ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell men's hockey freshman defenseman
Xavier Veilleux and freshman goaltender
Alexis Cournoyer have received monthly awards from ECAC Hockey, league officials announced Thursday afternoon.
Veilleux earned ECAC Hockey Defender of the Month honors, while Cournoyer was named MAC Goaltending Goaltender of the Month.
Appearing in all 10 games for the Big Red during January, Veilleux was the lone ECAC Hockey blueliner to amass a double-digit point total, recording 11 points (three goals, eight assists) during the month. Among all Division I defensemen, the Ancienne-Lorette, Québec, native was one of just two players to register 10-plus points in January, joining Michigan Tech's Jack Anderson (4-6—10).
Veilleux registered points in seven of his 10 outings and capped his impressive January campaign with a season-high three points (1-2—3) in the Big Red's 4-2 win over Brown last Saturday. He also posted multi-point efforts against Omaha (Jan. 2) and Alaska (Jan. 9), recording a goal and an assist in each contest.
Currently leading all Division I defensemen in scoring, Veilleux (5-13—18) enters the weekend with one point more than Penn State's Jackson Smith (8-9—17) and North Dakota's Keaton Verhoeff (6-11—17). His 18 points are tied with Nick D'Agostino '13 (4-14—18 in 2009-10) for the fifth-most by a freshman defenseman in program history.
A sixth-round pick by the New York Islanders in the 2024 NHL Draft, Veilleux has recorded points in six of his last eight games (2-7—9), nine of his previous 12 (3-11—14) and 11 of his last 15 (4-12—16).
Cournoyer was dominant in goal for the Big Red in January, compiling a 7-1-0 record over eight appearances with a 2.00 goals-against average and .905 save percentage. His seven wins tied him with Michigan State's Trey Augustine, Michigan Tech's Owen Bartoszkiewicz, Providence's Jack Parsons and Western Michigan's Hampton Slukynsky for the national lead.
After splitting time with senior
Remington Keopple in the Big Red's non-conference series against Omaha and Alaska, Cournoyer has started each of Cornell's last six games, posting a 5-1-0 record with a 1.83 goals-against average and .915 save percentage. During Cornell's current four-game win streak — which includes him earning MAC Goaltending Goaltender of the Week (Jan. 26) and Rookie of the Week (Feb. 2) honors — the Trois-Rivières, Québec, native has posted a 1.50 goals-against average and .925 save percentage.
Overall this season, Cournoyer owns a 13-4-0 record with a 1.84 goals-against average and .923 save percentage. His 13 wins over 17 career appearances make him one of just six Cornell goaltenders to achieve the feat, joining Ken Dryden '69 (16), Brian Cropper '70 and Dave LeNeveu (each 14), and Brian Hayward '82 and Matthew Galajda (each 13).
The ninth-ranked Cornell men's hockey team (16-5-0, 11-3-0 ECAC Hockey) returns to action this weekend for its traditional home-and-home series against travel partner and Central New York rival Colgate (10-13-3, 7-5-2 ECAC Hockey). The series begins in Hamilton on Friday at 7:30 p.m. before shifting to Lynah Rink on Saturday at 7 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
