CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A save.
A block.
A goal.
Junior forward Jonathan Castagna pointed at each of his teammates after he scored on a late third-period breakaway. Nearly everyone on the team had touched the puck before he netted a shorthanded goal — his second of the game — to make it 3-1 over a bitter Ivy League rival.
First, freshman goaltender Alexis Cournoyer made a game-saving paddle stop at 2-1. A flurry of sticks and blocks from the Cornell penalty killers allowed the puck to pop out to Castagna.
He finished the rest.
“I don't want to be the guy that gets credit for that because a lot happened for me to get that breakaway, and to be honest, I did the least out of anybody,” Castagna said. “I think it's really important to recognize how Alexis [Cournoyer] made that save and, without the block from [freshman forward] Aiden Long there, that doesn't happen at all.
“That's a big part of our identity, and it's a reason why we were able to win tonight.”
Cornell defeated Harvard, 3-1, to open up Ivy League and ECAC play. After an early Harvard goal, Cournoyer shone, finishing the game with 30 saves on 31 shots, including a 17-save second period. Cornell went a perfect 4/4 on the penalty kill.
“That’s Cornell hockey,” Cournoyer said. “It's about our culture, our resilience, [our] character. I feel like guys in the locker room are very good at it and have such a great culture.”
For the third straight game, Cornell (2-1-0, 1-0-0 ECAC) began the game shorthanded early, as Long was whistled for interference just 30 seconds in. The best chance of that Crimson power play, though, came off of a Cornell stick — a turnover allowed junior forward Ryan Walsh to emerge one-on-one with Harvard (1-1-1, 0-1-0 ECAC) goaltender Ben Charette, but a left-pad stop barred Walsh from notching the game’s first goal.
That was the first of many breakaways on the penalty kill, a trend Castagna said was flagged midweek on video by assistant coach Chris Brown, and a large part of what made the Red so successful shorthanded.
“I thought our penalty kill took a huge step,” said head coach Casey Jones ’90. “[It] was outstanding all night. That’s as good as it’s been all year.”
Cornell would almost earn a power play chance of its own almost immediately after killing off the Long penalty, but despite some good possession, could not find the back of the net. That would be the first of three unsuccessful power play attempts in the opening period for the Red.
The Red’s lone defensive lapse in the first period ultimately proved costly — Harvard’s freshmen line of Richard Gallant, Heikki Ruohonen and Aidan Lane each earned a point as Lane deked around Cournoyer and broke the stalemate.
That would be the second and final Crimson shot of the opening period — from there it was all Cornell, as the Red outshot Harvard 9-0 after its goal.
“Obviously, we let up that one at the beginning, but if you look at the shots in the first period, I think that's a pretty telltale sign of how we were coming out of the gates on them,” Castagna said. “It's important to just stay level-headed.”
The Red kept calm and ultimately found the tying goal it was in search of 6:36 into the second period — Castagna finished off a beautiful cross-crease feed from junior defenseman Hoyt Stanley, beating Charette and knotting the game at 1-1.
From there, it was all Cournoyer. Harvard inched back in and closed the large margin Cornell had forged in shots on goal, but the Crimson was unable to beat the Red’s first-year goaltender. After dominating in the shot department in the first, Cornell trailed behind, 17-11, in the second.
“My job is to keep the team in the game,” Cournoyer said. “Just gotta battle, and mentally, it's about the next shot. And for me, in the second, it was just trying to keep the team in the game. ... The guys played great in front of me.”
Cornell took a second penalty just past the halfway point of the second period, but it was quickly mitigated by a Crimson penalty 51 seconds later. On the ensuing four-on-four, Cournoyer made a pair of eye-popping stops, including a flashy glove save on a grade-A Harvard chance from the slot.
The Cornell contingent in Cambridge bowed down to Cournoyer late in the period as he caught his breath following a flurry of saves.
“I think that's been the most impressive thing for us — he's got a little bit of composure there. There's just a calmness to him,” Jones said. “He's showing that now in two road games. … You can sense the bench feels the confidence in him.”
Both teams skated out for the third with one goal apiece.
Not for long, though.
The Red broke the tie just 1:21 into the final frame when freshman forward Gio DiGiulian cleaned up a Charette rebound off of freshman forward Caton Ryan’s initial shot. The tally marked the third one from DiGiulian in as many collegiate games.
Playing with the lead for the first time, Cornell looked to settle in at five-on-five. Neither team took a penalty in the third until 4:49 left, when junior forward Jake Kraft was sent off for hooking. But once again, the Red’s penalty killers — aided by Cournoyer — stood the test.
“I don't know who said it on the bench, but — it wasn't gonna happen any other way,” Jones said with a laugh. “We had to kill the penalty off. And I think our guys had the right mentality. So it is textbook Cornell hockey.”
And, to add some insurance, Castagna buried a shorthanded goal for his second of the game.
“I think it just comes down to resilience. We don't quit at all,” Castagna said. “I think you can expect from us every night that we'll have a full 60 minutes of hockey, because that's just our identity, and that's our culture. We really pride ourselves on wearing teams down.”
Cornell will look to secure the weekend sweep as it takes on Dartmouth (3-0-0, 1-0-0 ECAC) — which defeated Colgate 4-1 on Friday — at 7 p.m. Saturday. All action at Thompson Arena in Hanover, New Hampshire, will stream live on ESPN+.
Jane McNally is a senior editor on the 143rd editorial board and was the sports editor on the 142nd editorial board. She is a member of the Class of 2026 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. You can follow her on X @JaneMcNally_ and reach her at jmcnally@cornellsun.com.
