Men's Hockey Takes on #19 Clarkson, St. Lawrence on Alumni Weekend, Senior Day

Mike Schafer '86
The Jay R. Bloom ‘77 Head Coach of Cornell Men’s Ice Hockey

PUCK DROP

The Cornell men’s hockey team returns to Lynah Rink to play its final two regular-season home games this weekend when it squares off against Clarkson (18-9-3, 12-5-1 ECAC Hockey) and St. Lawrence (9-19-2, 5-11-2 ECAC Hockey).

Puck drop for Friday is slated for 7 p.m., while Saturday's Senior Night contest will begin at 6 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Grady Whittenburg calling play-by-play and former Cornell defenseman Tim Vanini ‘91 supplying analysis. Jason Weinstein (play-by-play) and Tony Eisenhut ‘88 (analysis) will also have the call over the airwaves on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM, cortacatoday.com).

SHANE EARNS WEEKLY HONOR

Powered behind his pair of victories and 40 combined saves against Brown and Yale, senior goaltender Ian Shane was named ECAC Hockey’s MAC Goaltending Goaltender of the Week, the conference office announced Monday morning.

It was Shane’s second time this season being named ECAC Hockey’s Goaltender of the Week after earning the honor after backstopping the Big Red to its season-opening sweep of then-No. 6-ranked North Dakota at Lynah Rink on Nov. 1-2.

HOME, SWEET, HOME

Cornell enters this weekend’s series with a home record of 76-21-9 at Lynah Rink since the beginning of the 2017-18 season. The Big Red’s .759 win percentage ranks third among Division I programs, only trailing Minnesota State (118-28-6 — .796) and Denver (104-25-13 — .778).

The Big Red is one of five programs with a win percentage of at least .700 on home ice over the last seven-plus seasons, joining Minnesota State, Denver, fellow ECAC Hockey rival Quinnipiac (.726) and North Dakota (.714).

This season, Cornell is 7-3-1 at Lynah Rink, currently situated in a four-way tie for the ninth-fewest losses at home, joined by Denver (11-3-1), Maine (12-3-2), and Alaska (3-3-1).

WALSH HIM SCORE

Sophomore forward Ryan Walsh achieved a relatively rare feat in last weekend's sweep of Ivy League rivals Brown and Yale, becoming the 34th player in Cornell program history (68th instance) to register at least two goals and three points in consecutive games.

Walsh’s pair of two-goal games last weekend made him the seventh player (eighth instance) in the Mike Schafer ‘86 era (since 1995-96) to score multiple goals in consecutive games, joining Brad Chartrand (twice in 1995-96), P.C. Drouin (1995-96), Blake Gallagher (2009-10), Evan Barlow (2009-10), Nick D’Agostino (2011-12), and Greg Miller (2012-13).

Paired with Walsh’s multi-goal outings, he also had at least three points in both games last weekend to become the eighth player in the Schafer era with consecutive three-point games, joining Ryan Vesce (2000-01), Matt Moulson (2003-04), Shane Hynes (2004-05), Michael Kennedy (2007-08), Blake Gallagher (2009-10), Alex Rauter (2017-18), and Gabriel Seger (2023-24).

Another multi-goal performance by Walsh Friday would signify the first time a Cornell player has scored multiple goals in three straight games since Trent Andison (Jan. 5-12, 1991). It would be the 22nd time in program history (16th different player) that someone has had multiple goals in at least three straight games. No Cornell player has had a four-game streak with multiple goals since Roy Kerling (Feb. 5-14, 1982).

The last Division I player to score multiple goals in three straight games was Michigan’s Adam Fantilli (March 3-11, 2023), the last of three players to do so in the 2022-23 season (Western Michigan’s Jason Polin — Dec. 27, 2022 - Jan. 13, 2023; St. Thomas’ Mack Byers — Dec. 2-16, 2022).

Should Walsh record at least three points against Clarkson, it would be the 51st instance in program history (26th different player) a player has amassed three-plus points in three consecutive games. It would be the program’s first such streak since Doug Derraugh ‘91 posted three-plus points in five straight games between Feb. 22 and March 2, 1991.

With two goals and three-plus points Friday, Walsh would become the seventh player (eighth instance) in program history to score multiple goals and have at least three points in three consecutive games, joining Doug Ferguson (four-game streak from Feb. 26 - March 11, 1966) and three-game streaks by Brian McCutcheon (Feb. 28 - March 7, 1970), Dave Peace (Jan. 29 - Feb. 8, 1975), Roy Kerling (Jan. 28 - Feb. 4, 1978), Brock Tredway (Feb. 27 - March 2, 1981), and Joe Nieuwendyk (twice — March 22 - Nov. 15, 1986; Feb. 21-28, 1987).

