Depth scoring is often key for Cornell hockey — getting contributions all throughout the lineup.
But for a team loaded with youth, an occasional standout game from its veterans is more than welcome.
Junior forward Ryan Walsh had four points, sophomore forward Charlie Major collected three points and junior forwards Luke Devlin and Jonathan Castagna each had two goals apiece as No. 19 men’s hockey downed Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 6-1.
“That's what we need. We need those guys to be on the score sheet,” said head coach Casey Jones ’90. “It came in bunches for them tonight, so hopefully that opens the game for those guys to be consistent for us.”
The Red (6-2-0, 5-1-0 ECAC) scored two goals in each period to secure the victory over the Engineers (3-11-0, 2-4-0 ECAC). The win also caps off Cornell’s four-game homestand, which the Red controlled handily — outscoring opponents 17-5 en route to 12 crucial ECAC Hockey points.
“Especially with the young team, I think establishing the culture early that every night we need to come in — especially in Lynah — ready to win,” Castagna said.
And unlike its weekend away at Harvard and Dartmouth — in which the Red defeated Harvard on Friday before dropping its Saturday decision against the Big Green — Cornell was able to handle business both nights.
“[We] made sure that even though we had a great win last night, we didn't get ahead of ourselves [and] we focused on the job at hand,” Devlin said. “It was really great from us to have that maturity as a team and come back and do the same thing tonight.”
From the onset of puck drop, the game featured a flurry of offense and physicality. In the first period, both teams combined for 18 shots on goal, with Cornell striking first. Just under four minutes into the period, Walsh fired a shot on goal on a two-on-one with junior forward Jake Kraft, who poked home the rebound.
The Red promptly killed off a penalty not long after opening the score, and less than four minutes after Kraft’s tally, Cornell doubled its lead — a series of passes led to the puck reaching junior forward Luke Devlin’s stick, and Devlin made no mistakes ripping it past RPI goaltender Nate Krawchuk.
After roaring out to a quick 2-0 lead, the latter half of the first period was dominated by RPI. The Engineers out-attempted the Red, 10-5, in the final 10 minutes of the first period. Freshman goaltender Alexis Cournoyer was called upon for 10 saves in period one.
RPI's first goal of the game was an exclamation mark on a series of poor shifts by the Red. With 3:50 remaining in the first, RPI threaded a pass through the Cornell defense and allowed Matthew Buckley to emerge one-on-one with Cournoyer. The first-year out of the Ontario Hockey League beat Cournoyer five-hole to halve the Red’s lead.
“Sometimes when you score early, it has a little bit of an impact there. You think that things are going to be easy,” Jones said. “But I thought we tightened up. I thought our second period was great, put the game out of reach.”
The second period was much-improved — just one minute into the middle frame, Devlin rocketed a slot shot past the RPI goalie to secure his second tally of the night.
The Red settled in after that, dropping its shoulders and regaining the advantage in shots on goal. In all, Cornell outshot RPI 14-3 in the middle frame.
After an early unsuccessful Cornell power play, the Red earned another opportunity with just under three minutes to go in the second after the Engineers were caught with too many men on the ice.
And much like it did on Friday night, Cornell utilized a set play off a faceoff to cushion its lead. Nine seconds into the man advantage, Castagna collected a pass from Walsh in the slot and fired a one-timer that beat Krawchuk cleanly. That 4-1 score would hold as both teams skated off after 40 minutes.
Though it was RPI looking to get on the board, the Red would add another pair of goals in the final frame to solidify the victory.
Just under five minutes into the period, Major cashed in on a rebound from junior defenseman George Fegaras’ shot to make it a 5-1 game. The goal gave Major his third point of the game and second goal of the weekend.
Controlling the pace of play, Cornell was tasked with two late penalty kills — the first when Devlin was sent off for slashing at 5:45, and the second a Fegaras tripping penalty with 1:24 remaining. But the Red’s kill gained momentum throughout the night, ultimately fending off both RPI man advantages.
And, to add some insurance, Castagna picked up his second of the night on a shorthanded breakaway with just 6.2 seconds left.
“Having these two sweeps back to back coming into this next game as well is really big,” Castagna said. “We're all really excited for this one. This is a huge game for us at MSG. This is a really important one for us in the national standing.”
Cornell will now shift its focus to one of its most pivotal matchups of the season — a date with Boston University at Madison Square Garden next weekend.
“We’re excited. Obviously, that's a big game for us, [a] big game for alums, [a] big game for our program,” Jones said. “So we're excited, but like I said, we tried to stay focused on the task at hand. I give our guys credit — they did.”
Tyler Goldberg contributed reporting.
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.
