NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Junior forward Jonathan Castagna netted his second career hat trick to highlight a night where four players registered multi-point performances as the 10th-ranked Cornell men's hockey team rolled to a convincing 5-2 victory over Yale in ECAC Hockey action at Ingalls Rink on Friday night.

Joining Castagna in multi-point performances were classmates Jake Kraft, who added a goal and an assist, and Ryan Walsh, who contributed two assists. Freshman Aiden Long also tallied two assists for the Big Red (15-5-0, 10-3-0 ECAC Hockey), which has won nine of its last 10 contests.

Cornell dominated possession throughout, outshooting Yale 42-17 while limiting the Bulldogs to seven shots or fewer in each period. Freshman goaltender Alexis Cournoyer made 15 saves to earn his 12th victory of the season.

Micah Berger and Ronan O'Donnell scored for Yale (7-14-0, 6-7-0 ECAC Hockey). Hughie Hooker and David Chen each recorded two assists for the Bulldogs.

After a scoreless opening six minutes, Cornell seized control with two goals in 32 seconds. Freshman Gio DiGiulian broke a seven-game goalless drought, poking home a rebound in the crease after Kraft's initial shot was stopped by Yale goaltender Noah Pak. Castagna doubled the lead moments later, corralling a loose puck after sophomore defenseman Luke Ashton's shot deflected off a Yale defender in the mid-slot.

The Big Red extended its advantage early in the second period when an offensive-zone takeaway by Walsh set up Kraft, who rifled a shot from the top of the slot off the crossbar and in just 30 seconds into the frame — his fourth goal in three games.

Yale cut into the deficit on the power play when Berger one-timed a Chen feed at the edge of the crease to make it 3-1. Cornell restored the three-goal cushion just over two minutes later when Castagna redirected a shot from the top of the right circle following an offensive-zone faceoff win and crisp passing from freshman defenseman Xavier Veilleux and junior defenseman Hoyt Stanley.

O'Donnell pulled Yale within two goals with an extra-attacker tally with 1:39 remaining, but Castagna capped his hat trick with an empty-net goal at 18:57.

GAME NOTES
• Cornell increased its unbeaten streak over Yale to 13 games (11-0-2), its longest since a 16-game streak (12-0-4) between Nov. 30, 2001, and Jan. 26, 2008. The Big Red's lead in the all-time series now stands at 96-63-10.

• The Big Red improved to 12-0-2 in its last 14 games and 22-1-2 in its previous 25 contests against Yale and Brown. Cornell is 14-2-3 (.816) in its last 19 road games against the Bulldogs and Bears, averaging 3.63 goals per game while allowing just 1.47.

• Since the 2013-14 season, Cornell is 37-4-8 (.837) in its last 49 games against Yale and Brown with a plus-93 goal differential (170-77).

• Cornell's five-goal output marked the fourth consecutive time it has scored five or more goals against Yale, the fourth time in program history the Big Red have accomplished such a streak. Previous four-game streaks occurred from Feb. 11, 1974, to Jan. 22, 1977 (seven games), Dec. 12, 1970, to Feb. 16, 1972, and Feb. 21, 1984, to March 8, 1985.

MOST CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH FIVE-PLUS GOALS VERSUS YALE
Cornell Program History
• 7 games, Feb. 11, 1974 – Jan. 22, 1977
• 4 games, Dec. 12, 1970 – Feb. 16, 1972
• 4 games, Feb. 21, 1984 – March 8, 1985
• 4 games, Feb. 15, 2025 – Present

• Friday's win gave Cornell its 10th conference victory of the season, marking the ninth consecutive year the Big Red have reached double-digit conference wins. That streak is the fourth-longest active streak among Division I programs, trailing only Minnesota State (13 seasons), Boston University (11) and Western Michigan (10). Cornell reached 10 conference wins in its 13th league game, the program's fastest start to 10 conference victories since 2022-23, when it also opened ECAC Hockey play 10-3-0.

• Cornell improved its record to 11-0-0 when scoring first and 12-0-0 when scoring at least three goals this season.