CZECH THIS POINT STREAK OUT

Senior forward Ondrej Psenicka heads into this weekend riding an eight-game point streak, tied with UMass’ Jack Musa and Cole O’Hara for the third-longest active streak in Division I hockey. Psenicka’s streak is the longest active point streak in ECAC Hockey, ahead of Clarkson’s Aryton Martino and Tristan Sarsland, Quinnipiac’s Jack Ricketts, and Yale’s David Chen, who all own five-game point streaks.

Should Psenicka extend his point streak Friday, he would be the first Cornell player with a nine-game point streak since defenseman Sam Malinski had a 10-game point streak (Dec. 30, 2022 - Feb. 4, 2023). No Cornell forward has had points in nine consecutive games since Matt Stienburg had an 11-game point streak between Oct. 30, 2021, and Jan. 1, 2022.

With points in both games this weekend, Psenicka would become the fourth player under Mike Schafer ‘86 to have at least a 10-game point streak, joining Matt Moulson (10 games in 2005-06), Stienburg, and Malinski. It would also be the sixth instance a Cornell player has had to have at least a 10-game point streak since the 1990-91 season. Along with Moulson, Stienburg, and Malinski, Psenicka would join Doug Derraugh (20 games) and Ryan Hughes (19 games), who had their respective point streaks during the 1990-91 season.

KILL, RED, KILL

Cornell’s penalty kill has excelled recently, killing 35 of its opponent’s last 39 power-play opportunities (89.7 percent), ranking as the fifth-best penalty kill in Division I hockey since Jan. 4. The Big Red’s clip only trails Quinnipiac (94.7 percent — 36-of-38), Colgate (94.4 percent — 34-of-36), Western Michigan (91.7 percent — 22-of-24), and Clarkson (90.6 percent — 30-of-32).

Since its 3-3 tie against Quinnipiac in Hamden, Conn., on Jan. 18, Cornell has killed 25 of its opponent’s last 27 power plays (92.6 percent), ranking as the fourth-best penalty kill nationally and one of 10 programs with at least a 90 percent success rate. Of the 10 teams with penalty kill percentages of at least 90 percent, five are ECAC Hockey programs, highlighted by Colgate’s 100 percent success rate (24-of-24). Clarkson (92.3 percent — 24-of-26), Quinnipiac (92.3 percent — 24-of-26), and Dartmouth (90.5 percent — 19-of-21) are the others.

HOCKEY HUMANITARIAN AWARD

After being one of 14 nominees for the 2025 Hockey Humanitarian Award, senior defenseman Hank Kempf was announced as one of five finalists by the Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation on Feb. 12.

Joining Kempf as finalists are Bemidji State’s Kendra Fortin, Boston College’s Keri Clougherty, Merrimack’s Raice Szott, and St. Lawrence’s Sarah Thompson.

Kempf is the fourth consecutive nominee from either Big Red hockey program and the sixth finalist from Cornell for the award, joining former women’s hockey players Erin Schmalz ’99, Alyssa Gagliardi ’14, and Morgan Richardson ’16. Sam Paolini ’03 is the only other men’s player to have been named a finalist, winning the award in 2003.

2K SHANE

With his first save against St. Lawrence on Jan. 31, senior goaltender Ian Shane recorded his 2,000th save, becoming Cornell’s 10th goaltender to achieve the milestone, joining Andy Iles ‘14, Ben Scrivens ‘10, Jason Elliott ‘98, Mitch Gillam ‘17, Corrie D’Alessio ‘91, Brian Hayward ‘82, David McKee ‘06, Darren Eliot ‘83, and Matt Underhill ‘02.

Entering this weekend, Shane trails Eliot by seven saves for the eighth-most stops by a Cornell goaltender in program history while ranking 15th among active Division I goaltenders for career saves.

Shane is one of nine active goaltenders to have recorded all of their 2,000-plus saves with the same team, joining Bemidji State’s Mattias Sholl (2,573), Colorado College’s Kaidan Mbereko (2,329), Bowling Green’s Christian Stoever (2,297), Omaha’s Simon Latkoczy (2,260), RPI’s Jack Watson (2,125), Air Force’s Guy Blessing (2,098), and St. Thomas’ Aaron Trotter (2,059), and Providence’s Philip Svedebäck (2,010).

JONNY-ON-THE-DOT

Since the calendar year flipped to 2025, sophomore forward Jonathan Castagna has been one of Cornell’s go-to players for taking faceoffs.

Castagna has won 126 of the 201 draws he’s taken in the new year, leading to a 62.1 percent success rate that ranks as the third-best faceoff win percentage among Division I players with at least 125 faceoff wins during the timeframe, trailing Western Michigan’s Tim Washe (69.7 percent — 138-of-198) and Wisconsin’s Gavin Morrissey (62.9 percent — 166-of-264).

