PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A three-goal second period aided the Cornell men's hockey team (10-8-6, 7-6-4 ECAC Hockey) to a 6-1 victory over Brown (11-11-2, 7-9-1 ECAC Hockey) at Meehan Auditorium on Friday night.
Sophomore forward
Ryan Walsh scored the first two markers in the second period for his first career multi-goal game with the Big Red, sparking his three-point night and serving as one of five players with multiple points on the night.
Joining Walsh in having a three-point night was his linemate, senior forward
Sullivan Mack, who tallied a career-high for points and assists with three.
Freshman forward
Charlie Major – who returned to the lineup after missing the last eight games – and senior forward
Kyle Penney each had a goal and assist. Junior forward
Dalton Bancroft and senior forward
Jack O'Leary chipped in a pair of assists and senior defenseman
Tim Rego also found the back of the net for Cornell in the victory.
Senior goaltender
Ian Shane made 17 saves between the pipes for Cornell, logging his 58th career victory to tie Andy Iles '14 for the fifth-most wins by a Big Red netminder.
Nick Traggio tallied the lone marker on the night in the third period for the Bears. Brown goaltender Lawton Zacher, fresh off being named one of 10 semifinalists for this year's Mike Richter Award on Thursday afternoon, made 22 stops in the losing effort for the Bears before being pulled after allowing Cornell's sixth goal. Tyler Shea halted all three Big Red shots he faced in relief.
Cornell's six goals matched its season-high that came on Jan. 17 in a 6-2 win against Princeton at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink, while the five-goal margin of victory matched its 5-0 shutout at Lynah Rink on Nov. 23, also against Princeton.
Following a sluggish start for both teams, which featured a combined eight shot attempts over the first 10 minutes of play, Major gave Cornell a 1-0 lead with 3:58 left in the first period, lasering a shot from the slot on a pass from O'Leary that beat Zacher to his glove side.
Walsh doubled the Big Red's lead 25 seconds into the second period, beating Zacher over his near-side shoulder, snapping a shot into the upper right 90.
Later on in the period, Cornell generated six shots on goal during a power-play opportunity, but Zacher made some crucial stops to prevent Cornell from tripling its lead.
Zacher's effort on the power play would go all for naught as the Big Red scored twice in 18 seconds, quickly turning its two-goal lead into a four-goal cushion.
Walsh netted his second goal of the period, redirecting a pass by Bancroft following a between-the-legs deke at the left post.
Penney quickly tallied another goal, sending a shot from the left faceoff circle that squeaked through Zacher's five-hole, capping a 2-on-1 scoring chance with O'Leary.
Rego joined the Big Red's scoring party early in the third period, using a deke to get past a Brown defender and backhand a shot past a sprawling Zacher and into the net for his fourth goal of the season.
Brown thwarted Cornell's shutout bid with 10:28 left in the third on a one-timed shot by Traggio following a cross-ice pass by Mike Cataldo that ricocheted off the far half-wall, beating Shane over his near-side shoulder.
Cornell regained its five-goal lead 39 seconds following Traggio's goal as Psenicka pounced at a loose rebound in front of the crease to extend his career-long point streak to seven games. Senior forward
Kyler Kovich notched the primary assist as Zacher stopped his shot from below the near-side faceoff circle.
GAME NOTES
• Friday was the 141st meeting between the Big Red and Bears, as Cornell improved to 89-44-8 over Brown and is unbeaten in 23 of the last 24 games (20-1-3) while having a 58-goal advantage during the span, 88-30.
• Along with its 20 wins over the last 24 games against Brown, Cornell has won the last six games versus the Bears while owning a 29-4 edge in goals. Eight of the last nine victories over Brown have been by at least two goals and seven of the previous nine wins have been by three-plus goals.
• Cornell's six-game win streak against Brown is tied for the program's third-longest stretch without a loss or tie versus the Bears and is the team's longest win streak since stringing seven victories between Nov. 10, 2007, and March 19, 2010.
LONGEST WIN STREAKS AGAINST BROWN
Cornell Program History
• 7 games, Jan. 22, 1988 – Dec. 8, 1990
• 7 games, Nov. 10, 2007 – March 19, 2010
• 6 games, Dec. 22, 1967 – Feb. 7, 1970
• 6 games, March 6, 1971 – Dec. 8, 1973
• 6 games, Nov. 19, 2022 - Present
• Cornell improved to 9-1-2 over its last 12 games at Meehan Auditorium, which features the Big Red scoring five-plus goals in the previous three contests. Over the last three games, Cornell has outscored Brown by an 18-2 clip.
