PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Freshman forward Gio DiGiulian scored a pair of second-period goals, including the game-winner with 10.9 seconds left in the frame, as the 10th-ranked Cornell men's hockey team posted a 4-2 victory over Brown at Meehan Auditorium on Saturday evening to sweep its southern New England road trip for a fourth consecutive season.

DiGiulian's two goals broke open a 1-1 tie, while freshman defenseman Xavier Veilleux added a goal and two assists for a three-point night — a season high — to propel the Big Red (16-5-0, 11-3-0 ECAC Hockey), which has won 10 of its last 11 contests. Junior forwards Jake Kraft and Jonathan Castagna each chipped in two assists.

The victory also marked the 250th career head coaching win for Casey Jones '90, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Cornell Men's Ice Hockey, making him the 15th active Division I head coach to reach that milestone.

Brown's Ben Poitras scored both goals for the Bears (4-17-1, 3-10-1 ECAC Hockey), including his second multi-goal game in his last six contests, but it wasn't enough for Brown, which is winless in 13 of its last 14 (1-12-1).

"I thought it was a good weekend of hockey for us," Jones said. "We didn't manage tonight as well as we have in the last few games. I thought we locked it down there and got the job done."

Poitras put Brown on the board first at 4:55 of the first period after defenseman Nick Traggio denied Cornell an offensive-zone entry, quickly setting up a 2-on-1 in transition. Carrying the puck into the zone, Poitras beat Cornell freshman goaltender Alexis Cournoyer to his low blocker side while a Cornell player on the ice took away the cross-slot pass. Cournoyer finished the night with 27 saves.

Just 69 seconds later, Cornell answered as freshman forward Aiden Long finished a pass from Veilleux at 6:04 to tie it, with Castagna credited with an assist on the play after initiating the sequence to Veilleux.

DiGiulian then took over in the second period as he gave Cornell a 2-1 the lead at 10:36, pouncing on his own rebound at the left post, poking a loose puck past Brown goaltender Tyler Shea. His second goal — the eventual game-winner — came with 10.9 seconds remaining in the frame after a Brown defender knocked the puck off Veilleux's stick on an attempted deke. DiGiulian's shot from the right faceoff dot evaded Shea, who attempted a sprawling cross-crease save.

Veilleux extended the lead to 4-1 nearly six minutes into the third period, lasering a shot from the right faceoff circle on the power play for his fifth goal of the season.

Brown pulled Shea for an extra attacker and scored on a power play, with Poitras notching his second goal of the night at 15:53 to make it 4-2. Despite Brown's net being empty for 3:41 of the final 3:55 of action, Cornell was unable to add an insurance goal, sending nine shots at the vacant net — including two attempts from beyond center ice — without finding the back of it.

GAME NOTES
• Cornell's victory increased its win streak against Brown to eight games and improved its all-time record over the Bears to 91-44-8. The eight-game win streak establishes a new program record against Brown, besting a pair of seven-game streaks from Jan. 22, 1988 – Dec. 8, 1990, and Nov. 10, 2007 – March 19, 2010. During the win streak, Cornell is outscoring Brown 37-7.

LONGEST WIN STREAKS AGAINST BROWN
Cornell Program History
• 8 games, Nov. 19, 2022 – Present
• 7 games, Jan. 22, 1988 – Dec. 8, 1990
• 7 games, Nov. 10, 2007 – March 19, 2010
• 6 games, Dec. 22 ,1967 – Feb. 7, 1970
• 6 games, March 6, 1971 – Dec. 8, 1973

• The eight-game win streak is a microcosm of the Big Red's recent success against Brown, as Cornell is 22-1-3 (.904) over its last 26 meetings against the Bears while owning a plus-63 goal differential (96-33).

• By holding Brown to two goals, Cornell has limited the Bears to two goals or fewer for the 13th consecutive game, serving as the program's fourth-longest streak against any opponent. It stands as the second-longest active streak, trailing only its 20-game streak against St. Lawrence.

LONGEST STREAK OF HOLDING OPPONENT TO UNDER THREE GOALS
Against Active Division I Programs
• 20 games - St. Lawrence (Dec. 4, 2015 – Present)
• 17 games – Yale (Feb. 10, 2001 – Jan. 26, 2008)
• 16 games – RPI (Feb. 19, 2000 - Nov. 26, 2006)
• 13 games – Brown (March 22, 2019 - Present)
• 12 games – Vermont (Feb. 12, 1999 - Present)
• 11 games – Brown (Nov. 14, 1998 – March 21, 2003)
• 11 games – Colgate (Jan. 18, 2002 – March 17, 2006)
• 11 games – Dartmouth (Feb. 11, 1967 – Jan. 29, 1972)

• Saturday's triumph was Cornell's 11th conference victory of the season, serving as the program's fastest start to 11 conference victories since 2017-18, when it opened ECAC Hockey play 11-1-0. It is the 13th time in program history the Big Red have won at least 11 conference games by its 14th league game.