Castagna has won a team-leading 58.4 percent of the faceoffs (209-of-358) this season, ranking 13th among Division I players and third among ECAC Hockey players with at least 200 faceoff wins. Only Clarkson’s Ellis Rickwood (59.8 percent — 318-of-532) and Quinnipiac’s Victor Czerneckianair (58.5 percent — 258-of-441) have higher percentages.

LUCK OF THE DRAW

The success that sophomore forwards Ryan Walsh (295 faceoff wins, 57.1 percent) and Jonathan Castagna (209 faceoff wins, 58.4 percent) have had at the faceoff dot this season has enabled Cornell to be one of five Division I programs (St. Cloud State — three; Maine, Penn State, and Wisconsin — two apiece) with multiple players to have won at least 200-plus faceoff wins and have at least a 57 percent success rate on their draws taken.

Walsh’s team-leading 295 faceoff wins rank as the 22nd-highest total in Division I hockey and is third among ECAC Hockey players, trailing Brown’s Max Scott (362) and Clarkson’s Ellis Rickwood (338).

Walsh is averaging 11.80 faceoff wins per game this season, the ninth-best average in Division I hockey among players with 200 faceoff wins, while ranking second in ECAC Hockey, only behind Scott (14.48).

Behind his career-high 20 faceoff wins in last Saturday’s win against Yale, Walsh now has a double-digit win total in 16 games and has won at least 13 draws on 12 occasions. Walsh is tied with Denver’s Carter King for the eighth-most games with at least 13 faceoff wins this season.

JOINING RAREFIED COMPANY

With his appearance against Quinnipiac on Jan. 18, senior goaltender Ian Shane became the fourth Big Red goaltender in program history to appear in 100 career games with Cornell, joining Andy Iles ‘14 (118 games), Ben Scrivens ‘10 (117 games), and David McKee ‘06 (102 games).

Shane is one of seven active Division I goaltenders to have appeared in 100 career games, joining Western Michigan’s Cameron Rowe (120), Wisconsin’s Tommy Scarfone (113), Boston University’s Mathieu Caron (110), Clarkson’s Ethan Langenegger (109), Bemidji State’s Mattias Sholl (107), and Minnesota’s Liam Souliere (101).

Of the seven goaltenders with 100-plus appearances, Shane and Sholl are the lone two players to have played all their games with the same program.

SHANE'S WORLD, IT'S PARTY TIME, EXCELLENT!

Senior goaltender Ian Shane has excelled inside the blue paint during his time on East Hill. Over his 108 career appearances between the pipes for the Big Red, Shane has a 59-29-16 record with a 1.87 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.

Behind his pair of wins last weekend, Shane surpassed Andy Iles ’14 for the fifth-most wins in program history (59). Entering this weekend, Shane is two wins shy of jumping Matthew Galajda ‘20 for fourth on the Big Red’s all-time wins chart.

Among active Division I goaltenders, Shane’s 59 wins rank as the third-highest total, trailing Western Michigan’s Cameron Rowe (69) and Wisconsin’s Tommy Scarfone (64). Shane is one of six goaltenders to have at least 50 victories, joined by Boston University’s Mathieu Caron and Denver’s Matt Davis (54), and Boston College’s Jacob Fowler (52). Minnesota’s Liam Souliere (49), Bemidji State’s Mattias Sholl, and Clarkson’s Ethan Langenegger (48) could all achieve their 50th career wins this weekend.

After making 24 saves in a 5-0 victory over Princeton on Nov. 23, Shane earned his 12th career shutout, tying Scarfone for the most shutouts by an active Division I goaltender. Both netminders have two more shutouts than Bentley’s Connor Hasley.

Shane’s next shutout would up his total to 13, matching Cornell Athletics and Hockey Hall of Famer Ken Dryden ‘69 for the fourth-most blankings by a Big Red goaltender in program history.

MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF

Senior goaltender Ian Shane boasts a 1.87 career goals-against average, the 15th-best figure in Division I hockey history. Shane is among 38 goalies who have played at least 1,500 minutes between the pipes and registered a sub-2.00 goals-against average.

Cornell has four of the top 10 career goals-against averages in NCAA history, one of two programs (Michigan State) with multiple representatives inside the top 10.

Shane and Ben Scrivens ‘10 (1.93) give Cornell six of the 38 sub-2.00 career goals-against averages in NCAA history — the highest number for any Division I program. Other Division I programs to have multiple sub-2.00 goals-against averages include Quinnipiac (four), Maine (three), and Denver, Miami, Michigan State, Michigan Tech, and Notre Dame (two each).

Among active Division I goaltenders with at least 1,500 minutes, Shane is one of three netminders with a career goals-against average below 2.00, joining Boija (1.75) and Boston College’s Jacob Fowler (1.96).

Shane’s .9163 save percentage enters this weekend ranked as the 14th-highest figure for an active Division I goaltender with at least 1,500 minutes played. He ranks second among eligible ECAC Hockey netminders, trailing Brown’s Lawton Zacher (.9166) by three ten-thousandths of a point.

