Men's Hockey Readies for Home Games Against RPI, Union This Weekend

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 this weekend, taking on Capital Regional foes RPI and Union for the first time this season.

Puck drop for both contests on the weekend are slated for 7 p.m. and 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). In addition to the international streaming option on Stretch Internet, Canadian fans can watch Friday’s game on TSN+.

HOME, SWEET, HOME

Cornell enters this weekend’s series with a home record of 75-20-9 at Lynah Rink since the beginning of the 2017-18 season. The Big Red’s .764 win percentage ranks third among Division I programs, only trailing Minnesota State (116-28-6 — .793) and Denver (103-24-13 — .782).

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 (96-34-5 — .730) and North Dakota (98-35-12 — .717). Rounding out the top 10 programs are St. Cloud State (88-34-14 — .705), UMass (85-38-9 — .678), Boston College (80-36-8 — .677), Minnesota (101-46-9 — .676), and Michigan (88-41-13 — .665).

This season, Cornell has a record of 6-2-1 at Lynah Rink, currently situated in a six-way tie for the fifth-fewest losses at home, joined by Minnesota (12-2-2), Denver and Ohio State (10-2-1), Colgate (8-2-1), and Augustana (7-2-1). Boston College (12-1-0), Michigan State (10-1-1), Long Island (6-1-0), and Western Michigan (9-1-1) all have one loss at home, tying for the fewest losses on home ice this season.

2K SHANE

With his first save against St. Lawrence last Friday, 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.

Shane’s 2,060 saves are the ninth-most stops by a Cornell goaltender in program history, trailing Eliot by 83 saves for eighth all-time while ranking 16th among active Division I goaltenders for the most career saves.

Shane is one of eight goaltenders to have recorded all his saves with the same program, joining Bemidji State’s Mattias Sholl (2,526), Bowling Green’s Christian Stoever (2,297), Colorado College’s Kaidan Mbereko (2,288), RPI’s Jack Watson (2,125), Omaha’s Simon Latkoczy (2,119), St. Thomas’ Aaron Trotter (2,030), and Air Force’s Guy Blessing (2,012).

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 112 of the 182 draws he’s taken in the new year, leading to a 61.5 percent success rate that is tied with Clarkson’s Ellis Rickwood (61.5 percent — 104-of-169) for the second-best faceoff win percentage among Division I players with at least 100 faceoff wins during the timeframe. Western Michigan’s Tim Washe is the lone player with a higher percentage, boasting a 74.3 percent rate (104-of-140).

The 112 faceoff wins recorded by Castagna are the seventh-highest total in the new year, trailing Brown’s Max Scott (179), Air Force’s Clayton Cosentino (129), Niagara’s Tyler Wallace (123), Robert Morris’ Cameron Garvey (121), Michigan State’s Charlie Stramel (116), and Wisconsin’s Gavin Morrissey (115).

Castagna has won a team-leading 57.5 percent of the faceoffs he’s taken this season, going 195-of-339 at the dot, ranking 19th among Division I players with at least 175 faceoff wins.

Castagna’s success rate is the third-highest figure by an ECAC Hockey player, trailing Rickwood and Quinnipiac’s Victor Czerneckianair (58.4 percent — 240-of-411). Castagna’s classmate, Ryan Walsh, is sporting the fourth-highest faceoff percentage in ECAC Hockey (242-of-434 — 55.8 percent).

LUCK OF THE DRAW

Sophomore forward Ryan Walsh has tallied a Cornell-leading 242 faceoff wins this season, tied with Northeastern’s Jack Williams and Sacred Heart’s Max Dorrington for the 35th-highest total in Division I hockey. Walsh ranks fourth among ECAC Hockey players in faceoff wins, trailing Brown’s Max Scott (307), Clarkson’s Ellis Rickwood (303), and RPI’s Jakob Lee (246).

Walsh is averaging 11.52 faceoff wins per game, the 10th-best average in Division I hockey and third in ECAC Hockey among players with at least 175 faceoff wins. Ahead of Walsh is Scott (14.62), Notre Dame’s Danny Nelson (13.04), Air Force’s Clayton Cosentino (12.70), Niagara’s Tyler Wallace (12.52), Bentley’s Ethan Leyh (12.08), Bemidji State’s Jackson Jutting (12.07), Denver’s Carter King (12.04), Wisconsin’s Gavin Morrissey (11.82), and Rickwood (11.65).

