PUCK DROP
Vying for its second consecutive Whitelaw Cup, the No. 6-seeded Cornell men’s hockey team (17-10-6, 10-8-4 ECAC Hockey) will look to extend its win streak to six games when it goes up against second-seeded and No. 18-ranked Clarkson (24-11-3, 15-6-1 ECAC Hockey) in the championship game of the 2025 ECAC Men’s Hockey Championship at the 1980 Rink — Herb Brooks Arena this afternoon.
Puck drop is set for 5 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Phil Murphy calling play-by-play and Pierre McGuire supplying analysis. Jason Weinstein (play-by-play) and Tony Eisenhut ‘88 (analysis) will also provide commentary over the airwaves on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM, cortacatoday.com).
LAST TIME OUT
Cornell senior defenseman Tim Rego’s goal at 14:39 of overtime propelled the No. 6-seeded Big Red to a 3-2 victory over the No. 12-ranked and top-seeded Quinnipiac in the semifinals of the ECAC Men’s Hockey Championship on Friday afternoon at the 1980 Rink – Herb Brooks Arena.
Senior forward Kyler Kovich scored the game-tying goal, a short-handed marker, with 1:39 left, firing a shot from the goal line that slipped between the legs of Quinnipiac goaltender Matej Marinov.
Joining Rego and Kovich in scoring for Cornell was sophomore forward Jonathan Castagna, who netted a power-play goal in the first period. Senior goaltender Ian Shane recorded 22 saves between the pipes for the Big Red. Sophomore forward Ryan Walsh (two assists) joined Rego (goal, assist) in having a multi-point night.
ECAC MEN'S HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP
Assuming the No. 6 seed in this year’s ECAC Men’s Hockey Championship, it is Cornell’s first time being the No. 6 seed in the 55 ECAC Hockey Championship tournaments it has participated in.
After earning opening-round byes in each of the last seven ECAC Men’s Hockey Championships, this year marked Cornell’s first time not being a top-four seed since 2016 (No. 8 seed) and just the fifth time under the conference’s current alignment (2005-06) that it had to compete in the opening weekend of the tournament.
IT'S AWARD SEASON!
Award season is in full swing, with numerous Cornell players receiving honors from both ECAC Hockey and the Ivy League last week.
Senior defenseman Tim Rego and junior forward Dalton Bancroft were the only Big Red players honored by both leagues. Rego earned First Team All-Ivy honors on March 12 after receiving Third Team All-ECAC Hockey recognition the day prior. Bancroft was chosen for the second team in both the ECAC Hockey and Ivy League awards.
Sophomore forward Ryan Walsh joined Rego and Bancroft in earning All-Ivy awards, being one of two unanimous First Team All-Ivy selections alongside Dartmouth’s CJ Foley. Senior goaltender Ian Shane received Honorable Mention All-Ivy distinctions, while senior forward Sullivan Mack earned Academic All-Ivy honors.
EXCELLING OF LATE
All three facets of Cornell’s game have been clicking on all cylinders recently, as the Big Red enters today’s championship game as one of two Division I programs (Quinnipiac) that is averaging at least four goals scored per game while allowing under 1.50 goals against per game, dating back to Feb. 14.
Cornell’s average of 4.00 goals per game (40 goals in 10 games) ranks third nationally for the period, trailing Western Michigan (5.09 — 56 goals in 11 games) and Quinnipiac (4.22 — 38 goals in 9 games). Denver (3.92 — 47 goals in 12 games) is the closest program during the timeframe to be averaging at least four goals per game.
Cornell’s 40 goals scored rank as the third-most by a Division I program since Feb. 14, behind NCHC foes Western Michigan (56) and Denver (47), and ahead of ECAC Hockey rvials Quinnipiac (38) and Clarkson (36).
While Cornell’s offense has been on a roll recently, so has the Big Red’s defense, which ranks fourth in goals allowed per game (1.50). Only Minnesota State (1.00 — 8 goals in 8 games), LIU (1.33 — 8 goals in 6 games), and Quinnipiac (1.44 — 13 goals in 9 games) have better averages. The Big Red also owns the third-best penalty kill (90.3 percent — 28-of-31), trailing Stonehill (100 percent — 11-of-11) and Lindenwood (93.3 percent — 14-of-15).
With an average margin of victory of +2.50, Cornell ranks behind Quinnipiac (+2.78) and Minnesota (+2.63) for the best scoring margin over the past month. Additionally, Cornell is one of eight teams (Western Michigan — +2.18; Denver and LIU — +2.00) that has an average scoring margin of at least two goals since Feb. 14.
STREAK EXTENDED
With its win over RPI on March 1, Cornell registered its eighth consecutive season with at least 10 victories in ECAC Hockey play.