ON THE PLUS SIDE…

Entering this weekend’s contests, senior forward Ondrej Psenicka (plus-54) and senior defenseman Tim Rego (plus-51) both have career plus-minus ratings of at least plus-50, making Cornell one of four Division I programs (Minnesota — three; Denver and Boston College — two) to have multiple players with plus-minus ratings of at least plus-50.

Psenicka is tied with Minnesota forward Jimmy Snuggerud for the sixth-highest career plus-minus rating, while Rego’s rating ranks 12th among active Division I skaters.

With senior forward Kyle Penney’s plus-46 rating, Cornell is one of three Division I programs (Minnesota — four; Boston College — three) with at least a trio of players having plus-45 ratings.

Paired with Psenicka, Rego, and Penney’s ratings, senior forward Jack O’Leary’s plus-40 rating enables Cornell to be one of four Division I programs (Boston College, Denver, and Minnesota) with four players with career plus-minus ratings of plus-40.

Psenicka’s plus-54 rating currently ranks as the highest career plus-minus rating in program history, dating back to 2002-03, when plus-minus ratings were first fully tracked for an entire season. Greg Miller ‘13 (plus-52) has the second-highest plus-minus total in program history, while Rego is tied with Travis Mitchell ‘23 (plus-51) for the third-highest figure.

SPREADING THE WEALTH

Cornell saw scoring contributions from nearly every skater who appeared in at least one game last season. Of the 23 skaters who appeared in at least one contest last year, 21 registered at least one point (91.3 percent), and 19 players (82.6 percent) recorded at least two points.

Across its 25 games this season, Cornell has succeeded in maintaining the scoring levels achieved from last year, with 20 of the 24 skaters who have appeared in at least one game having at least two points (83.3 percent). Along with senior goaltender Ian Shane’s assist at Harvard on Nov. 21, 21 of the 26 players who have played this year have had at least one point (80.8 percent).

The sophomore and senior classes are tied for the team lead in goals (28), while the seniors have a slight edge in assists (54) and points (82).

Among Division I programs, Cornell’s 39.4 percent of points from sophomores is the ninth-highest average, trailing Robert Morris (52.8 percent), Army (48.8 percent), Notre Dame (44.7 percent), RIT (43.2 percent), Boston College (41.3 percent), Penn State (40.1 percent), Denver (40.0 percent), and Luke Superior State (39.6 percent). Of the Big Red’s 198 points recorded this season, 58 (nine goals, 49 assists) have come from defensemen (29.3 percent of scoring production), ranking as the 10th-highest percentage of points from defensemen entering this weekend.

WHAT CAN BLUE(LINERS) DO FOR YOU?

Of the Big Red’s 198 points recorded this season, 58 (nine goals, 49 assists) have come from defensemen (29.3 percent of scoring production), ranking as the 10th-highest percentage of points from defensemen entering this weekend.

The 49 assists by Cornell blueliners (39.5 percent of its overall assist total) ranks as the nation’s second-highest average among Division I hockey programs this season, only behind Merrimack (42.6 percent — 52 of 122).

Senior defenseman Tim Rego (4-12—16) enters this weekend riding a career-long four-game point streak, the longest point streak by a Cornell defenseman since sophomore Ben Robertson (0-8—8) opened his collegiate career with points in each of his first seven games played last season.

With a point Friday, Rego would become the 13th Cornell blueliner (16th instance) in the Mike Schafer ‘86 era (since 1995-96) to have a point streak of at least five games.

Should Rego have points in both games this weekend, he would become the ninth Cornell defenseman under Schafer’s tutelage to have registered points in six consecutive games.

ALL HE DOES IS WIN, WIN, WIN

Mike Schafer ‘86, the Jay R. Bloom ‘77 Head Coach of Cornell Men’s Hockey, is one of four active Division I men’s hockey head coaches with 550 career victories, joined by Quinnipiac’s Rand Pecknold (661), Mercyhurst’s Rick Gotkin (611), and Notre Dame’s Jeff Jackson (598).

Schafer is also one of six Division I head coaches with 500 career wins, accompanied by Air Force’s Frank Serratore (518) and Ferris State’s Bob Daniels (508), who, like Schafer, is also retiring following the season.

Among active NCAA hockey head coaches, Schafer’s 553 victories rank sixth, trailing St. Norbert’s Tim Coghlin (680), Pecknold, Fitchburg State’s Dean Fuller (616), Gotkin, and Jackson.

Schafer’s 553 wins rank as the 18th-most victories by a Division I head coach in college hockey history, and is two wins away from matching Michigan Tech’s John MacInnes (555 wins — 1956-82).