Behind his career-high 18 faceoff wins in last Friday’s loss to St. Lawrence, Walsh upped his total of games with double-digit faceoff wins to 14 and has won at least 13 draws on 10 occasions. Walsh is tied with Maine’s Harrison Scott, Niagara’s Glebs Prohorenkovs, and Northeastern’s Jack Williams for the ninth-most games with at least 13 faceoff wins this season.

Ahead of Walsh for the most games with 13-plus faceoff wins are Air Force’s Clayton Cosentino (17), Niagara’s Tyler Wallace (16), Bemidji State’s Jackson Jutting and Brown’s Max Scott (14), Bentley’s Ethan Leyh and Notre Dame’s Danny Nelson (13), and Western Michigan’s Tim Washe and Wisconsin’s Gavin Morrisey (11).

Walsh’s classmate, Jonathan Castagna, is five faceoff wins away from reaching 200, making Cornell the first ECAC Hockey program to have multiple players with 200-plus faceoff wins.

KILL, RED, KILL

Cornell’s penalty kill has excelled recently, killing 25 of its opponent’s last 28 power-play opportunities (89.3 percent), tying UMass for the 10th-best penalty kill since Jan. 4 and ranking third among ECAC Hockey in the timeframe, trailing Quinnipiac (28-of-30 — .933) and Colgate (25-of-27 — .926).

In last Saturday’s tie with Clarkson, the Big Red saw its streak of consecutive penalty kills end at 13 after Luka Sukovic scored a power-play goal in the first period. Sukovic’s goal was the first goal allowed by Cornell while on the penalty kill since Jan. 17 at Princeton, snapping its four-game streak of holding its opponents without a power-play goal.

THE GAME IS ON HIS STICK

Junior forward Dalton Bancroft recorded his fourth game-winning goal of the season and eighth game-winner of his collegiate career on Jan. 17 in the Big Red’s road victory against Princeton, 6-2, at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink.

Should Bancroft net a game-winner in either game this weekend, he would become the ninth Cornell player in program history with five game-winning goals by the team’s 23rd game, joining Edmund ‘Stubby’ Magner (1910-11), Dave Ferguson (1965-66), Larry Fullan (1970-71), Doug Marrett (1972-73), Dave Peace (1974-75), Doug Stienstra (1997-98), Nick D’Agostino (2011-12), and Anthony Angello (2017-18).

Entering this weekend, Bancroft is tied with 10 players for the ninth-most game-winning goals this season while ranking third among ECAC Hockey players in the category, only behind Clarkson forward Ayrton Martino and Dartmouth defenseman John Fusco, who each have a league-leading five game-winners.

KEMPF NOMINATED FOR NATIONAL AWARD

The Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation announced Jan. 14 that senior defenseman Hank Kempf was named one of 14 nominees for this year’s Hockey Humanitarian Award, marking Kempf’s second consecutive season as a nominee.

A finalist for last year’s award, Kempf is one of two student-athletes representing ECAC Hockey on this year’s nominee list, joining St. Lawrence women’s hockey graduate student Sarah Thompson, who also was a finalist for last year’s award.

Kempf’s nomination marks the 10th time a player from Cornell has been nominated for the award, five of which have represented the men’s program. Kempf is the first Big Red student-athlete nominated multiple times for the prestigious yearly award.

Bestowed yearly upon college hockey’s finest citizen, the Hockey Humanitarian Award is presented to a student-athlete who significantly contributes to their team and the community through volunteerism leadership.

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 six 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 104 career appearances between the pipes for the Big Red, Shane has a 56-28-16 record with a 1.85 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.

Shane’s 56 career victories rank sixth among Cornell goaltenders in program history. Entering this weekend, Shane is two wins shy of tying Andy Iles ’14 for fifth in program history. The 56 wins make Shane one of six active Division I goaltenders with 50-plus career victories, joining Western Michigan’s Cameron Rowe (67), Wisconsin’s Tommy Scarfone (64), Boston University’s Mathieu Caron (54), Denver’s Matt Davis (52), and Boston College’s Jacob Fowler (50).

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 three more shutouts than Boston College’s Jacob Fowler and North Dakota’s T.J. Semptimphelter (nine).

The 12 shutouts rank fifth all-time among Cornell goaltenders, one shy of matching Cornell Athletics and Hockey Hall of Famer Ken Dryden ‘69, who assumes fourth place with 13 shutouts.

MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF

Senior goaltender Ian Shane boasts a 1.85 career goals-against average, the 15th-best figure in Division I hockey history. Shane is among 38 goalies with a sub-2.00 goals-against average with at least 1,500 minutes between the pipes.