The streak is the third-longest in program history, trailing behind a 19-year span from 1964-65 to 1982-83, and the most recent streak of 13 consecutive seasons from 1999-00 to 2011-12. Under Mike Schafer ‘86, the Big Red has achieved at least 10 conference victories in 24 out of the 29 seasons.
FINDING HIS SCORING TOUCH
Junior forward Dalton Bancroft (15-11—26) has scored at least 20 points in each of his first three seasons with the Big Red, making him the 49th player in program history to reach the milestone.
Under Mike Schafer ‘86, Bancroft is the 10th player to reach the milestone, joining Kyle Knopp (1995-98), Ryan Moynihan (1996-99), Ryan Vesce (2000-03), Matt Moulson (2002-05), Topher Scott (2004-07), Riley Nash (2007-10), Brian Ferlin (2011-14), Joel Lowry (2011-14), and Anthony Angello (2015-18).
Fueled by his 36 goals, Bancroft is tied with Angello and Vesce for the fourth-most goals scored by a player in their first three seasons with the Big Red during Schafer’s 30-year coaching career.
If Bancroft scores a goal tonight, he will tie Nash for the third-most goals, while a two-goal game would match Colin Greening for the second-most goals in a player’s first three seasons under Schafer’s tutelage.
In addition to his 42 assists, Bancroft is one of five players to tally at least 35 goals and assists over his first three seasons with Cornell, joining Vesce (36-66—102), Nash (37-64—101), Moulson (53-47—100), and Greening (38-42—80).
With his awarded short-handed, empty-net goal against Colgate in last Saturday’s series-clinching win, Bancroft became the first Cornell player to have a 15-goal season since Morgan Barron (15) during the 2018-19 season. Should Bancroft score tonight, it would be the most goals scored by a Big Red player since Joe Devin registered 17 goals in 2010-11.
Bancroft’s short-handed goal against Colgate last Saturday was his second of the year, becoming the first Big Red player with multiple short-handed goals in a season since Eric Freschi in 2014-15.
KILL, RED, KILL
Cornell went 7-for-7 on its short-handed opportunities in last Saturday’s series-clinching win over Colgate, marking the first time the Big Red did not allow a power-play goal on at least seven opposing power play chances since Oct. 28, 2017, when it went 7-for-7 against Alabama-Huntsville. The last time Cornell had a 100 percent penalty kill on at least seven opposing power plays in a postseason contest was against Michigan on March 23, 2012, in the Midwest Regional semifinal of the NCAA Tournament, where it killed all seven Wolverine power plays.
During the 2025 portion of the season, Cornell’s penalty kill has ranked among the best in Division I hockey, successfully killing 58 of its opponents’ last 66 power-play opportunities (87.9 percent), placing the Big Red third nationally and second among ECAC Hockey programs. The programs ahead of the Big Red are Holy Cross (90.4 percent — 66-of-73) and Quinnipiac (90.0 percent — 54-of-60).
POWERED BY THE POWER PLAY
Cornell has scored a power-play goal in each of its last four games, marking the Big Red’s longest streak since going five consecutive games with a tally while having a man advantage between Jan. 27, 2024, and Feb. 10, 2024.
The Big Red is tied with Boston University, Holy Cross, and North Dakota for the fourth-longest active streak with a power-play goal, only trailing Stonehill (7 games), Minnesota (6 games), and Penn State (6 games).
In conference tournaments this season, Cornell’s five power-play goals only trails Denver (7) for the nation’s lead in goals while having a man advantage.
HOCKEY HUMANITARIAN AWARD
After being selected as one of 14 nominees for the 2025 Hockey Humanitarian Award, senior defenseman Hank Kempf was named 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 be a finalist, winning the award in 2003. Since the award was introduced in 1997, Kempf’s nomination marks the 10th time a Big Red player has been nominated and is the only Big Red student-athlete to be nominated multiple times. The nomination is the fifth time a member of the Cornell men’s program has been considered for the prestigious award, joining Paolini, Topher Scott ‘08, and Andy Iles ‘10.
SHANE'S WORLD, IT'S PARTY TIME, EXCELLENT!
Senior goaltender Ian Shane has excelled in the crease during his time on East Hill. Throughout his 115 career appearances for the Big Red, Shane boasts a 64-31-16 record with a 1.84 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.
With his victory against Yale on March 8, Shane overtook Matthew Galajda for fourth place on the Big Red’s all-time wins chart, trailing Ken Dryden ‘69 (76), and David McKee ‘06 and Ben Scrivens ‘10 (65).