With his victory on Jan. 24 over Harvard, Schafer became the 10th Division I men’s hockey head coach to win at least 550 games with a single program, joining Jack Parker (Boston University), Red Berenson (Michigan), Bob Peters (Bemidji State), Pecknold, Jerry York (Boston College), Ron Mason (Michigan State), Gotkin, Richard Umile (New Hampshire), and MacInnes.

#PRORED UPDATE

LOVELAND, Colo. (FEB. 17, 2025) — Former Cornell defenseman Jacob MacDonald ‘15 continued his hot stretch with the Colorado Eagles on Monday night, recording an assist on the lone goal scored by the Eagles in their 2-1 loss to the Abbotsford Canucks at Abbotsford Centre.

MacDonald has totaled eight points (six goals, two assists) in his last five games and 15 points (11 goals, two assists) across the previous 14 outings.

Three of MacDonald’s last six goals came on Feb. 11, when the 31-year-old scored a hat trick to lead the Eagles to a victory over the San Jose Barracuda.

As of Wednesday, MacDonald’s 20 goals — matching his career-high from the 2017-18 season with the Binghamton Devils — is tied for the seventh-most goals in the AHL and are eight more than San Jose blueliner Luca Cagnoni, who assumes second place for goals by a blueliner.

Of MacDonald’s 20 goals, 10 have come while the Eagles have been on the power play, one shy of tying Rochester’s Brett Murray for the AHL lead.

Through 43 games this season, MacDonald (20-15—35) is tied with T.J. Tynan (8-27—35) for the second-most points on the Eagles in points, while his 20 goals are six more than Matthew Phillips (14-22—36), who leads the team in points. MacDonald’s 35 points are nine more than the Eagles’ next highest-scoring defenseman, Jack Ahcan (3-23—26).

Elsewhere in the AHL, former Big Red forward Ben Berard ‘22 was called up by the Abbotsford Canucks on Wednesday morning. Berard scored in his lone appearance with Abbotsford on Nov. 30.

SCOUTING CLARKSON

Clarkson (18-9-3, 12-5-1 ECAC Hockey) enters this weekend riding a four-game win streak, where it has outscored its opponents by a 17-3 clip. The Golden Knights are also unbeaten in its last five games (4-0-1) dating back to the Feb. 1 tie between Cornell and Clarkson at Cheel Arena.

Ayrton Martino (19-16—35), the reigning ECAC Hockey Forward of the Week, assumes the Golden Knights’ lead in goals and points. Martino has 10 more goals than the second-place holder, Ryan Richardson (9-12—21). Ellis Rickwood (7-20—27) has a team-leading 20 helpers on the season.

Ethan Langenegger (16-8-2, 2.15, .915) has been Clarkson’s go-to goaltender this season, starting all 26 appearances. Marcus Brännman, a sophomore transfer from Providence, has made two of his five appearances over the last two weekends, stopping 36 of 37 shots (.973 save percentage) during the span. Brännman posted a 17-save shutout against Harvard last Saturday.

102 YEARS, 193 MILES, 152 MEETINGS

Cornell and Clarkson will be meeting for the 153rd time on Friday. The Big Red owns a 73-59-20 advantage in the series, which began on Beebe Lake in Ithaca on Jan. 20, 1923.

The Big Red has won three of the last five meetings against the Golden Knights and is unbeaten in eight of the last 11 against its Empire State rival (6-3-2).

At Lynah Rink, Cornell has won six of the last seven and eight of the previous 10 games against Clarkson, which includes winning each of the last three contests on East Hill. A win Friday would be Cornell’s longest home winning streak against the Golden Knights since stringing seven wins together between Jan. 28, 2005, and Feb. 2, 2007.

CORNELL - CLARKSON CONNECTIONS

Cornell associate head coach Casey Jones ‘90 served as Clarkson’s head coach for 13 years, amassing a record of 234-185-56 with the Golden Knights from 2011-24 ... Cornell director of hockey operations and assistant coach Corey Leivermann coached Erik Bargholtz (2018-19) and Ryan Bottrill (2019-20) on the Janesville Jets, Jared Mangan and Nick DeSantis on the 2021-22 Madison Capitols, and Tate Taylor on last year’s Clark Cup-winning Fargo Force squad ... Mangan and Jack Sparkes also played with Marian Mosko on the 2022-23 Fargo Force ... Jimmy Rayhill was teammates with Trey Taylor (2019-20 Alberni Valley Bulldogs) and Luka Sukovic (2020-21 Odessa Jackalopes) ... Taylor (2021-22) and Carter Rose (2020-22) played on the Youngstown Phantoms with Tyler Catalano and Winter Wallace ... Ryan Richardson and Erik Bargholtz spent the 2020-21 season together with Michael Suda on the Fargo Force ... Ray Fust was teammates with Kyle Penney (2020-21 Chilliwack Chiefs), Ben Robertson (2021-22 Waterloo Black Hawks), and Sean Donaldson (2021-22 Sioux Falls Stampede) ... Hoyt Stanley and Ellis Rickwood teammed up on the 2021-22 Victoria Grizzlies ... George Grannis and Ryan Taylor played with Ian Shane on the 2020-21 Bismarck Bobcats ... Ryan Taylor also played on the 2019-20 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders with Suda and Jack O’Leary ... Sparkes was also teammates with George Fegaras (2022-23 Muskegon Lumberjacks) and Parker Murray (2023-24 Chilliwack Chiefs).