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 (1.78) and Boston College’s Jacob Fowler (1.96).

Shane’s .9172 save percentage enters this weekend ranked as the 11th-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 (.9176) by four ten-thousandths of a point.

THAT'LL LEAVE A MARK…

Sophomore defenseman Hoyt Stanley blocked a career-high five shots in Cornell’s loss to Dartmouth on Jan. 25, marking the fourth time he absorbed at least four shots in a game this season. 

Per data from College Hockey News’ Stats Customizer, Stanley is tied with Reece Willcox (2014-15 & 2015-16),

Alec McCrea (2017-18), Yanni Kaldis (2017-18), Matthew Nuttle (2018-19), and Tim Rego (2023-24) for the 10th-most games with four-plus blocked shots by a Cornell player in a season since 2012-13.

With another game with four-plus blocked shots, Stanley would be the first player to have five games with four-plus blocked shots since Hank Kempf last season.

ON THE PLUS SIDE…

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

Psenicka and Rego are two of 10 players with at least a plus-50 rating and are tied for the ninth-highest plus-minus rating among active Division I players.

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

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

Psenicka and Rego’s plus-50 ratings are tied for the third-highest career plus-minus ratings in program history, dating back to 2002-03 when plus-minus ratings were first fully tracked for an entire season. The only career plus-minus ratings higher than Psenicka and Rego’s current totals were accomplished by forward Greg Miller ‘13 (plus-52) and defenseman Travis Mitchell ‘23 (plus-51).

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 first 21 games this season, Cornell has succeeded in maintaining the scoring levels achieved from last year, with 21 of the 24 skaters who have appeared in at least one game having at least one point (83.3 percent), and 19 have recorded at least two points (79.2 percent).

The sophomore class, which led the team last season in all three major scoring categories — goals (44), assists (70), and points (114), has accounted for a team-high 42.9 percent of Cornell’s scoring this season and leads all major scoring categories for a second consecutive season: goals (23), assists (43) and points (66).

Among Division I programs, only Robert Morris (116 of 220 points — 52.7 percent), Army (102 of 206 points — 49.5 percent), and Notre Dame (91 of 205 — 44.4 percent) have received a higher percentage of production from their sophomore class this season.

WHAT CAN BLUE(LINERS) DO FOR YOU?

Of the Big Red’s 154 points recorded this season, 48 (eight goals, 40 assists) have come from defensemen (31.2 percent of scoring production).

Cornell has the fourth-highest percentage of points from defensemen entering this weekend, only trailing fellow ECAC Hockey foe Colgate (31.4 percent — 71 of 226), Colorado College (31.3 percent — 60 of 192), and Ivy League rival Princeton (31.2 percent — 39 of 125).

Among Division I programs, Cornell is one of 10 teams with at least 30 percent of its scoring production from blueliners. Along with Colgate, Colorado College, and Princeton, the others include Merrimack (30.6 percent — 49 of 160), Minnesota Duluth (30.5 percent — 58 of 190), Robert Morris (30.5 percent — 67 of 220), Lindenwood (30.3 percent — 40 of 132), Notre Dame (30.2 percent — 62 of 205), and RPI (30.0 percent — 66 of 220).

The 40 assists by Cornell blueliners (41.7 percent of its overall assist total) is the highest average among Division I hockey programs this season and is one of two programs with at least 40 percent of its assists coming from blueliners (Omaha — 50 of 124 — 40.3 percent).

Senior defenseman Tim Rego (3-8—11) and sophomore defenseman George Fegaras (1-8—9) are having standout seasons for the Big Red. Rego has a career-high for goals (3) and has matched his single-season output for points (11), while Fegaras has already more than doubled his scoring production from last year in just 15 appearances this season.

ALL HE DOES IS WIN, WIN, WIN

Mike Schafer ‘86, the Jay R. Bloom ‘77 Head Coach of Cornell Men’s Ice Hockey, is one of four active Division I men’s hockey head coaches with at least 550 career victories, joined by Quinnipiac’s Rand Pecknold (658), Mercyhurst’s Rick Gotkin (611), and Notre Dame’s Jeff Jackson (598).

Schafer is also one of six Division I head coaches with at least 500 career wins, accompanied by Air Force’s Frank Serratore (516) and Ferris State’s Bob Daniels (507), who will also retire following the season.

Schafer’s 550 wins rank as the 18th-most victories by a Division I head coach in college hockey history. Schafer is five wins shy of tying longtime Michigan Tech head coach John MacInnes, who registered 555 wins while coaching the Huskies from 1956-82.

