TROY, N.Y. — Freshman forward Aiden Long scored the game-tying goal 7:20 into the third period to force a 1-1 tie for the ninth-ranked Cornell men's hockey team against RPI at Houston Field House on Friday night.

Sophomore defenseman Michael Fisher scored the deciding goal in the fourth round of the shootout to give the Big Red (17-6-1, 12-4-1 ECAC Hockey) the extra point in the ECAC Hockey standings.

Appearing in his first game in just over a month, senior goaltender Remington Keopple made a career-high 31 saves in the tie. RPI's Bruno Bruveris also made 31 saves for the Engineers (7-21-1, 4-12-1 ECAC Hockey), holding a potent Cornell offense to just one goal.

"I just thought it was time," said Casey Jones '90, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Cornell Men's Ice Hockey, of starting Keopple. "He's been good. He's always practiced hard. I thought he earned that start tonight and it was obviously a good game for him. He made some key saves, especially in traffic."

Mathieu Bourgault put the Engineers ahead 9:33 into the second period, redirecting a shot by defenseman Jimmy Goffredo at the point while battling with Cornell defenders in front of Keopple.

Bruveris stopped all 21 of Cornell's shots through the opening 40 minutes to preserve RPI's one-goal lead.

The Engineers nearly doubled their lead four-and-a-half minutes into the third period when a shot by defenseman Gustavs Ozolins rang off the post before Cornell cleared the puck out of its defensive zone.

Long tied the game at the 7:20 mark of the third period, deflecting linemate Caton Ryan's shot from the top of the slot at the edge of the goal crease. Freshman defenseman Xavier Veilleux added a secondary assist, his 17th of the season.

Jones acknowledged his team's offensive struggles against an improving RPI squad.

"I thought we had enough chances tonight to get two, to three," Jones said. "We've got to generate second-chance opportunities. I thought the goalie, for a large part of the game, saw everything that we shot. We didn't have traffic in front, especially on the power play. We had a couple of real good looks in the slot area, but we didn't have anybody taking his eyes away."

Jones added that RPI's defensive structure gave Cornell trouble all night.

"We were one and done a lot," Jones said. "They were out-manning us and they blocked a ton of shots. They were getting their second support to the puck quicker than we were and that was giving us some trouble."

Both teams converted their first-round shootout attempts following a scoreless five-minute 3-on-3 overtime period. After scoreless second and third rounds, Fisher beat Bruveris to his glove side, forcing RPI to score to extend the shootout. Keopple made a pad save to deny Michael Buckley and secure the extra point for Cornell.

Jones said Fisher's selection for the shootout came on the recommendation of Cornell's goaltenders.

"If you ask our goalies, he would have been in the top three," Jones said. "We do it every week in practice and he's won it the most this year. He consistently has a move that the goalies feel is the toughest."

Despite the tight result, Jones emphasized the importance of securing the extra point in league play.

"It was a hard-fought game," Jones said. "It was important for us to get that second point tonight."

GAME NOTES
• Cornell's commanding lead in the all-time series against RPI now stands at 74-39-12 as the Big Red are unbeaten in 11 of the last 12 meetings against its Empire State rival (10-1-1). During the span, Cornell has scored 53 goals, averaging 4.42 goals per game.

• Friday was the first time a Cornell-RPI game needed overtime since Feb. 22, 2019, when the Engineers posted a 3-2 victory at Lynah Rink. It was the Big Red's first game that went to overtime at Houston Field House since tying RPI, also by a 1-1 score, three weeks prior on Feb. 2, 2019. It was the first-ever shootout between the Big Red and Engineers.

• Cornell is now 9-0-1 this season when allowing one goal or less.

• The Big Red did not commit a penalty on Friday night, marking the first time it was not penalized in a game since Feb. 16, 2024, against Brown in a 3-0 shutout at Lynah Rink.

• With their assists on Long's third-period goal, Ryan and Veilleux are the first pair of Cornell freshmen teammates with at least 22 points through the Big Red's first 24 games of a season since Trent Andison (18-16—34) and Doug Derraugh (11-18—29) during the 1987-88 season. They are the third pair of teammates to accomplish the feat, also joining Brock Tredway (24-12—36) and Roy Kerling (27-29—56) in 1977-78.

FRESHMEN WITH 22+ POINTS THROUGH FIRST 24 GAMES OF SEASON
Cornell Program History
• 1977-78, Brock Tredway (24-12—36) & Roy Kerling (27-29—56)
• 1987-88, Trent Andison (18-16—34) & Doug Derraugh (11-18—29)
• 2025-26, Caton Ryan (8-14—22) & Xavier Veilleux (5-17—22)

• Along with junior forward Jonathan Castagna's 27 points (13-14—27), the trio of Castagna, Ryan and Veilleux are the first Cornell trio with at least 22 points through the first 24 games of a season since the quartet of Stephen Bâby (6-16—22), Doug Murray (7-15—22), Sam Paolini (9-16—25) and Ryan Vesce (7-16—23) in 2001-02.

3+ PLAYERS WITH 22+ POINTS THROUGH FIRST 24 GAMES OF SEASON
Cornell Program History – Since 1993-94
• 1993-94, Geoff Bumstead (13-14—27), Jake Karam (5-17—22) & Mike Sancimino (11-13—24)
• 1995-96, Brad Chartrand (18-15—33), Matt Cooney (10-16—26) & Kyle Knopp (8-16—24)
• 1999-00, Ryan Moynihan (10-13—23), Mike Rutter (9-16—25) & Doug Stienstra (13-11—24)
• 2001-02, Stephen Bâby (6-16—22), Doug Murray (7-15—22), Sam Paolini (9-16—25) & Ryan Vesce (7-16—23)
• 2025-26, Jonathan Castagna (13-14—27), Caton Ryan (8-14—22) & Xavier Veilleux (5-17—22)

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 conclude its Capital Regional road swing on Saturday, Feb. 14, when it travels to Union (17-10-2, 7-9-1 ECAC Hockey) to play the Garnet Chargers for the first time at the brand-new M&T Bank Center in Schenectady.

The Big Red will face a daunting task of holding a potent Union offense at bay on Saturday, as the Garnet Chargers have scored seven goals in each of their last two games. After suffering a heartbreaking 8-7 overtime loss to Clarkson last Saturday, Union edged Colgate, 7-6, in a seesaw battle at the brand-new M&T Bank Center.

Colgate led 4-1 after the first period, but Union used a five-goal second period to take a 6-5 lead over the Raiders, who tied the game just 1:17 into the third period. Lucas Buzziol punctuated his two-goal night with a power-play goal five seconds past the halfway point of the period to put Union up for good. Ben Muthersbaugh also had a two-goal night and Nate Hanley had a goal and two assists.