CANTON, N.Y. — 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.

GAME NOTES
• Cornell increased its series lead over its Empire State rival to 72-48-9 and has gone 15-4-1 over the last 20 meetings with St. Lawrence. The Big Red has also held the Saints to two or fewer goals in all 20 of those games, extending the longest such streak against a singular opponent in program history.

LONGEST STREAK OF HOLDING OPPONENT TO TWO GOALS OR LESS
Against Active Division I Programs
• 20 games - St. Lawrence (Dec. 4, 2015 – Present)
• 17 games – Yale (Feb. 10, 2001 – Jan. 26, 2008)
• 16 games – RPI (Feb. 19, 2000 - Nov. 26, 2006)
• 12 games – Vermont (Feb. 12, 1999 - Present)
• 12 games – Brown (March 22, 2019 - Present)
• 11 games – Brown (Nov. 14, 1998 – March 21, 2003)
• 11 games – Colgate (Jan. 18, 2002 – March 17, 2006)
• 11 games – Dartmouth (Feb. 11, 1967 – Jan. 29, 1972)

• The seven goals scored by the Big Red were its most against St. Lawrence since an 8-1 victory at Lynah Rink on Jan. 27, 1995, and was the highest scoring output in a road game against the Saints since a 7-4 triumph on Nov. 16, 1990, also at Appleton Arena.

• With his two-point night, Major increased his point streak to a career-high five games, registering eight points during the span (3-5—8).

• Along with O'Brien, freshman defenseman Xavier Veilleux (two assists) and Pirtle (goal and assist) each registered the first multi-point games of their collegiate careers.

• The Big Red had seven players with multi-point nights, marking the program's highest total in a game since having nine players have at least two points in Cornell's 10-1 win over Union on Feb. 4, 2023.

NEXT UP
Cornell returns to action on Friday, Jan. 2, when it opens an eight-game homestand with a two-game non-conference series against Omaha (6-8-0, 3-5-0 NCHC). Puck drop for both games between the Big Red and Mavericks is scheduled for 7 p.m., with game action broadcast on ESPN+.