O'LEARY HAS CAREER NIGHT AS MEN'S HOCKEY TIES WITH CLARKSON

BOX SCORE I RECAP | HIGHLIGHTS

POTSDAM, N.Y. (FEB. 1, 2025) — In his 96th career game, senior forward Jack O'Leary recorded multiple assists for the first time in his collegiate career, setting single-game highs for assists and points, earning assists on all three goals scored by the Cornell men's hockey team (8-7-6, 5-5-4 ECAC Hockey) in its 3-3 tie against Clarkson (14-9-3, 8-5-1 ECAC Hockey) at Cheel Arena on Saturday night.

Fellow senior forward Sullivan Mack also registered a multi-point night for the Big Red, scoring a goal and adding an assist. Sophomore defenseman Hoyt Stanley also tallied a goal for Cornell, who received a season-high 34-save performance from senior goaltender Ian Shane.

Luka Sukovic scored Clarkson's first two goals, while Tristan Sarsland netted the game-tying marker for the Golden Knights and chipped in a helper. Graduate student transfer goaltender Ethan Langenegger stopped 24 shots between the pipes for Clarkson.

Stanley responded quickly after sitting out Friday night's game at St. Lawrence, snapping his 30-game goalless streak with the opening tally 3:35 into the contest. Carrying the puck from the right point, Stanley split a pair of Clarkson defenders and backhanded a shot from the left hashmark of the right faceoff circle that beat Langenegger to his low blocker side.

Kraft doubled the Big Red's lead two minutes later, pouncing on a loose puck after a shot from the point by senior defenseman Hank Kempf hit a Clarkson defender in front of the net. O'Leary earned his second assist on the night as he made a diving push at the puck to Kempf, keeping it inside Cornell's offensive zone.

Clarkson cut Cornell's lead in half, 2-1, with 6:43 left in the first period on a power-play goal by Sukovic, punching in the rebound of a shot from the top of the slot by Sarsland. The Golden Knights' goal snapped Cornell's string of consecutive penalties killed at 13.

Cornell regained its two-goal lead in the second period on a shot by Mack off feeds from sophomore forward Jonathan Castagna and O'Leary, giving the latter his third assist of the night. Quick passes in succession between O'Leary and Castagna led to Mack lasering a shot from the top of the slot that beat Langenegger to his high blocker side.

Two goals 93 seconds apart by Clarkson tied the game at 3-3 late in the second, erasing Cornell's second two-goal lead of the night. Sukovic ignited the successive markers for the Golden Knights, scoring his second goal of the night on a rebound of a backhanded shot by Tate Taylor. Just over a minute and a half later, Trey Taylor fired a shot from the point that went through O'Leary's legs and ricocheted off Sarsland amid chaos in front of Shane's crease.

Despite 12 shots on goal for both sides in the third period, neither side found the back of the net, leading Cornell and Clarkson to yet another overtime contest at Cheel Arena. Over the last nine meetings in Potsdam between the ECAC Hockey rivals, seven have gone further than regulation.

In the 3-on-3 overtime period, Shane made a toe save to rob Sarsland of a game-winning goal with 2:21 left. A goaltender interference penalty to the Golden Knights' leading scorer, Ayrton Martino, gave Cornell an opportune chance to score within the final 35 seconds of overtime, but was unable to pot the golden goal.

Clarkson opened the shootout with Jared Mangan, who had his shot saved, and junior forward Dalton Bancroft followed up with a goal. After both teams were unable to convert on their second-round attempts, Trey Taylor extended the shootout, beating Shane with a wrist shot to his right pad side. Hoping to solidify Cornell's fifth shootout win of the season, Robertson's shot ended up beating Langenegger to his low blocker side and gave the Big Red the much-needed extra point in the ECAC Hockey standings.

SCOUTING ST. LAWRENCE

St. Lawrence (9-19-2, 5-11-2 ECAC Hockey) enters this weekend coming off a thrilling overtime victory over Dartmouth last Saturday, which snapped the Saints’ four-game winless streak.

Greg Lapointe (10-8—18) leads the team in goals and points, serving as the lone Saints player with a double-digit goal total. Tomáš Mazura (1-13—14) holds the team lead in assists despite leaving the program after the fall semester to pursue his professional hockey career in his native Czechia.