• Castagna's three-goal night extended his point streak to three games. He has registered points in nine of his last 11 (9-8—17) and 12 of his previous 15 (11-10—21). His hat trick was Cornell's first since Dalton Bancroft against St. Lawrence on Feb. 22, 2025, and the Big Red's first road hat trick since Matt Stienburg at St. Lawrence on Dec. 3, 2021.

• Castagna's hat trick was the 24th by a Cornell player against Yale and the first since Morgan Barron on Nov. 9, 2019. It was also the Big Red's first hat trick at Ingalls Rink since Mitch Vanderlaan '19 on Nov. 12, 2016.

• Kraft's second-period goal was his third consecutive game with a goal, his longest streak with the Big Red. It is the first time Kraft has had points in three consecutive games since his career-high four-game point streak from Jan. 27 - Feb. 9, 2024.

• With his two-assist game, Walsh upped his career point total against Yale to nine points (5-4—9) in seven career games, while Kraft now has seven points (2-5—7) in as many games.

• Cournoyer earned his 12th career victory in his 16th career appearance, becoming the fastest netminder to reach that threshold since Matthew Galajda, who also posted 12 wins in his first 16 outings during the 2017-18 season. He is one of seven Big Red goaltenders to accomplish the feat.

MOST WINS THROUGH FIRST 16 CAREER APPEARANCES
Cornell Program History — Since 1957-58
• 15, Ken Dryden (1966-67)
• 13, Brian Cropper (1968-70)
• 13, Dave LeNeveu (2001-02)
• 12, Brian Hayward (1978-79)
• 12, Corrie D'Alessio (1987-88)
• 12, Matthew Galajda (2017-18)
• 12, Alexis Cournoyer (2025-26)

• Among active Division I goaltenders, Cournoyer is one of four netminders to amass at least 12 victories in his first 16 appearances, joining North Dakota's Jan Špunar (13 wins in first 15 games), Michigan's Jack Ivankovic (13 wins in first 16) and Wisconsin's Daniel Hauser (12 wins in first 16).

MOST WINS THROUGH FIRST 16 CAREER APPEARANCES
Active Division I Goaltenders
• 13 wins in 15 games, Jan Špunar, North Dakota (2025-26)
• 13 wins, Jack Ivankovic, Michigan (2025-26)
• 12 wins, Daniel Hauser, Wisconsin (2025-26)
• 12 wins, Alexis Cournoyer, Cornell (2025-26)
• 11 wins, Nathan Airey, Minnesota (2023-25)
• 11 wins, Luca Di Pasquo, Michigan State & Minnesota (2023-26)
• 11 wins, Ajeet Gundarah, Sacred Heart (2024-25)
• 11 wins, Quentin Miller, Denver (2025-26)

• Cornell's 42 shots marked the second time this season the Big Red have recorded at least 42 shots in a game (43 vs. Omaha on Jan. 2). It is the first time since 2019-20 the team has reached that total multiple times in a season (52 vs. Arizona State, Jan. 11, 2020; 43 vs. Colgate, Jan. 26, 2020).

HOBEY BAKER MEMORIAL AWARD VOTING
Cornell fans are encouraged to support junior forwards Ryan Walsh and Jonathan Castagna, both of whom have been nominated for the 2026 Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Fan voting for college hockey's top player runs through midnight on Sunday, March 8.

Fans can vote online at hobeybaker.com/vote or text their vote to 844-623-9688 (text "26089" for Walsh or "26090" for Castagna). Fans may vote for one player per day.

The Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner will be announced on Friday, April 10, in Las Vegas during the NCAA Frozen Four.

UP NEXT
Cornell concludes its southern New England road trip Saturday, Jan. 31, when it faces Brown (4-16-1, 3-9-1) at Meehan Auditorium. Puck drop is scheduled for 5 p.m., with game action streaming live on ESPN+.

Brown played Colgate to a 3-3 tie Friday night at Meehan Auditorium. Mike Cataldo, Ivan Zadvernyuk and Ryan St. Louis scored for the Bears, who built a 3-0 lead in the opening 7:32. The Raiders earned the extra ECAC Hockey standings point after winning the shootout.