With his victory over Harvard on Jan. 24, 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.

SCOUTING RPI

RPI enters the weekend with a 10-14-2 overall record and a 5-9-0 mark in ECAC Hockey play. The Engineers are tied with Princeton for eighth in the conference standings with 16 points.

Will Gilson and Tyler Hotson pace the Engineers’ offense behind their 21 points (six goals, 15 assists). Jakob Lee (9-7—16) has a team-leading nine goals, while Jake Gagnon (8-7—15) is right behind with eight. RPI has 12 players with 10-plus points, tied with Army, Boston University, Colgate, Providence, and Vermont for the fourth-most players with a double-digit point total this season.

Goaltending duties have favored Noah Giesbrecht (9-12-0, 3.46, .894) this season, as the graduate transfer has started all 21 appearances. Jack Watson (1-2-2, 3.90, .898) has started in five of his six outings.

117 YEARS, 170 MILES, 120 MEETINGS

Cornell enters Friday night’s matchup with RPI boasting a 70-39-11 record against the Engineers, which includes winning seven of the last eight contests. During this span, Cornell has averaged 4.50 goals per game and has an average margin of victory of 2.25. All seven wins during the stretch for Cornell have been by at least two goals.

The Big Red has won its last four games against RPI, its longest win streak against the Engineers since collecting five consecutive wins together between the 2006-07 and 2008-09 seasons.

At Lynah Rink, Cornell has also won its last four against RPI. A win Friday would tie the Big Red’s second-longest home win streak against RPI (1999-00 to 2002-03), only behind an 11-game streak between the 1965-66 and 1982-83 seasons.

Senior goaltender Ian Shane is 4-0-0 all-time against RPI, which includes posting a 1.76 goals-against average. Six of the seven goals Shane has allowed against the Engineers have come on the power play.

Fellow senior Tim Rego has averaged a point-per-game against RPI, scoring two goals and adding four assists in six career games. Junior forward Nick DeSantis has five assists in four games against RPI, highlighted by his four-assist outing during his freshman season on Jan. 7, 2023.

CORNELL - RPI CONNECTIONS

Kyle Penney and Jack Agnew played on the 2019-20 Chilliwack Chiefs ... Kyler Kovich and Max Smolinski were teammates on the 2020-21 Tri-City Storm ... Ian Shane and Will Gilson spent three years together at Connecticut-based Westminster Prep ... Jordan Tonelli and Jack Brackett played on the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders with Jack O’Leary during the 2018-19 season ... Tonelli and Brackett also played with O’Leary and Michael Suda on the 2019-20 RoughRiders ... Suda and Nick Strom played on the 2020-21 Fargo Force ... Sean Donaldson and Gustavs Ozolins spent the 2021-22 season on the Sioux Falls Stampede ... Jérémie Payant played on the 2021-22 Nanaimo Clippers with Donaldson and Jack O’Brien ... Luke Devlin and Félix Caron played on the 2022-23 West Kelowna Warriors ... Tim Rego and Jakob Lee were both on the 2019-20 Brooks Bandits ... Sutter Muzzatti and Noah Giesbrecht played on the 2019-20 Muskegon Lumberjacks with Hank Kempf ... Dovar Tinling was teammates with Devlin and Remington Keopple on the 2021-22 Des Moines Buccaneers ... Tyler Hotson played at St. Andrew’s College in Aurora, Ontario, with Devlin (2020-22) and Jonathan Castagna (2021-22) ... Hotson also spent the 2022-23 season with George Fegaras on the Muskegon Lumberjacks ... Brody Maguire and Jagger Tapper spent the past three seasons on the Okotoks Oilers (2021-24) with Nicholas Wolfenberg ... Lucas Matta and Mathieu Bourgault played on the Silver Arm Silverbacks during the 2020-21 campaign with Sullivan Mack.

#13 MEN'S HOCKEY CLINCHES NO. 2 SEED WITH SENIOR NIGHT VICTORY OVER RPI

BOX SCORE I RECAP | HIGHLIGHTS | POSTGAME INTERVIEWS | PHOTO GALLERY

ITHACA, N.Y. (MARCH 2, 2024) — A two-assist night from freshman forward Jonathan Castagna and a 21-save performance from junior goaltender Ian Shane lifted the No. 13-ranked Cornell men's hockey team to a 3-1 victory over RPI in front of 3,723 on Senior Night at Lynah Rink on Saturday night.