Mason Kucenski has started 23 of his 24 between the pipes for St. Lawrence, having an 8-15-1 record with a 2.65 goals-against average and .910 save percentage. Graduate student transfer Dominic Basse (1-4-1, 3.36, .897) has started in seven of his nine appearances on the season.

98 YEARS, 184 MILES, 127 MEETINGS

Cornell leads the all-time series against St. Lawrence, 70-48-9, which includes the Big Red being unbeaten in 14 of the last 18 matchups (13-4-1).

Over the last 18 games, Cornell has yielded no more than two St. Lawrence goals, marking the longest streak in program history of holding a single opponent without three goals. 

Home ice has been kind for Cornell against St. Lawrence, as the Big Red has won six of the last eight home games by a combined 25-9 score. It is also 12-3-1 over the previous 16 games at Lynah Rink against the Saints.

CORNELL - ST. LAWRENCE CONNECTIONS

St. Lawrence head coach Brent Brekke spent nine seasons as an assistant coach under Mike Schafer ‘86 at Cornell (1999-2008). With Brekke on staff, Cornell went 185-90-30 (.656) with four NCAA Tournament appearances, three ECAC Hockey regular-season titles, two ECAC Hockey Championships, and a trip to the 2003 NCAA Frozen Four in Buffalo, N.Y. Brekke also served as an assistant on Casey Jones ‘90’s staff at Clarkson for the 2018-19 season ... Cornell assistant coach Sean Flanagan, a native of Canton, N.Y., was a five-year member of St. Lawrence’s program from 2006-11. While with the Skating Saints, Flanagan amassed 52 points (12 goals, 40 assists) in 121 appearances ... Cornell director of hockey operations and assistant coach Corey Leivermann coached Jan Lasak on the 2019-20 Janesville Jets, Jan Olenginski on the 2022-23 Madison Capitols, and Mason Kucenski for two years on the Capitols (2021-23) ... Kucenski and Nick DeSantis were teammates on the 2021-22 Capitols squad ... Kucenski was also teammates with Ben Robertson on the 2021-22 Omaha Lancers ... Hank Kempf and Lasak played on the 2019-20 Muskegon Lumberjacks ... George Fegaras and Evan Orloff were teammates on the 2022-23 Lumberjacks ... Sam Hall was teammates with Ryan Walsh (2021-22 Salisbury School) and Nicholas Wolfenberg (2023-24 Okotoks Oilers) ... Tim Rego and Reilly Connors played on the 2019-20 Brooks Bandits ... Tyler Cristall was teammates with Kyle Penney (2019-20 Chilliwack Chiefs) and Justin Katz (2021-22 West Kelowna Warriors) ... Jake Bernadet was teammates with Katz and Luke Devlin on the 2022-23 West Kelowna Warriors ... Hoyt Stanley and Isack Bandu played on the 2021-22 Victoria Grizzlies.

ST. LAWRENCE EDGES PAST MEN'S HOCKEY

BOX SCORE I RECAP | HIGHLIGHTS

CANTON, N.Y. (JAN. 31, 2025) — Phillippe Chapleau's second-period goal broke open a 1-1 tie, aiding St. Lawrence (8-16-1, 4-8-1 ECAC Hockey) to a 2-1 victory over the Cornell men's hockey team (8-7-5, 5-5-3 ECAC Hockey) at Appleton Arena on Friday night.
 
Joining Chapleau in the scoring column for the Saints was Will Arquiett, who opened the scoring 9:14 into the contest. Sophomore goaltender Mason Kucenski made 27 saves between the pipes for the Skating Saints, who registered consecutive wins for the first time since defeating RIT and Canisius in its season-opening series on Oct. 5-6.
 
Senior defenseman Hank Kempf snapped his 39-game goalless streak, tallying the tying goal 2:17 into the middle stanza. Senior goaltender Ian Shane matched Kucenski's 27-save output while recording his 2,000th career save in his 100th career start with the Big Red.

Shane wasted no time recording his 2,000th career save, nabbing a shot by Nicholas Beneteau 40 seconds into the contest.

St. Lawrence struck first as Arquiett pounced on a loose puck after Kempf blocked a crossing pass from Greg Lapointe on a 2-on-1 scoring chance.
 
Cornell evened the scoring early in the second period as Kempf pounced at a loose puck on the edge of Kucenski's crease. Sophomore forward Tyler Catalano and senior forward Kyler Kovich earned the assists on Kempf's tally, his first goal since scoring at Arizona State on Jan. 13, 2024.

Chapleau's shot from the right point enabled the Saints to regain the lead 6:53 into the second as the puck appeared to glance off a Cornell defender in the mid-slot.
 
While the Saints were on their first power play of the night, Shane made an incredible glove save to rob Jan Lasak of a goal that would have given St. Lawrence a two-goal lead just two minutes after Chapleau's go-ahead marker.

Later in the second, Shane made another sprawling save to keep the Saints lead at just one, robbing Gabe Westling of his first collegiate goal.

