ITHACA, N.Y. — Union junior forward Brandon Buhr scored two third-period goals to punctuate his second hat trick of the season and spark the visiting Garnet Chargers (16-9-3, 9-5-2 ECAC Hockey) to a 4-1 victory over Cornell (9-8-6, 6-6-4 ECAC Hockey) before 3,893 at Lynah Rink in ECAC Hockey action on Saturday night.

Buhr became the first visiting player to score three goals in a game at Lynah Rink since St. Lawrence's John Poapst recorded a natural hat trick in a 3-1 victory over the Big Red on March 5, 1999. It was the first overall hat trick allowed by Cornell since Nov. 5, 2016, when Harvard's Lewis Zetter-Gossage had a hat trick at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center in Cambridge, Mass.

Joining Buhr in scoring for Union was Josh Nixon, who tallied a second-period power-play goal. Junior goaltender Kyle Chauvette made 30 saves between the pipes for the Garnet Chargers, logging his seventh 30-save performance on the year.

Senior forward Kyler Kovich potted the lone goal for the Big Red as fellow seniors Ondrej Psenicka and Tim Rego registered the assists. Senior goaltender Ian Shane stopped 20 Garnet Charger shots in the setback.

"I didn't like the way we started the game," said associate head coach Casey Jones '90, who assumed Cornell's head coaching duties for the weekend as Mike Schafer '86 attended his son's wedding. "I didn't think we had the same pop that started the game yesterday. We had tremendous momentum at certain points in the game. We just needed one to go in for us."

Union wasted no time taking the lead as Buhr opened the scoring 1:49 into the contest, pouncing at a loose rebound in the mid-slot after freshman Ben Muthersbaugh's shot from the far half-wall was saved by Shane.

Both teams had a chance on the power play in the opening 20 minutes but could not convert. Union had three shots on goal during its first power play, which included six shot attempts. Cornell had a pair of shots on goal during its man advantage.

The Garnet Chargers extended their lead 4:53 into the second period, 48 seconds into their second power play of the game. Nixon scored with a snapshot from the left side of the right faceoff circle, beating Shane to his short side.

Union's two-goal lead was short-lived when Kovich responded with his third goal of the season just 38 seconds later. He took advantage of a rebound after redirecting shot taken by Psenicka from the middle of the point, which hit the crossbar. Rego also earned his 11th assist of the season.



Cornell maintained possession of the puck in its offensive zone for several minutes during the second period as it hoped to tie the game but was ultimately held off the scoreboard.

"I thought we had a ton of momentum," Jones said of the Big Red's play in the second period. "We had unbelievable opportunities to mount that attack. When you have guys healthy, it's emblematic of the hockey you want to play, shift after shift after shift, sustaining momentum. I thought we had a lot of times they had that in the third period, too."

Buhr regained the Garnet Chargers' two-goal lead 2:13 into the third period, one-timing a backhanded pass by Nate Hanley past Shane following a breakout from Union's defensive zone.

Cornell nearly cut Union's lead in half for a second time on the night 20 seconds into its third power play. Sophomore defenseman Ben Robertson sent a centering pass from the near half-wall to sophomore forward Ryan Walsh, who was at the right side of the crease. However, Chauvette made an impressive sprawling cross-crease glove save, denying Walsh a power-play goal.



With 1:50 remaining in the contest, Buhr potted his third goal of the night into an empty Cornell goal to solidify Union's victory.

GAME NOTES
• Saturday was the 83rd meeting between the Big Red and Garnet Chargers, as Cornell's lead in the series now stands at 49-24-10. The Garnet Chargers have won each of the last two contests, marking its first win streak against the Big Red since sweeping a best-of-three first-round series in the 2015 ECAC Hockey Championship. It is Union's first time winning consecutive regular-season games over Cornell since sweeping the season series in 2013-14.

• Union has won each of its last two regular-season games at Lynah Rink, marking the Garnet Chargers' first time winning consecutive regular-season games on Cornell's home ice. It is the first time Union has won consecutive games on the road against Cornell since stringing three wins together between March 6, 2015, and Feb. 26, 2016, with the first two victories coming in the Garnet Chargers' best-of-three series sweep of Cornell in the first round of the 2015 ECAC Hockey Championship.

• With his 20 saves on Saturday, Shane increased his career saves total to 2,096 and is now 47 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) – 2,096 saves
10. Matt Underhill (1998-02) – 2,052 saves

• Psenicka's assist on Kovich's second-period goal extended his career-long point streak to six games, marking the longest point streak by a Cornell player this season and the longest point streak by a Big Red player since Gabriel Seger '24 collected points in six consecutive games last season between Jan. 27 and Feb. 16. During Psenicka's current point streak, which is tied for the seventh-longest active point streak in Division I hockey and the longest in ECAC Hockey, he has registered six points (two goals, four assists).

LONGEST ACTIVE POINT STREAKS
Division I Hockey
13 games, T.J. Hughes, Michigan (8-13—21)
11 games, Mac Gadowsky, Army (7-14—21)
9 games, Matthew Kursonis, Holy Cross (5-8—13)
7 games, Matt Hubbarde, Alaska (9-2—11)
7 games, Ryan Leonard, Boston College (10-4—14)
7 games, Sam Harris, Denver (7-3—10)
6 games, Ondrej Psenicka, Cornell (2-4—6)
6 games, Kenny Connors, UMass (6-2—8)
6 games, Cole O'Hara, UMass (6-6—12)
6 games, Lucas Mercuri, UMass (5-5—10)
6 games, Jack Musa, UMass (5-6—11)

• Kovich, who scored his first-ever goal at Lynah Rink, has points in consecutive games for the fourth time in his collegiate career and the second instance over the last four weeks.

UP NEXT
Cornell will return to the road for its final pair of Ivy League games next weekend when it faces Brown (10-10-2, 6-8-1 ECAC Hockey) and Yale (5-15-2, 4-9-2 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 (.750), which includes winning the previous four games by a combined 20-3 score.