The victory for the Big Red (17-6-6, 12-6-4 ECAC Hockey) solidified Cornell as the No. 2 seed for this year's ECAC Hockey Championship, denoting Cornell will host the second-lowest remaining seed after next weekend's opening-round matchups.

Junior forwards Jack O'Leary and Sullivan Mack and freshman forward Jake Kraft all scored in the victory for the Big Red.

Tyler Hotson spoiled Cornell's bid for a shutout with a goal late in the third period. Jack Watson stopped 25 shots in the setback for the Engineers (9-21-4, 6-13-3 ECAC), who will enter the ECAC Hockey Championship as the No. 12 seed and travel to Clarkson for a 7 p.m. puck drop on Saturday, March 9.

O'Leary gave Cornell the lead almost seven minutes into the contest, depositing a loose rebound from a shot taken by Castagna that Watson saved.

After players from both teams were battling for possession behind RPI's cage, Kraft gained control and tucked the puck inside Watson's left pad to put the Big Red up by two.

An aggressive forecheck by Cornell and a takeaway from Mack led to Cornell's lead being increased to 3-0 just over the halfway point of the second period. After Mack forced the defensive zone turnover, Castagna shoveled the puck to Mack, who whipped the puck on a quick wrap-around into the far bottom corner of the goal.

Cornell appeared to have scored a goal early in the third period to make it a 4-0 contest, but RPI bench boss David Smith elected to challenge the ruling, resulting in the Big Red goal being wiped off the scoreboard.

Nearing the midway point of the third, RPI found the back of the net on a rebound shot. Cornell challenged the ruling of the goal, also resulting in a goal being overturned and keeping the Engineers without a goal.

With a potential shutout inching closer for Cornell, RPI's Jimmy Goffredo ripped a shot from the right faceoff circle that Shane saved, but Hotson pounced on the rebound to trim the Big Red lead with 1:44 remaining.

RPI attempted to score with an extra attacker, but Shane was able to stop the final three shot attempts over the final seven seconds of the contest.

SCOUTING UNION

Union arrives in Central New York with a 15-9-2 overall record and an 8-5-1 mark in ECAC Hockey play. The Big Red are five points behind the Garnet Chargers, who have 26 points and are tied with Dartmouth for third in the conference standings.

Entering this weekend, the Garnet Chargers boast the 10th-best power play in the nation, converting at a 23.9 percent clip (22-of-92). 

The Garnet Chargers have six players with 20-plus points, tied with Arizona State, Boston University, Denver, Minnesota, and UMass for the most players with at least 20 points in Division I hockey. Nate Hanley (9-16—25) leads Union’s offense with 25 points. Brandon Buhr (13-8—21) has a team-high 13 goals, while Josh Nixon (11-5—16) and Ben Muthersbaugh (10-12—22) have double-digit goal totals.

Kyle Chauvette (14-8-2, 2.70, .899) has started 25 of Union’s 26 games between the pipes.

96 YEARS, 155 MILES, 82 MEETINGS

Cornell has a 49-23-10 edge over Union as the Big Red is unbeaten in nine of its last 10 against the Garnet Chargers (8-1-1). Over the previous 10 games, Cornell has outscored Union by 33 goals, 49-16.

Six of the last seven games against Union have featured Cornell scoring at least four goals (5.43 goals per game). All six of the wins were decided by at least three goals. Cornell has registered five-plus goals in five of the previous seven contests against the Garnet Chargers.

Over its last 12 games at Lynah Rink against Union, Cornell is 9-2-1 with wins in five of its previous six contests, outscoring Union by a 29-9 clip.

Sophomore Jonathan Castagna had five points in two games against Union last season, highlighted by his four-point game at Messa Rink on Feb. 10, 2024. Castagna is tied with three other players for the active team lead in points (five) against the Garnet Chargers, joined by seniors Ondrej Psenicka (3-2—5) and Kyle Penney (2-3—5) and junior Dalton Bancroft (2-3—5).

Senior goaltender Ian Shane is 3-1-0 all-time against Union, posting a 1.56 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. Shane has allowed just two goals at even strength against Union, with the other four coming on the power play.