Among active Division I goaltenders, Shane is one of only four players with over 60 wins (Western Michigan’s Cameron Rowe — 69; Wisconsin’s Tommy Scarfone — 66; Denver’s Matt Davis — 61) and one of 10 goaltenders with 50 or more victories (Boston College’s Jacob Fowler — 56; Boston University’s Mathieu Caron and Clarkson’s Ethan Langenegger — 54; North Dakota’s TJ Semptimphelter — 53; Bemidji State’s Mattias Sholl and Minnesota’s Liam Souliere — 52).
After making 21 saves in Cornell’s 3-0 shutout over Colgate last Saturday, Shane notched his Division I-leading 14th career shutout, breaking his tie with Dryden for the fourth-highest total in program history.
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 reach 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 surpassed both Hayward and D’Alessio for the fifth-most stops by a Cornell goaltender in program history following his 22-save outing yesterday against Quinnipiac.
Shane’s 2,242 career stops rank 16th among active Division I goaltenders and is one of nine players to make all his saves with one program.
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, Ben Scrivens ‘10, and David McKee.
Shane’s 115 career appearances rank third in Cornell program history, trailing Iles (118 from 2010-14) and Scrivens (117 from 2006-10).
Entering today’s contest, Shane is one of eight active Division I goaltenders to have played in at least 100 career games, joining the likes of Western Michigan’s Cameron Rowe (123), Wisconsin’s Tommy Scarfone (122), Clarkson’s Ethan Langenegger (119), Bemidji State’s Mattias Sholl (117), Boston University’s Mathieu Caron (111), Minnesota’s Liam Souliere (108), and North Dakota’s T.J. Semptimphelter (101).
Of the seven goaltenders with at least 100 career appearances, Shane and Sholl are the only two players who have registered all their games with the same program.
MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF
Senior goaltender Ian Shane has an impressive career goals-against average of 1.84, ranking as the 14th-best in Division I hockey history. Shane is one of 40 goalies to have played at least 1,500 minutes in net while maintaining a sub-2.00 goals-against average.
Cornell boasts four of the top 10 career goals-against averages in NCAA history, making it one of only two programs, along with Michigan State, to have multiple representatives in the top 10.
Shane and Ben Scrivens ‘10 (1.93) account for six of the 40 sub-2.00 career goals-against averages in NCAA history, the most for any Division I program. Other Division I programs with multiple sub-2.00 goals-against averages include Quinnipiac (four), Maine (three), and Denver, Miami, Michigan State, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State, and Notre Dame (two each).
Among active Division I goaltenders with at least 1,500 minutes, Shane is one of five netminders boasting a career goals-against average below 2.00, alongside Boija (1.84), Sacred Heart freshman Ajeet Gundarah (1.90), Boston College sophomore Jacob Fowler (1.91), and Minnesota State junior Alex Tracy (1.92).
Shane’s .9166 save percentage enters this afternoon’s championship game ranked as the 13th-highest figure among all active Division I goaltenders that have played at least 1,500 minutes played. He is four one-hundred thousandths of a point ahead of Wisconsin’s Tommy Scarfone (.6165) and trails Omaha’s Simon Latkoczy (.918) by one-thousandths of a point. Among eligible ECAC Hockey netminders, Shane is ahead of Brown’s Lawton Zacher (.913) by three points.
JONNY-ON-THE-DOT
Since the calendar year turned to 2025, sophomore forward Jonathan Castagna has been one of Cornell’s most reliable players at the faceoff dot, winning 60.1 percent of the draws he has taken (166 of 276), trailing Western Michigan’s Tim Washe (67.2 percent — 256 of 381), Dartmouth’s Luke Haymes (63.1 percent — 229 of 363), and Wisconsin’s Gavin Morrisey (60.5 percent — 221 of 365) for the best faceoff percentage.
This season, Castagna has achieved a team-leading 57.8 percent success rate in faceoffs (242 out of 419), ranking 15th nationally and fourth among ECAC Hockey players with at least 200 faceoff wins, behind Haymes (63.4 percent — 230 of 363), Quinnipiac’s Victor Czerneckianair (58.0 percent — 323 of 557), and Clarkson’s Ellis Rickwood (57.9 percent — 413 of 713).
In Cornell’s victory over Yale on March 8, Castagna went 11-for-12 (.917) on faceoffs, matching Notre Dame’s Hunter Strand for the sixth-best single-game faceoff win percentage this season with at least 10 faceoff wins. Castagna’s .917 win percentage was the Big Red’s best success rate on draws in a single game, with a minimum of 10 attempts taken, since Zach Tupker ‘23 went 16-of-17 (.941) against Sacred Heart on Nov. 22, 2022.
LUCK OF THE DRAW
The success of sophomore forwards Ryan Walsh (386 faceoff wins, 56.2 percent) and Jonathan Castagna (249 faceoff wins, 57.5 percent) in faceoffs has allowed Cornell to become one of eight Division I programs (Bentley, Colorado College, LIU, Maine, Penn State, RIT, and Wisconsin) with multiple players recording at least a 56 percent success rate on 200-plus faceoff wins.