• After allowing one goal Friday, Cornell has now held Brown to under three goals in each of the last 11 games, tying for the fifth-longest streak in program history and the third-longest active stretch, only behind St. Lawrence (18 games) and former ECAC Hockey opponent Vermont (12 games).
LONGEST STREAK OF HOLDING OPPONENT TO UNDER THREE GOALS
Against Active Division I Programs
• 18 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)
• 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)
• 11 games – Brown (March 22, 2019 - Present)
• 10 games – Colgate (Jan. 23, 1965 – Feb. 11, 1969)
• With his 17 saves on Friday, Shane increased his career saves total to 2,113 and is 30 saves shy of matching Darren Eliot '83 (2,143 saves) for the eighth-most saves in Cornell program history.
MOST GOALTENDER SAVES
Cornell Program History
1. Andy Iles (2010-14) – 2,988 saves
2. Ben Scrivens (2006-10) – 2,872 saves
3. Jason Elliott (1994-98) – 2,462 saves
4. Mitch Gillam (2013-17) – 2,403 saves
5. Corrie D'Alessio (1987-91) – 2,228 saves
6. Brian Hayward (1978-82) – 2,225 saves
7. David McKee (2003-06) – 2,208 saves
8. Darren Eliot (1979-83) – 2,143 saves
9. Ian Shane (2021–Present) – 2,113 saves
10. Matt Underhill (1998-02) – 2,052 saves
• With his third-period goal, Psenicka extended his career-long point streak to seven games, marking the longest point streak by a Cornell forward since Max Andreev '23 had an eight-game point streak between Nov. 12, 2021, and Jan. 1, 2022. It is the 23rd point streak of at least seven games (done by 16 players) during
Mike Schafer '86's tenure as head coach, dating back to the 1995-96 season.
• Psenicka's seven-game point streak is tied for Division I hockey's fourth-longest active point streak and the longest in ECAC Hockey.
LONGEST ACTIVE POINT STREAKS
Division I Hockey
14 games, T.J. Hughes, Michigan (8-15—23)
11 games, Mac Gadowsky, Army (7-14—21) – game not completed
9 games, Ryan Leonard, Boston College (11-5—16)
8 games, Matt Hubbarde, Alaska (10-2—12)
7 games, Kenny Connors, UMass (7-2—9)
8 games, Sam Harris, Denver (7-4—11) – game not completed
7 games, Ryan Johnson, Alaska Anchorage (2-6—8)
7 games, Lucas Mercuri, UMass (5-6—11)
7 games, Jack Musa, UMass (6-7—13)
7 games, Cole O'Hara, UMass (7-7—14)
7 games, Ondrej Psenicka, Cornell (3-4—7)
• Following his early third-period goal, Rego upped his point streak to three games, matching his career-long point streak for the fourth time. It is the third time this season that Rego has had points in three consecutive games, joined by point streaks between Nov. 16-23 and Jan. 17-24.
• Kovich's assist on Psenicka's goal upped his point streak to three games, marking the longest point streak of his collegiate career.
• Major's goal was his first since scoring the Big Red's game-winning overtime marker against Colgate as part of a two-point night on Dec. 6 at Lynah Rink, snapping his five-game goalless streak.
• Walsh went 15-of-22 at the faceoff dot, marking his 11th time posting at least 13 faceoff wins this season. Of the 15 draws won, 10 came against Max Scott, the ECAC Hockey leader in faceoff wins, as Walsh went 10-of-14 (.714). Across the second and third periods, Walsh had won five consecutive faceoffs against Scott.
UP NEXT
Cornell will travel west on Interstate 95 to conclude its Ivy League slate on Saturday when it faces Yale (6-16-2, 5-10-2 ECAC Hockey).
The Bulldogs are coming off a 5-4 overtime victory over Colgate on Friday night at Ingalls Rink. Hughie Hooker scored the game-winner for the Bulldogs 3:02 into the extra frame, as five different players scored for Yale. William Dineen was the lone Bulldogs player with a multi-point night, logging a trio of assists. Noah Pak made 23 saves in the victory for Yale.
Entering Saturday night's game, Cornell is 10-1-4 over its last 15 games versus the Bulldogs and is 7-0-2 over the previous nine games. Across the last 15 games with Yale, the Big Red has scored at least three goals all but four times, averaging 3.47 goals per game while holding the Bulldogs to just 1.73 goals per game.