Cornell emerged from the dressing room after the second intermission, quickly generating the first 16 shot attempts of the period in the first nine minutes. The Big Red had several opportunities to tie the game, including a breakaway from sophomore forward Jake Kraft, who intercepted a pass by Beneteau near the Big Red's defensive blue line. Senior Jimmy Rayhill had two prime scoring chances: one resulting from a fortunate bounce off the boards on a dump-in following after a neutral zone faceoff win and the other was a one-timer from the ride side of Kucenski's crease, set up by a pass from below the goal line by sophomore forward Jonathan Castagna.
 
In the third period, Cornell generated 29 shot attempts compared to St. Lawrence's seven and had a 13-4 advantage in shots on goal, but Kucenski stopped all Big Red's shots to aid the Saints to the victory.

WALSH, BANCROFT SCORE TWICE, LEAD MEN'S HOCKEY TO WIN OVER YALE

BOX SCORE | RECAP | HIGHLIGHTS

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (FEB. 15, 2025) — Two-goal performances by sophomore forward Ryan Walsh and junior forward Dalton Bancroft aided the Cornell men's hockey team (11-8-6, 8-6-4 ECAC Hockey) to its 5-3 victory over Yale (6-17-2, 5-11-2 ECAC Hockey) in ECAC Hockey action at Ingalls Rink on Saturday night.

Walsh's two-goal outing capped his second straight game with multiple goals, becoming the first Cornell player with two-plus goals in consecutive games since Greg Miller during the 2012-13 season.

Joining Walsh and Bancroft in scoring was sophomore forward Jake Kraft, who scored the middle goal of Cornell's three-goal second period that enabled the Big Red to secure its third consecutive sweep of the annual southern New England road trip.

Senior goaltender Ian Shane made 23 saves between the pipes for the Big Red en route to his 59th career victory, breaking a tie with Andy Iles '14 for the fifth-most wins in program history.

Donovan Frias scored two goals and David Chen also found the back of the net for the Bulldogs in the setback. Noah Pak made 11 saves before being pulled in favor of Luke Pearson, who stopped six of seven Cornell shots in relief.

Picking up where he left off from Friday night, Walsh opened the scoring 3:34 into the contest on a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle after picking up a loose puck at the far half-wall. Walsh's shot glanced off Pak's glove and lofted over his left shoulder and into the goal.

Cornell doubled its lead 7:45 into the contest on the power play as Bancroft backhanded a rebound of a shot by Charlie Major. Walsh set the backhanded shot up by playing the puck off his skate and chipping the puck below the left faceoff circle to Bancroft.

Yale turned Cornell's two-goal lead into a 2-2 tie 1:54 into the second period with goals from Chen and Frias. Chen's marker came as he tipped a centering pass by Kieran O'Hearn from the left faceoff circle. Frias' tally came on a misplay by Shane behind his net as the puck hit sophomore defenseman George Fegaras' skate and went right onto the stick of Julian Frias. Will Richter took a shot from the mid-slot off a pass from Julian Frias and hit Donovan Frias in the shoulder as he skated past Shane on the edge of the crease.

In what proved to be a game of quick tallies, Cornell regained its two-goal lead with goals 98 seconds apart from Bancroft – for his second goal of the night – and Kraft.

Following a defensive zone faceoff win by Walsh, Cornell briefly had a 3-on-2 scoring chance, but senior forward Sullivan Mack set sophomore defenseman Hoyt Stanley up for a one-timer from the right point that was stopped by Pak. Bancroft pounced at the rebound, leading to his second rebound goal of the night.

An indirect pass off the boards by junior defenseman Jack O'Brien and a chipped puck into the middle of the neutral zone by sophomore forward Tyler Catalano led Kraft – fresh off the bench on a line change – to streak down the right side of the ice and snap a shot past Pak, leading Yale to opt for a goaltender change.

Past the halfway point of the contest, Walsh netted his second goal of the night after batting a pass by Mack at the left goal post out of mid-air and past Pearson to give Cornell a 5-2 lead.

Yale trimmed Cornell's lead with 3.3 seconds left as a shot from the left faceoff circle by Hughie Hooker was deflected past Shane by Donovan Frias for his second goal of the game.

2024-25 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 reresurrected 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 will conclude the regular-season portion of the 2024-25 season next weekend when it heads to the Capital Region to square off against Union and RPI.

Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. puck drops. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+ and over the airwaves on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM, cortacatoday.com).

The Big Red defeated RPI, 4-2, back on Feb. 7, powered by multi-point nights by junior forward Nick DeSantis and senior defenseman Tim Rego. Cornell ended up suffering a 4-1 setback the following night, as Union's Brandon Buhr registered the first hat trick by an opposing player at Lynah Rink since St. Lawrence's John Poapst on March 5, 1999.