ITHACA, N.Y. — Junior forward Dalton Bancroft tallied his second career hat trick, while senior goaltender Ian Shane recorded a 13-save shutout, leading the Cornell men's hockey team (12-9-6, 9-7-4 ECAC Hockey) to a commanding 6-0 victory over St. Lawrence (9-21-2, 5-13-2 ECAC Hockey) in front of a sold-out crowd at Lynah Rink on Senior Night during Mike Schafer '86's last regular-season home game on Saturday evening.
 
Bancroft's career-high four-point night showcased five Big Red players who achieved multi-point performances. Senior forwards Jack O'Leary and Sullivan Mack each recorded a goal and an assist, while freshman forward Charlie Major and sophomore defenseman Ben Robertson both notched two assists. Senior defenseman Hank Kempf also scored in the victory.
 
Shane's shutout marked his 13th career blanking, tying him with Cornell Athletics and Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Ken Dryden '69 for the fourth-most shutouts by a Cornell goaltender in program history.
 
St. Lawrence's Mason Kucenski made 25 saves in the setback for the Saints.
 
Cornell is assured of hosting at least a first-round playoff game following Saturday night's victory and can finish no lower than the No. 7 seed for next month's ECAC Hockey Championship.
 
Scoring two goals in all three periods, the Big Red began strong by netting two goals in just 29 seconds, quickly establishing a 2-0 lead over the Saints in the first period and prompting St. Lawrence to call a timeout.
 
O'Leary opened the scoring at the 13:12 mark, backhanding a shot past Kucenski after he picked up a loose puck when Major was knocked off it by a St. Lawrence defender underneath the goal line.
 

 
Almost 30 seconds later, Cornell's lead was doubled by Bancroft's first goal of the night, firing a shot over Kucenski's glove from the right hash mark of the left faceoff circle. Robertson set up the goal with a pass to Mack along the near-side boards.
 

 
Continuing its trend of scoring goals rapidly, Cornell doubled its lead in the second period with goals from Mack and Bancroft that came just 93 seconds apart.
 
Mack scored his fourth goal of the season by diving for a loose rebound after a Kucenski save on a Bancroft slap shot from the top of the right faceoff circle.
 

 
The Big Red's lead grew to four when Bancroft scored his second goal of the night while Cornell was on a power play. Rego assisted Bancroft with a one-timer from the right point to the top of the left faceoff circle. Bancroft's shot struck Kucenski's pad and trickled into the net.
 

 
With less than three minutes left, Kempf scored the Big Red's fifth goal of the night with a shot from the left point that slipped between Kucenski's legs, marking the senior blueliner's first career goal at Lynah Rink.
 

 
While both teams skated with four players after coinciding penalties, Bancroft won an offensive zone faceoff and used a nifty deke to skate past a St. Lawrence defender and snap his shot from the top of the left faceoff circle to score his third goal of the night. Sophomore defenseman Hoyt Stanley and senior defenseman Jimmy Rayhill assisted on the goal, with Rayhill achieving his first career point with the secondary assist.
 

 
After the game, Cornell's 10-player senior class was honored during the program's traditional postgame ceremony. Following the Senior Night festivities, Schafer and his family received gifts from various Cornell administrators. Among the gifts presented was an Adirondack chair adorned with Cornell logos, presented to Schafer by ECAC Hockey Commissioner Doug Christiansen. Additionally, a tribute video was played for those in attendance, which can be found below.
 


GAME NOTES
• Saturday was the 128th meeting between Cornell and St. Lawrence as the Big Red increased its lead in the series to 71-48-9. The Big Red is unbeaten in 15 of the last 19 matchups (14-4-1) against the Saints.
 
• The six-goal margin of victory was Cornell's largest against St. Lawrence since posting an 8-1 win at Lynah Rink on Jan. 27, 1995.
 
• Saturday's shutout marked Cornell's 13th time blanking St. Lawrence in program history. It was the first shutout against the Saints since a 5-0 victory on Feb. 28, 2020, also at Lynah Rink. The six goals scored were the highest while keeping the Saints off the scoreboard since Dec. 5, 1978, when the Big Red posted an 8-0 home win.
 
• Cornell last posted a shutout victory of at least six goals on Nov. 26, 2022, against then-No. 6-ranked UConn in the biennial Frozen Apple game at Madison Square Garden. The last time Cornell shut out an opponent at Lynah Rink while scoring six or more goals in a game was on March 9, 2008, when it defeated Dartmouth, 6-0, in the first round of the 2008 ECAC Hockey Championship.
 
• By shutting out St. Lawrence, the Big Red extended its program record for holding a single Division I opponent to two goals or fewer to 19 games. During this stretch, Cornell has averaged 1.21 goals allowed per game against the Saints.
 
LONGEST STREAK OF HOLDING OPPONENT TO UNDER THREE GOALS
Against Active Division I Programs
• 19 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)
• 10 games – Colgate (Jan. 23, 1965 – Feb. 11, 1969)
• 10 games – Brown (March 22, 2019 - Present)
 
• Along with tying Dryden for the fourth-most shutouts in Cornell program history, Shane upped his career win total to 60, becoming one of five Big Red netminders to have 60-plus victories, joining Dryden (76), David McKee '06 (65), Ben Scrivens '10 (65), and Matthew Galajda '21 (60).
 
MOST GOALTENDING VICTORIES
Cornell Program History
1. 76, Ken Dryden (1966-69)
T2. 65, David McKee (2003-06)
T2. 65, Ben Scrivens (2006-10)
T4. 60, Matthew Galajda (2017-20)
T4. 60, Ian Shane (2021-Present)
6. 58, Andy Iles (2010-14)

• The six-goal victory represented the Big Red's first win by six or more goals since it defeated Brown, 7-1, at Meehan Auditorium in Providence, R.I., on Nov. 4, 2023. It was also Cornell's first six-plus-goal victory at Lynah Rink since beating Union, 10-1, on Feb. 4, 2023.
 
• Cornell's six goals tied its highest scoring output on the season, matching six-goal performances against Princeton (Jan. 17) and Brown (Feb. 14), which occurred on the road. It was the Big Red's first time scoring six-plus goals in a game at Lynah Rink since defeating Clarkson, 7-2, on Feb. 3, 2024.
 
• Bancroft's hat trick was Cornell's first of the season and the first time a Big Red player had scored three-plus goals in a game since Jonathan Castagna against Princeton on Jan. 19, 2024. The last time a Cornell player had a hat trick against St. Lawrence was Matt Stienburg on Dec. 3, 2021, in Canton. Noah Bauld posted Cornell's last three-goal game against the Saints at Lynah Rink on Nov. 17, 2017.
 
• Mack's two-point night extended his point streak to four games, equaling his career-long that he previously accomplished between Nov. 18-26, 2022. Mack has recorded seven points (two goals and five assists) during his point streak.
 
• Major recorded his first multi-assist game and third multi-point game of the season. After returning to the lineup following an eight-game absence, Major has accumulated five points over his last four games (one goal, four assists).
 
UP NEXT
Cornell will head to the Capital Region for its final pair of regular-season games, where it will take on Union (18-11-3, 11-7-2 ECAC Hockey) and RPI (12-18-2, 7-13-0 ECAC Hockey).
 
Puck drop for both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+ and over the airwaves on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM, cortacatoday.com).