ITHACA, N.Y. — Sophomore forward Nick DeSantis and senior defenseman Tim Rego each had multi-point nights to lead the Cornell men's hockey team (9-7-6, 6-5-4 ECAC Hockey) to its 4-2 victory over RPI (10-15-2, 5-10-0 ECAC Hockey) before 3,981 at Lynah Rink on Friday night.
 
DeSantis had a goal and an assist for his second multi-point game in his last four games. Rego assisted DeSantis' goal and aided senior forward Jack O'Leary in scoring his third-period tally, which proved to be the game-winning marker. Fellow senior forward Kyle Penney also found the back of the net for the Big Red, potting his first marker since having a two-goal outing at Dartmouth on Nov. 15.
 
Senior goaltender Ian Shane made 16 saves between the pipes for Cornell, who improved to 7-2-1 at Lynah Rink this season.
 
RPI's Dovar Tinling factored in both goals scored by the Engineers, assisting Will Gilson on his early third-period marker before netting an extra-attacker goal with three minutes left. Graduate student transfer Noah Giesbrecht made 26 saves in the setback for the Engineers.
 
"I thought we showed a little bit of nerves at the end trying to close that one out, but for the most part, we liked our team," said associate head coach Casey Jones '90, as he is assuming Cornell's head coaching duties this weekend as Mike Schafer '86 attends his son's wedding. "When you battle, get good goaltending, and score four goals, that's usually going to be a good night."
 
Cornell struck first with a power-play goal that grazed DeSantis' skate before ricocheting off an RPI defender's skate at the edge of the crease. Rego set up the marker by sending the puck toward the net from the right point. Sophomore defenseman George Fegaras earned the secondary assist as the Big Red snapped its 0-for-16 stretch on the power play.
 

 
Penney doubled the Big Red's lead at the 16:26 mark of the second period, lasering a wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that beat Giesbrecht to his high-glove side.
 

 
Three-plus minutes into the third period, RPI cut Cornell's lead in half as Gilson tallied a goal while playing at 4-on-4 after a pair of coincidental roughing penalties.
 
Nearly 10 minutes later, Cornell regained its two-goal lead as O'Leary snapped his 10-game goalless streak, benefiting from a nifty backdoor pass by DeSantis while completing a spin move at the left elbow of the goal crease.
 

 
RPI wouldn't go down quietly as Tinling scored seven seconds after pulling its goaltender to make it a 3-2 contest with exactly three minutes left.
 
A takeaway by Psenicka in the neutral zone led to him scoring his sixth goal of the season and extend his career-long point streak to five games as he beat Giesbrecht to his high-glove side with 1:46 remaining in regulation.
 

 
Cornell was assessed a bench penalty for too many men on the ice, setting up RPI for a 6-on-4 power play. The Big Red stood tall, blocking five Engineers shots in 20 seconds while RPI had a two-man advantage. Senior defenseman Michael Suda blocked two of the shots in the fury, including a game-saving stop in the crease with 35 seconds left to prevent Tinling of his second goal.
 

 
"That's Cornell hockey," Penney said of the Big Red's five blocked shots in 20 seconds. "Everybody's putting their body on the line to get wins, especially coming down the stretch of the season. Guys will do whatever it takes. That's what makes it so fun playing with this team."
 
POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM CASEY JONES '90, KYLE PENNEY, AND TIM REGO


GAME NOTES
• Friday was the 121st meeting between the Big Red and Engineers, as Cornell upped its lead in the series to 71-39-11. The Big Red has won the last five contests against its Empire State rival while outscoring the Engineers by a 20-9 clip.
 
• The victory marked Cornell's fifth consecutive win against RPI, tying for the third-longest win streak against RPI in program history (1964-67 and 2007-09), trailing an eight-game streak (1974-80) and a seven-game stretch (2001-03).
 
LONGEST WIN STREAKS VS. RPI
Cornell Program History
1. 8 games – March 9, 1974 – Feb. 13, 1980
2. 7 games – Nov. 10, 2001 – March 15, 2003
T3. 5 games – Jan. 2, 1964 – Nov. 29, 1967
T3. 5 games – Feb. 10, 2007 – Feb. 20, 2009
T3. 5 games – Jan. 7, 2023 - Present
 
• Cornell has also won eight of the last nine against RPI, averaging 4.44 goals per game and having an average margin of victory of 2.22. All eight wins during the stretch have been by at least two goals.
 
• At Lynah Rink, Cornell has won its last five games against RPI, tying the second-longest home win streak against the Engineers (five-game win streak between 1999-00 and 2002-03). Only an 11-game win streak across the 1965-66 and 1982-83 seasons is longer. During the active home win streak, Cornell has averaged 5.00 goals per game and has scored three-plus goals in all contests.
 
LONGEST HOME WIN STREAKS VS. RPI
Cornell Program History
1. 11 games – Jan. 12, 1966 – Feb. 4, 1983
T2. 5 games – Feb. 19, 2000 – March 15, 2003
T2. 5 games – Feb. 15, 2020 – Present
 
• Rego upped his career point total against RPI to eight (two goals, six assists) on Friday night, tying Brendon Nash (eight assists) for the second-most by a Cornell defenseman against RPI in program history. Only Jason Dailey (two goals, seven assists between 1994-98) had more points during his collegiate career versus the Engineers.
 
MOST POINTS BY A DEFENSEMAN VS. RPI
Cornell Program History
1. Jason Dailey (1994-98) – 9 points (two goals, seven assists)
T2. Brendon Nash (2006-10) – 8 points (eight assists)
T2. Tim Rego (2021-Present) – 8 points (two goals, six assists)
T4. Bruce Marrett (1975-78) – 7 points (one goal, six assists)
T4. Chris Norton (1984-88) – 7 points (one goal, six assists)
T4. Bruce Frauley (1987-91) – 7 points (one goal, six assists)
T4. Chad Wilson (1993-97) – 7 points (two goals, five assists)
T4. Mark McRae (1999-03) – 7 points (three goals, four assists)
T4. Mike Devin (2007-11) – 7 points (one goal, six assists)

• Behind his 16-save performance on Friday night, Shane increased his career saves total to 2,076 and is now 67 saves away from tying 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) – 2,076 saves
10. Matt Underhill (1998-02) – 2,052 saves

• Psenicka's third-period goal extended his point streak to a career-long five games, marking the second five-game point streak of the season (Jack O'Leary – 2-3—5 – Nov. 23 and Jan. 3). During Psenicka's current point streak, he has registered five points (two goals, three assists).
 
UP NEXT
Cornell will return to the ice on Saturday, Feb. 8, when it welcomes Union (15-9-3, 8-5-2 ECAC Hockey) to Lynah Rink for a scheduled 7 p.m. puck drop. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Grady Whittenburg calling play-by-play and former Cornell defenseman Tim Vanini '91 supplying analysis. Jason Weinstein will also have the call over the airwaves on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM, cortacatoday.com).
 
Union is coming off a 2-2 tie with Colgate at the Class of 1965 Arena on Friday night in Hamilton, N.Y., before recording the extra point in the ECAC Hockey standings with a four-round shootout victory. Ben Muthersbaugh and Cal Mell each scored second-period goals for the Garnet Chargers.
 
The Big Red is unbeaten in nine of the last 10 contests against the Garnet Chargers (8-1-1), where it has outscored Union by 33 goals, 49-16.
 
Cornell has scored at least four goals (4.83 per game average) in five of the last six games against Union and has won five of the previous six games, all by at least three goals.
 
Over its last 12 games at Lynah Rink against Union, Cornell has a 9-2-1 record, winning five of its previous six contests while outscoring Union by 29-9.