Walsh’s team-leading total of 386 faceoff wins is the 18th-highest in Division I hockey and ranks third among ECAC Hockey players, trailing only Brown’s Max Scott (463) and Clarkson’s Ellis Rickwood (419).
Averaging 11.70 faceoff wins per game this season, which ranks ninth nationally, Walsh is among 11 Division I hockey players averaging at least 11.50 faceoff wins per game.
Entering today’s game, Walsh has recorded a double-digit faceoff win total in 22 games this season and has secured at least 13 draws on 16 occasions. He is tied with Western Michigan’s Tim Washe for the eighth-most games featuring 13 or more faceoff wins this season. Air Force’s Clayton Cosentino (26), Brown’s Max Scott and Niagara’s Tyler Wallace (21), Notre Dame’s Danny Nelson (20), Denver’s Carter King (19), Bemidji State’s Jackson Jutting (18), and Bentley’s Ethan Leyh (17) are those with higher totals.
ON THE PLUS SIDE…
Entering this weekend, senior forwards Ondrej Psenicka (plus-57) and Kyle Penney (plus-50) and senior defenseman Tim Rego (plus-56) all have career plus-minus ratings of plus-50, joining Boston College as the only Division I programs with three players who have career plus-minus ratings of plus-50.
With Psenicka and Rego’s figures being above plus-55, Cornell is one of three programs (Boston College and Denver) with multiple players having plus-55 ratings.
In addition to the ratings of Psenicka, Rego, and Penney, senior forward Jack O’Leary’s plus-43 rating positions Cornell as one of four Division I programs — alongside Boston College and Minnesota, each with five, and Denver with four — that boasts at least four players with career plus-minus ratings of plus-40.
Psenicka and Rego’s plus-minus ratings, which rank seventh and ninth nationally, respectively, represent the top two career plus-minus ratings in program history, dating back to 2002-03, when plus-minus was first tracked for a full year. Greg Miller ’13 (plus-52), Travis Mitchell ‘23 (plus-51), and Penney are the other players with career ratings of plus-50.
WHAT CAN BLUE(LINERS) DO FOR YOU?
Of the Big Red’s 276 points this season, 84 (16 goals, 68 assists) have been contributed by its defense corps, accounting for 30.4 percent of the team’s scoring production. It is the highest percentage of points from defensemen by Cornell in a season since 1996-97, when they made up 33.5 percent of the scoring (106 of 316).
The Big Red’s 30.4 percent of points from defensemen enters the weekend represents the seventh-best average nationally, trailing Merrimack (69 of 214 — 32.2 percent), Colgate (31.83 percent — 99 of 311), Robert Morris (31.78 percent — 82 of 258), Princeton (31.0 percent — 57 of 184), Colorado College (30.9 percent — 90 of 291), and Air Force (30.8 percent — 73 of 237).
Cornell’s 68 assists from defensemen represent 39.3 percent of its total assist count, marking the third-highest average in the nation for Division I hockey, only trailing Merrimack (41.1 percent — 55 of 133) and Robert Morris (39.9 percent — 65 of 163).
SHARING THE WEALTH
Cornell has received scoring contributions from almost every player who has participated in a game this season, as 23 of the 26 players who have played have registered at least one point.
The senior class (44-73—117) has contributed 42.4 percent of the team’s scoring, ranking behind St. Lawrence (46.6 percent — 88 of 308) for the Division I lead. Cornell is one of three programs with at least a 40-percent scoring rate from its senior class this season, alongside Colgate (40.6 percent — 125 of 308).
Cornell has 15 players with at least 11 points, tying Michigan State for the second-highest total in Division I hockey. Only Western Michigan (16) has more players with 11-plus points.
It is the sixth time in Cornell’s modern era (since 1957-58) its had at least 15 players with 11 points in a season, and is the first instance since 1995-96, which was Mike Schafer’s first season as the Big Red’s head coach. The other instances: 1968-69 (15), 1970-71 (16), 1971-72 (16), and 1976-77 (16).
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, joining Quinnipiac’s Rand Pecknold (666), Mercyhurst’s Rick Gotkin (611), and Notre Dame’s Jeff Jackson (601).
Schafer’s 559 wins — which rank 18th in college hockey history — make him one of six active Division I hockey head coaches with at least 500 career wins. He is joined by Air Force’s Frank Serratore (521) and Ferris State’s Bob Daniels (510), who, like Schafer, is retiring after the season.
With his victory over Harvard on Jan. 24, Schafer became the 10th Division I men’s hockey head coach to achieve 550 wins with a single program, joining some legendary names like Jack Parker (Boston University), Red Berenson (Michigan), and Jerry York (Boston College).
