HAMILTON, N.Y. — Sophomore forward Charlie Major's first collegiate multi-goal game highlighted the trio of multi-point nights recorded by the ninth-ranked Cornell men's hockey team in its 5-2 victory over Central New York rival Colgate on Friday night before a standing room crowd of 2,222 in a spirited affair at the Class of 1965 Arena.

Joining Major in having a three-point night was freshman defenseman Xavier Veilleux, who tallied a season-high three assists. Junior forward Jonathan Castagna continued his torrid stretch of late, registering his fourth consecutive multi-point game to lead the Big Red (17-5-0, 12-3-0 ECAC Hockey) to its fifth consecutive victory and 11th win in its last 12 games.

The win also secured the Big Red of hosting rights for an opening-round playoff game in the ECAC Hockey Championship, which begins next month.

Freshman goaltender Alexis Cournoyer continued his strong play in goal for Cornell, stopping 30 Colgate shots to post his 14th victory of the season.

Anthony Fernandez and Ryan Spinale scored both of Colgate's goals, while Andrew Takacs made 26 saves in the setback for the Raiders (10-14-3, 7-6-2 ECAC Hockey).

The scoring on the night began after Colgate won a defensive-zone faceoff. Fernandez retrieved the puck at the goal line after Easton Wainwright won the puck backwards. Skating 150 feet up ice, Fernandez used a deke to split three Cornell defenders before beating Cournoyer to his high glove side to put the Raiders ahead 6:36 into the contest.

Cornell offered a quick response, drawing the contest even exactly a minute after Fernandez's opening marker. Castagna won an offensive-zone faceoff back to freshman forward Caton Ryan, whose shot beat Takacs to his five-hole for his seventh goal of the season.

With 1:59 remaining in the first period, freshman forward Aiden Long put Cornell ahead, nabbing the puck out of mid-air after Veilleux had sent it from the blue line toward the net. As the puck hit the ice, Long chipped a shot on the edge of the goal crease over Takacs' blocker.

Colgate began the second period with a five-minute power play after a successful coach's challenge before the intermission, resulting in junior forward Ryan Walsh being assessed a game misconduct for cross-checking.

The Big Red penalty kill stood strong during the prolonged man advantage, holding Colgate without a goal while yielding three shots on target and blocking three other shot attempts.

Cornell doubled its lead with 7:57 left in the second period as Castagna notched his second assist on the night after centering a pass on a wrap-around to Major while the Big Red were on the power play.

Spinale cut the Raiders' deficit in half with 11:31 remaining in the third period on a wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff following a neutral-zone takeaway by the Raiders.

Major restored the Big Red's two-goal lead, finishing off an odd-man rush with 2:10 to go before junior defenseman George Fegaras tacked on an insurance marker with an empty-net goal 57 seconds later.

GAME NOTES
• Cornell posted its third consecutive win over Colgate, its longest win streak in the series since winning the final seven games of a nine-game unbeaten streak (8-0-1) between Jan. 30, 2015, and Jan. 25, 2019. The Big Red increased its series lead over Colgate to 93-63-17 and is unbeaten in 24 of the last 31 against the Raiders (19-7-5).

• The Big Red continued its dominance at the Class of 1965 Arena, improving to 8-2-1 at the venue since it opened before the 2016-17 season. Cornell has won three straight road games in Hamilton, the program's longest road win streak over the Raiders since a six-game win streak from Jan. 30, 2015, to Feb. 8, 2020.

• Friday's win was Cornell's 12th conference victory of the season, serving as the program's fastest start to 12 wins in ECAC Hockey play since 2017-18, when it began league play 12-1-1. It is the 13th time in program history the Big Red have won at least 12 conference games by its 15th league game and is just the fifth occurrence over the last 53 years (2001-02, 2002-03, 2004-05, 2017-18, 2025-26).

• Cornell improved its record to 14-0-0 when scoring at least three goals, while registering its eighth five-goal game of the season. The Big Red also upped its record to 12-0-0 when leading after 40 minutes of play.

• Castagna extended his point streak to five games, marking his second point streak of at least five games this season. During his active streak, Castagna has 10 points (4-6—10) and has logged at least one point in 11 of his last 13 (9-12—21) and 14 of his previous 17 (11-14—25).

• Castagna's two-point performance was his fourth consecutive game multi-point game. It is the first such streak by a Cornell player since defenseman Sam Malinski '23 between Jan. 14-27, 2023. The last forward to accomplish the feat was Ben Berard '23 from Dec. 29, 2022, to Jan. 7, 2023.

• Veilleux registered another three-point performance, his second consecutive three-point game. The first-year defenseman has points in seven of his last nine (2-10—12), 10 of his previous 13 (3-14—17) and 12 of his last 16 (4-15—19).

