PRINCETON, N.J. — Three unanswered goals helped Princeton erase a 2-1 deficit and hand the 11th-ranked Cornell men's hockey team a 4-2 defeat before a standing-room crowd of 2,192 at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink on Saturday night.

Brendan Gorman tied the game on a fortuitous bounce in the first period, David Jacobs added a short-handed goal in the second and Malcolm Green potted his first collegiate goal in the third to put the game away for the Tigers (15-11-2, 11-8-1 ECAC Hockey), who improved to 12-2-1 at home this season.

Junior forwards Ryan Walsh and Tyler Catalano staked Cornell to a 2-1 lead with first-period goals, but the Big Red (18-8-1, 13-6-1 ECAC Hockey) were held scoreless over the final 40 minutes despite registering 21 shots on goal in that span. Tigers goaltender Arthur Smith finished with 26 saves, including 22 straight to close out the game. Freshman netminder Alexis Cournoyer stopped 24 shots in the loss.

Cornell wasted little time getting on the board, with Walsh converting just six seconds into the team's first power play of the night five-plus minutes into the game. Taking a pass from sophomore forward Charlie Major at the half wall, Walsh's attempted pass from below the goal line to freshman defenseman Xavier Veilleux at the opposite faceoff circle ricocheted off a Princeton defender and found the back of the net.

Princeton pulled even with 8:18 remaining in the first period when Joshua Karnish beat Cournoyer to the high glove side on a breakaway. The Big Red answered swiftly, reclaiming the lead just 37 seconds later as freshman forward Reegan Hiscock fed Catalano at the near-side post for a backhand finish.

Only 1:45 after Catalano's go-ahead tally, Gorman's errant shot rattled off the stanchion behind the net, caromed off a Cornell defender on the edge of the crease and trickled past Cournoyer for a power-play goal to even the score at 2-2. Junior forward Jonathan Castagna had threatened moments earlier on a short-handed breakaway, but Smith turned him aside.

The Tigers took their first lead of the game in the second period after Jacobs denied Cornell an offensive zone entry while on the power play, carrying the puck from his own blue line and skating in alone on Cournoyer, beating him to the high blocker side.

Green put the game out of reach just past the midway point of the third, winning a foot race to a loose puck, beating two Big Red defenders and burying his first career collegiate goal to extend the Princeton lead to 4-2.

Cornell pulled Cournoyer for an extra attacker with roughly four-and-a-half minutes remaining, generating eight shot attempts — four of which Smith turned aside — before an interference penalty with 27 seconds left ended the skater advantage and sealed the outcome.

GAME NOTES
• Princeton snapped Cornell's five-game winning streak in the series, posting its first win over the Big Red since a 2-1 overtime victory on Nov. 18, 2023. The Big Red continue to hold onto its commanding series lead, 103-55-8.

• Saturday was Princeton's first regulation win over Cornell since a 5-4 decision at Lynah Rink on Jan. 21, 2022, and its first home regulation win against the Big Red since a 2-1 victory on Nov. 7, 2014.

• Walsh's first-period power-play goal was his first goal scored since Jan. 10 against Alaska, snapping his 10-game goalless drought.

• Castagna won 13 of 19 faceoffs, his 13th game this season with at least 13 faceoff wins.

• Junior defenseman Hoyt Stanley recorded six of Cornell's 15 blocked shots — the highest single-game total by a Big Red player since Tim Rego '25 also blocked six in a 4-3 overtime loss to Clarkson on Feb. 23, 2024.

UP NEXT
Cornell closes out the regular season next weekend with a pair of home games at Lynah Rink against Empire State rivals St. Lawrence (7-22-3, 6-13-1 ECAC Hockey) and Clarkson (14-15-3, 8-9-3 ECAC Hockey). Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.