ITHACA, N.Y. — Coming off its weekend sweep of No. 10 Dartmouth and Harvard, junior forward Jake Kraft and freshman goaltender Alexis Cournoyer have both earned weekly awards from ECAC Hockey, the conference office announced Monday morning.
Kraft received his first career weekly award, earning Laurel Lake Placid Forward of the Week honors after scoring three goals on the weekend, highlighted by netting both of the Big Red's goals in its 2-1 overtime victory over Dartmouth on Friday night. Kraft's overtime winner came off a defensive-zone takeaway by freshman defenseman Xavier Veilleux, with Kraft chipping the puck past a defender before beating Dartmouth goaltender Emmett Croteau to his high blocker side to cap his first collegiate multi-goal game.
He tallied the opening goal in Cornell's 4-1 win over Harvard on Saturday, becoming the first Big Red player to score three consecutive goals for Cornell since Jack Malone scored the final two goals against Colgate on Feb. 11, 2023, and the opening goal against Clarkson on Feb. 17, 2023. It was the first time a Cornell player scored three straight goals in the same weekend since Ben Berard '23 did so against Princeton and Quinnipiac on Jan. 21-22, 2022.
A native of Churchville, N.Y., Kraft has appeared in all 19 games for the Big Red this season and has seven points (five goals, two assists).
Cournoyer earned his third weekly honor of the season and first as the conference's top goaltender, receiving MAC Goaltending Goaltender of the Week honors after being named Rookie of the Week twice earlier this year. He backstopped the Big Red to its pair of victories this weekend, stopping 32 of 34 shots he faced for a .941 save percentage. After allowing a goal on the first shot he faced against Dartmouth, Cournoyer stopped 29 consecutive shots across the two games — a season-long shutout streak of 104:48 — before allowing a third-period goal to Harvard. He finished with 15 saves against Dartmouth and 17 against Harvard.
Cournoyer, who was named to the watch list for the Mike Richter Award on Jan. 14, has started all 15 of his appearances this season and has an 11-4-0 record with a 1.82 goals-against average and .925 save percentage. Among Division I goaltenders with at least 10 games played, Cournoyer ranks fifth in goals-against average and 14th in save percentage. His figures rank third and sixth, respectively, among freshmen goaltenders with 10-plus appearances.
With his pair of victories, Cournoyer became the seventh Cornell goaltender to reach 11 career wins within his 15th career game. He is also one of five active players in Division I hockey to accomplish the feat.
The Trois-Rivières, Québec, native posted a 1.00 goals-against average on the weekend, tied for the third-best total nationally among netminders with multiple games played. He trailed only UMass' Michael Hrabal (64 saves in a pair of shutouts over Vermont) and St. Thomas' Aaron Trotter (0.54 goals-against average over 111:27 of ice time against Lake Superior State).
The 12th-ranked Big Red (14-5-0, 9-3-0 ECAC Hockey) have won eight of its last nine games and will begin its stretch of playing seven of its next eight games on the road when it travels to face ECAC Hockey and Ivy League rivals Yale (7-13-0, 6-6-0) and Brown (4-16-0, 3-9-0) this weekend. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Ingalls Rink against Yale and 5 p.m. Saturday at Meehan Auditorium against Brown. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Earlier this season, the Big Red defeated Brown, 4-1, and Yale, 5-2, at Lynah Rink on Nov. 14-15.
