TOLEDO, OHIO — Senior forward
Sullivan Mack's power-play goal with just 10 seconds left in regulation broke a 3-3 tie, leading the No. 16-ranked Cornell men's hockey team (19-10-6) to a 4-3 victory in a dramatic back-and-forth contest against the No. 2 overall seed and top-ranked Michigan State (26-7-4) in the second semifinal of the Toledo Regional at the Huntington Center on Thursday evening.
Sophomore forward
Ryan Walsh sparked the Big Red's third-period comeback by netting his second goal of the game with 7:22 left in regulation. Walsh's first goal happened in the first period and was succeeded by freshman
Charlie Major's second-period tally.
Senior goaltender
Ian Shane backstopped Cornell to victory, stopping 34 of 37 shots to secure his 66th career win and surpass David McKee and Ben Scrivens for the second-most victories by a Big Red netminder in program history.
The win for Cornell was its seventh consecutive win, the program's longest win streak since posting seven straight wins between Nov. 6, 2021, and Dec. 3, 2021.
Karsen Dorwart and Gavin O'Connell each scored a goal and recorded an assist in Michigan State's loss. Daniel Russell also netted a goal for the Spartans, who benefited from a 17-save performance by Trey Augustine.
O'Connell gave Michigan State a 1-0 lead 7:20 into the contest, benefiting from a fortunate bounce off the corner boards during an attempted clear by Cornell deep in its defensive zone. Joey Larson gained control of the puck at the far half-wall and set up O'Connell for his snapshot from the low slot that beat Shane on his high-glove side.
An aggressive forecheck by Walsh resulted in him stealing the puck from Matt Basgall and wristing a shot from the right faceoff circle past Augustine, evening the contest at 1-1 with under five minutes left in the first period.
Michigan State regained its lead with 29.1 seconds remaining in the period, scoring a power-play goal by Russell. He one-timed a spinning behind-the-back pass from Charlie Stramel at the right post, allowing the Spartans to take the lead once more.
Another aggressive forecheck by Cornell resulted in an offensive zone takeaway by the Big Red, allowing sophomore defenseman
Hoyt Stanley to set up Major for a one-timer from the left hash mark in the right faceoff circle, tying the game at 2-2 with 3:30 remaining in the period.
Michigan State regained its lead 17 seconds later when Shane went to play the puck behind his net. The puck was taken off his stick by Dorwart, leading to a wrap-around goal that put the Spartans ahead for the third time on the day.
Walsh scored his second goal of the night with 7:22 left in regulation, converting a rebound from a shot by sophomore defenseman
Ben Robertson taken from below the faceoff circle. Cornell emerged from the media timeout a minute before Walsh's goal, dominating possession in its offensive zone and ultimately led to the game-tying marker.
A tripping penalty with 1:40 to go in regulation led to Cornell going on its first power play of the night and with 10 seconds left, Mack finished a backdoor, cross-ice pass by Major to give the Big Red its first lead of the night.
Michigan State elected to pull Augustine for an extra attacker for the final 10 seconds of the game but were unable to gain possession to tie the contest.
GAME NOTES
• Thursday marked the 12th meeting between Cornell and Michigan State, as the Big Red narrowed the Spartans' lead to 6-5-1 and has now won the last three games in the series.
• Cornell has won each of its last three games against the top-ranked team in the USCHO.com poll, having previously defeated Quinnipiac at Lynah Rink in overtime, 2-1, on Jan. 22, 2022, and prevailing 4-0 on Jan. 20, 2023. The Big Red holds a 6-5-1 record against top-ranked opponents in the USCHO.com poll era (since 1996-97).
VICTORIES OVER TOP-RANKED OPPONENTS
USCHO.com Poll Era (Since 1996-97)
• March 15, 2013 – Quinnipiac (W, 3-2)
• Dec. 28, 2015 – Providence (W, 2-1 - OT)
• March 12, 2016 – Quinnipiac (W, 5-4)
• Jan. 22, 2022 – Quinnipiac (W, 2-1 - OT)
• Jan. 20, 2023 – Quinnipiac (W, 4-0)
• March 27, 2025 – Michigan State (W, 4-3)
• Mack's game-winning goal at the 19:50 mark was the Big Red's fifth time in program history it scored a game-winning goal in the final 10 seconds of regulation and was the first instance since Ben Berard concluded his hat trick against Dartmouth on Nov. 6, 2021, at Thompson Arena in Hanover, N.H., with six seconds left in regulation.
LATEST GAME-WINNING GOALS SCORED IN REGULATION
Cornell Program History
• 59:59, Roy Kerling, at Dartmouth (Feb. 26, 1982)
• 59:58, Alec McCrae (PPG), vs. Harvard (Nov. 11, 2017)
• 59:54, Ben Berard, at Dartmouth (Nov. 6, 2021)
• 59:52, Roy Kerling, vs. Princeton (Jan. 25, 1978)
• 59:50, Sullivan Mack (PPG), vs. Michigan State (March 27, 2025)
• 59:46, John Hughes, vs. Clarkson (March 14, 1970)
• 59:44, Sam Paolini, vs. Yale (Feb. 9, 2002)
• 59:42, Evan Barlow, vs. Northeastern (March 28, 2009)
• 59:41, Jim Vaughan, vs. Colgate (Jan. 7, 1976)
• 59:41, Larry Pierce, vs. Niagara (Nov. 6, 1998)
• Walsh recorded his third multi-goal game of the season and his first since Feb. 15 at Yale. He also has a three-game point streak for the sixth time in his collegiate career.
• Walsh went 19-for-29 at the faceoff circle, one win shy of his single-game high that came in the contest against Yale last month (20-of-24).
• Major posted his fifth multi-point game of the season and his first since having two assists against Colgate (March 14) in the first game of the best-of-three ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series.
• Robertson notched multiple assists for the sixth time while donning a Cornell sweater and had his eighth career multi-point game.
• Across his last 11 games, Mack has amassed 15 points (six goals, nine assists) while registering at least one point in nine contests.
• Cornell improved to 19-1-2 when scoring at least three goals this season, which includes a 14-0-0 mark when reaching the four-goal threshold.
UP NEXT
Cornell will return to the Huntington Center on Saturday, where it will face No. 2-seeded and No. 8-ranked Boston University (22-13-2) in the Toledo Regional final. Puck drop will be at either 4 or 6:30 p.m. Game action will be broadcast on ESPNU and ESPN+, as well as over the airwaves on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM, cortacatoday.com).
Saturday will be the 53rd all-time meeting between Boston University and Cornell. Of the 52 prior contests, four have taken place in the NCAA Tournament, with the most recent game held in Manchester, N.H., during the 2022-23 season. The other instances occurred in the 1967 and 1972 championship games, as well as the 2018 Northeast Regional semifinal in Worcester, Mass.