• The three-point night by Veilleux increased his season total to 21, making him the fourth Cornell freshman defenseman to register a 20-point season, joining Chris Norton '88 (4-19—23 in 1984-85), Mark McRae (5-16—21 in 1999-00) and Ben Robertson (5-18—23 in 2023-24).

• Veilleux is the 13th Division I rearguard to record 21 points in his first 22 career games, dating back to 2005-06. Ten of the 13 instances have come since 2016-17 and eight of them in the past four-plus seasons.

MOST POINTS BY A DEFENSEMAN IN FIRST 22 CAREER GAMES
Division I Hockey — Since 2005-06
• 32 points (6-26—32), Zeev Buium, Denver (2023-24)
• 29 points (5-24—29), Cade Mason, Long Island (2022-23)
• 27 points (9-18—27), Lane Hutson, Boston University (2022-23)
• 25 points (2-23—25), Adam Fox, Harvard (2016-17)
• 24 points (6-18—24), Artyom Levshunov, Michigan State (2023-24)
• 22 points (5-17—22), Jack Johnson, Michigan (2005-06)
• 22 points (9-13—22), Scott Morrow, UMass (2021-22)
• 21 points (4-17—21), Al Mazur, RIT (2006-07)
• 21 points (9-12—21), Patrick Wiercioch, Denver (2008-09)
• 21 points (4-17—21), Scott Perunovich, Minnesota Duluth (2017-18)
• 21 points (3-18—21), Sean Behrens, Denver (2021-22)
• 21 points (5-16—21), Cole Hutson, Boston University (2024-25)
• 21 points (5-16—21), Xavier Veilleux, Cornell (2025-26)

• With his assist on Fegaras' empty-net goal, junior forward Jake Kraft increased his point streak to a career-high five games. During the stretch, Kraft has totaled eight points (4-4—8).

• Cournoyer earned his 14th career victory in his 18th career appearance, becoming the fastest netminder to reach that threshold since Matthew Galajda, who also posted 14 wins in his first 18 outings during the 2017-18 season. He is one of five Big Red goaltenders to accomplish the feat, joining Ken Dryden '69 (17), Brian Cropper '71 and Dave LeNeveu (15 each) and Galajda.

MOST WINS THROUGH FIRST 18 CAREER APPEARANCES
Cornell Program History — Since 1957-58
• 17, Ken Dryden (1966-67)
• 15, Brian Cropper (1968-70)
• 15, Dave LeNeveu (2001-03)
• 14, Matthew Galajda (2017-18)
• 14, Alexis Cournoyer (2025-26)

• Among active Division I goaltenders, Cournoyer joins Michigan's Jack Ivankovic as the lone two active netminders to amass at least 14 victories in their first 18 appearances.

MOST WINS WITHIN FIRST 18 CAREER APPEARANCES
Active Division I Goaltenders
• 15 wins, Jack Ivankovic, Michigan (2025-26)
• 14 wins, Alexis Cournoyer, Cornell (2025-26)
• 13 wins, Daniel Hauser, Wisconsin (2025-26)
• 13 wins in 16 games, Jan Špunar, North Dakota (2025-26)

• Dating back to 2005-06, Cournoyer is one of nine Division I goaltenders to record at least 14 wins through his first 18 career appearances. Cornell is the only program with multiple goaltenders on the list (Matthew Galajda — 14).

MOST WINS WITHIN FIRST 18 CAREER APPEARANCES
Division I Goaltenders — Since 2005-06
• 16 wins, Kieran Millan, Boston University (2008-09)
• 15 wins, Richard Bachman, Colorado College (2007-08)
• 15 wins, Connor Hellebuyck, UMass Lowell (2012-13)
• 15 wins, Cale Morris, Notre Dame (2016-18)
• 15 wins, Jack Ivankovic, Michigan (2025-26)
• 14 wins, Peyton Jones, Penn State (2016-17)
• 14 wins, Matthew Galajda, Cornell (2017-18)
• 14 wins, Jacob Fowler, Boston College (2023-24)
• 14 wins, Alexis Cournoyer, Cornell (2025-26)

• Sophomore forward Parker Murray made his season debut, appearing in his first contest since Jan. 31, 2025, at St. Lawrence. Murray registered two shots on goal and blocked one shot.

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 and Colgate will conclude their weekend home-and-home series at Lynah Rink on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. Game action will be streamed live on ESPN+.

The Big Red will be seeking its first regular-season sweep of the Raiders since 2019-20, when it posted victories of 4-1 and 5-3 on Feb. 8, 2020, and Feb. 9, 2020, respectively.