• Cornell improved to 13-0-0 when scoring at least three goals and is 11-0-0 when entering the third period with a lead. When yielding two goals or fewer this season, the Big Red are 15-3-0.

• Veilleux's third-period power-play goal increased his season total for power-play goals to five. His five goals on the man advantage are the most by a Cornell defenseman since Alec McCrae '19 (five) in 2017-18. His total is tied with Penn State's Jackson Smith for the nation's lead in power-play goals by a defenseman.

MOST POWER-PLAY GOALS BY A DEFENSEMAN
This Season
• 5 goals, Jackson Smith, Penn State
• 5 goals, Xavier Veilleux, Cornell
• 4 goals, Nick Bernardo, Long Island
• 4 goals, Boston Buckberger, Denver
• 4 goals, Isaiah Norlin, Colgate
• 4 goals, Eric Pohlkamp, Denver
• 4 goals, Tate Taylor, Clarkson

• Castagna's two-point game extended his point streak to four games. He has now registered points in 10 of his last 12 (9-10—19) and 13 of his previous 16 games (11-12—23).

• Kraft's assist on DiGiulian's first second-period goal extended his point streak to four games, matching his career high that was set during his freshman year from Jan. 27 – Feb. 9, 2024. During his current point streak, Kraft has six points (4-3—7).

• Freshman defenseman Donovan Hamilton also recorded an assist on DiGiulian's first second-period goal, which served as his first collegiate point. Hamilton became the 20th different Cornell player to record at least one point this season.

• With his two assists, Veilleux recorded his second multi-assist game of the season, also having a pair of helpers in the Big Red's win at St. Lawrence on Dec. 6.

• Veilleux's three-point game was the most points by a Cornell freshman defenseman in one game since Sam Malinski '23 also had a goal and two assists at Michigan State on Nov. 2, 2019.

• Cournoyer earned his 13th career victory in his 17th career appearance, becoming the fastest netminder to reach that threshold since Matthew Galajda, who also posted 13 wins in his first 17 outings during the 2017-18 season. He is one of six Big Red goaltenders to accomplish the feat.

MOST WINS THROUGH FIRST 17 CAREER APPEARANCES
Cornell Program History — Since 1957-58
• 16, Ken Dryden (1966-67)
• 14, Brian Cropper (1968-70)
• 14, Dave LeNeveu (2001-02)
• 13, Brian Hayward (1978-79)
• 13, Matthew Galajda (2017-18)
• 13, Alexis Cournoyer (2025-26)
• 12, Dave Elenbaas (1970-72)
• 12, Corrie D'Alessio (1987-88)

• Among active Division I goaltenders, Cournoyer is one of four netminders to amass at least 13 victories in his first 17 appearances, joining Michigan's Jack Ivankovic (14 wins in first 17), North Dakota's Jan Špunar (13 wins in first 15 games) and Wisconsin's Daniel Hauser (13 wins in first 17).

MOST WINS WITHIN FIRST 17 CAREER APPEARANCES
Active Division I Goaltenders
• 14 wins, Jack Ivankovic, Michigan (2025-26)
• 13 wins in 15 games, Jan Špunar, North Dakota (2025-26)
• 13 wins, Alexis Cournoyer, Cornell (2025-26)
• 12 wins, Nathan Airey, Minnesota (2023-25)
• 12 wins, Luca Di Pasquo, Michigan State & Minnesota (2023-26)
• 12 wins, Daniel Hauser, Wisconsin (2025-26)
• 12 wins, Ajeet Gundarah, Sacred Heart (2024-25)

• Cornell concluded the month of January with a 9-1-0 record, tying the program's most wins in any calendar month. The Big Red reached nine wins three previous times, joining a 9-1-0 mark in January 1987-88, a 9-0-0 run in November 2019 and a 9-0-0 stretch in February 2020.

MOST WINS IN A SINGLE MONTH
Cornell Program History
• 9-1-0, January 1988 (1987-88)
• 9-0-0, November 2019 (2019-20)
• 9-0-0, February 2020 (2019-20)
• 9-1-0, January 2026 (2025-26)
• 8-0-1, December 1966 (1966-67)
• 8-1-0, December 1967 (1967-68)
• 8-0-0, February 1969 (1968-69)
• 8-0-0, February 1978 (1977-78)
• 8-1-0, January 1992 (1991-92)

HOBEY BAKER MEMORIAL AWARD VOTING
Cornell fans are encouraged to continue 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 will remain in Central New York for its next pair of games, playing its travel partner Colgate in its traditional home-and-home series. The weekend slate begins in Hamilton, N.Y., on Friday, Feb. 6, with a 7:30 p.m. puck drop before the series concludes at Lynah Rink on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+.