CORNELL - UNION CONNECTIONS

Union head coach Josh Hauge spent seven seasons at Clarkson under Cornell associate head coach Casey Jones ‘90, serving as an assistant coach from 2015-19 and associate head coach from 2019-22 ... Cornell director of hockey operations and assistant coach Corey Leivermann coached John Prokop (2018-19 Janesville Jets) and Nick DeSantis and D.J. Hart (2021-22 Madison Capitols) ... Hart also played with DeSantis on the 2018-19 Sioux Falls Stampede as well as with Jimmy Rayhill (2020-21 Odessa Jackalopes) ... Hart and Lucas Massie played on the 2022-23 Fargo Force with Marian Mosko ... Phillips played on the Sioux Falls Stampede with DeSantis (2019-20) and Sean Donaldson (2020-21) ... Prokop was also teammates with Hank Kempf (2019-20 Muskegon Lumberjacks) as well as Remington Keopple (2020-22) and Luke Devlin (2021-22) on the Des Moines Buccaneeers ... Connor Smith was teammates with Jake Kraft and Ryan Walsh on the 2022-23 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders ... Parker Lindauer and Caden Villegas spent the 2020-21 season together on the Tri-City Storm with Kyler Kovich ... Jacob Jeannette played on the Waterloo Black Hawks with Ondrej Psenicka (2019-20) and Ben Robertson (2021-22) ... Nate Hanley spent time on the same teams as Jack O’Leary () and Michael Suda () on the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and with Tyler Catalano and Winter Wallace on the 2020-21 Youngstown Phantoms ... Kyle Chauvette played on the Phantoms for two seasons (2020-22) with Catalano and Wallace.

PROKOP, MACARTHUR LEAD UNION TO VICTORY OVER #13 MEN'S HOCKEY

BOX SCORE I RECAP | HIGHLIGHTS

ITHACA, N.Y. (MARCH 1, 2024) — Union's John Prokop and Colby MacArthur registered multi-point nights to lead Union to a 3-2 victory over No. 13-ranked Cornell men's hockey at Lynah Rink before 3,855 on Friday night.

MacArthur, Chaz Smedsrud, and Liam Robertson tallied the markers for the Garnet Chargers (15-15-3, 9-9-3 ECAC Hockey) to snap their nine-game winless streak against Cornell. It is Union's first victory over the Big Red since taking the first game of a best-of-three quarterfinal round on March 15, 2019. Kyle Chauvette made 21 saves between the pipes for Union.

Freshman Jonathan Castagna and senior forward Gabriel Seger recorded the tallies for Cornell (16-6-6, 11-6-4 ECAC Hockey). Junior goaltender Ian Shane stopped 18 shots in the setback for the Big Red.

Picking up where he left off at Messa Rink at Achilles Center in Schenectady three weeks ago, Castagna deployed a brilliant deke to get by Union defenders and beat Chauvette with a back-handed shot to open the scoring 1:37 into the contest.

The goal for Castagna was his third goal and fifth point of the season against the Garnet Chargers in just two contests.

Cornell's lead would only last for 2:04, as Union scored the first of its two power-play goals in the first period. Smedsrud tied the game when his shot after crashing the net from the left corner toward the left post sneaked past Shane. Five-plus minutes later, Robertson deflected a shot from the point by Prokop to give the Garnet Chargers the lead.

Following a scoreless 15 minutes of the middle stanza, a questionable interference penalty called against Union led to Seger displaying his scoring prowess against his former team. A backdoor pass from freshman forward Ryan Walsh at the left faceoff circle enabled Seger to tap in his 12th goal of the season to bring the game level at 2-all. 

Just like the first period, Union responded with a goal of its own in under four minutes as it retook the lead on a goal by MacArthur. Cullen Ferguson had his shot from the top of the left point deflected off a Cornell defender, leading to MacArthur depositing the go-ahead tally while on one knee near the right post.

Union held Cornell to just five shots on goal in the third period as the Garnet Chargers blocked five of Cornell's 17 shot attempts in the final regulation period.

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

BOX SCORE | 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.

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 returns to the road for its final pair of Ivy League games on the season, facing Brown (9-10-2, 5-8-1 ECAC Hockey) and Yale (5-14-2, 4-8-2 ECAC Hockey).

The Big Red went unbeaten in the first series against the Bears and Bulldogs back on Nov. 8-9 at Lynah Rink, tying with Yale, 2-2, and defeating Brown, 3-1.

Over the last 10 games against the pair of Ancient Eight programs, Cornell has an 8-0-2 record while outscoring the opposition by a 39-10 clip. Cornell has allowed two goals or less in the last 20 games against the Bears and Bulldogs, conceding a combined 22 goals during the span.

Across the last 20 road games against Brown and Yale, Cornell has a 13-3-4 record, which includes winning the last four games by a combined total of 20-3.