell put the game away with three goals in the final frame. Freshman forward Caton Ryan scored on a stretch pass early in the period, freshman forward Chase Pirtle netted his first collegiate goal minutes later, and junior forward Jake Kraft capped the scoring with his first career power-play goal with 8:23 remaining.

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 eight-game homestand to begin the 2026 portion of the schedule next weekend when it welcomes Alaska (4-8-1) to Lynah Rink for a two-game non-conference series. Both games between the Nanooks and Big Red are scheduled for 7 p.m. puck drops with game action streamed live on ESPN+.

• Alaska will be visiting Cornell for the first time since the Big Red opened its 2021-22 season with a pair of overtime victories over the Nanooks, 3-2 and 1-0.

• Cornell assistant coach Chris Brown will be coaching against Alaska for the first time since joining the Big Red's coaching staff this summer. Brown spent the previous four seasons on Eric Largen's staff, serving as an associate head coach. Alaska had a 65-56-13 (.534) record with Brown on staff, including a 22-10-2 mark in the 2022-23 season, finishing one spot shy of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. In charge of Alaska's defensive unit, Brown served as the primary development coach for blueliners, which finished the year fourth in scoring defense (2.20).