Coming off a loss in the last minutes of regulation on Friday to Massachusetts, men’s hockey was looking for its first win of the season. A shakeup in net allowed freshman goaltender Alexis Cournoyer to make his collegiate debut — a 33-save, .971 save percentage performance. Saturday’s change would provide the Red with a jolt of energy and, in the end, a win.
“I thought [Cournoyer] had a good game,” said head coach Casey Jones ’90. “For that to be his first real test, I thought that was impressive.”
Cornell (1-1-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) hoped to improve on its slow start of the prior night, and that it would do — just 1:41 into the game, junior forward Luke Devlin intercepted a pass behind the net and passed it to an open freshman forward Gio DiGiulian in the slot, who fired it over the shoulder of Massachusetts goaltender Michael Hrabal.
“[DiGiulian] does have a good release,” Jones said in his post-game press conference. “That's probably his strength is his ability to shoot it.”
After an early penalty taken by Cornell in Friday night’s loss, the Red were once again tasked with an early kill — junior forward Tyler Catalano was nabbed for slashing just over three minutes into Saturday’s contest. However, for the first time this season, the special teams unit would fight off the opportunity — from the same Massachusetts power-play unit that bested it twice the previous night. Cornell did not have a player enter the penalty box on Saturday after Catalano.
“It's a special teams game, and we were the better special teams team tonight,” Jones said.
After the kill, Cornell traded opportunities with Massachusetts (6-3-0, 0-1-0 Hockey East), with the latter ultimately having the most dangerous chances.
With just under five minutes left in the period, a nifty move by Minutemen star Jack Musa gave him an open pass to a forward who rocketed a one-timer past Cournoyer.
In his first period of collegiate play, Cournoyer faced 16 shots, while Hrabal was only forced to confront eight. The Red entered the first intermission deadlocked in score, but not in momentum.
“[I] thought we weathered the storm in the first period,” Jones said.
In the first five minutes of the second, it looked like both teams had each other sized up. Both Cornell and Massachusetts would enjoy offensive zone sequences, but neither found many real dangerous opportunities. The Minutemen once again had the more perilous chance — a slot shot that was firmly stopped by Cournoyer.
“[Cournoyer is] just poised,” Jones said. “His biggest strength tonight was that he didn't give up a lot of second-chance opportunities.”
It would not take long for the Red to find its footing as a fortunate bounce led to a grade-A chance for freshman forward Connor Arseneault; once again, Hrabal stood tall, and the Minutemen survived the onslaught.
Despite the surge, Cornell drew a penalty with 4:03 remaining in the frame and went on its first advantage of the night. It did not take long to find the 2-1 lead and its first power-play goal of the season — just 25 seconds into the advantage, off sophomore forward Charlie Major's first of the campaign. The Red took its first lead this year off the ice and into the intermission.
More than just the score sheet changed in the second but also the momentum, as the Minutemen were outshot by 10-9, and surrendered 14 faceoffs to Cornell.
“I thought we won faceoffs, which gave us possession,” Jones said. “I thought we stuck to the game plan and really had an attacking mentality.”
With just 20 minutes standing between Cornell and its first win of the season, the Red continued pressure into the frame. Just around 13 minutes in, it looked like the lead might be extended by a senior forward Nick DeSantis shot off a rebound, but Hrabal made perhaps his best save of the game and averted danger.
The Minutemen's frustration came out as junior defenseman Hoyt Stanley drew a penalty after the whistle with 7:57 left, and for the second time, Cornell went to the power play. Just a second later on the ensuing draw, Massachusetts committed a faceoff violation, and the advantage became a five-on-three.
Eventually, a junior forward Ryan Walsh pass found an open freshman defenseman Xavier Veilleux, who buried it for his first career goal with 6:32 remaining in the game.
“[Veilleux’s] got a good hockey sense,” Jones said. ”It was hard to imagine him being this ready [for college hockey].”
Now with the 3-1 lead, Cornell remained on the power play, but could not find another tally as the Minutemen's penalty kill held them off. Massachusetts was whistled for an interference with just under five minutes left in the period, and although Cornell did not convert, time on the clock continued to wind down.
Massachusetts pulled Hrabal with just over two minutes remaining, but the Red ultimately hung on for its first win of the season — and Jones’ first as head coach of Cornell.
“It's going to take some time for us to get things ironed out and get us comfortable,” Jones said. “So to bounce back tonight and get it done on special teams — I was really excited as a coach.”
Cornell will continue its season-opening stretch on the road when it travels to Harvard and Dartmouth on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8, respectively, to open ECAC play. Puck drop for both games is slated for 7 p.m. and all action will be streamed live on ESPN+.
