In a game that lasted over three hours, No. 20 men’s hockey pushed through a lengthy delay to pick up a 5-2 win over Yale and secure a series sweep.
The score was 4-1 Cornell when the second period ended at 8:29 p.m. The puck would not drop for the final frame until 9:31 p.m. due to an issue with the Lynah Rink ice. The Lynah Faithful grew restless as the ice was cut twice by the zamboni and a fire extinguisher was even brought out in an attempt to mitigate the ice issues.
“I’m disappointed in the way it played out there with the ice. We have high standards here. We'll get that rectified, but I think a lot of things come into play there, with the weather and then the women's game before us,” said head coach Casey Jones ’90. “But I really appreciate the fans sticking around big time. I thought a large percentage of the crowd hung tough, and that means a lot to us.”
Despite the circumstances, the Red exploded offensively — junior forward Ryan Walsh had two goals and freshman forward Caton Ryan converted once more after his two-goal performance on Friday, with both forwards capping off the weekend with three tallies each.
“Extremely weird game. It’s one of those things that it's kind of out of your control,” Walsh said. “You try to not let it affect you. But I thought we came out pretty well after the hiatus. It’s always good to get six points and a sweep in the first home weekend.”
Cornell won the special teams battle once again, going a perfect 3/3 on the penalty kill, while the Bulldogs could only solve one of the Red’s two power plays.
Despite the high-scoring game, the first period was scoreless. Just shy of the halfway point of the first period, senior forward Nick DeSantis made a nifty move at center ice to create a two-on-one, and Ryan was hooked on his way to receive the pass, sending Cornell to the power play.
Cornell mustered up some strong chances — including a rocket off the stick of Walsh that wrung the iron — but could not beat Yale goaltender Jack Stark.
Stark earned the start after surrendering six goals to Dartmouth in the Bulldogs’ first game of the season, not having seen the ice since being pulled after the second period on Nov. 2. Though Yale’s sophomore goaltender Noah Pak had played well as of late, Stark has notoriously shone against the Red — in three previous regular season games versus Cornell, Stark had posted a .902 save percentage, forcing two of those matchups to shootouts.
“They’re a good physical team. They’re always hard to play against, doesn’t matter their rank,” Walsh said.
While the first period was relatively quiet, the second was anything but. Five goals were scored between the two teams, including four in just over six minutes.
First, a one-timer by Walsh off a stellar feed from junior defenseman George Fegaras on the power play broke the stalemate 7:02 in. The tally marked the second-straight game with a power-play goal for the Red.
Yale would retaliate by drawing a penalty of its own, but some solid stops by freshman goaltender Alexis Cournoyer preserved the Cornell lead.
“We’re trying to extend our bench with multiple guys, new guys killing,” Jones said. “I thought they did a good job this weekend.”
That lead would double when freshman forward Reegan Hiscock buried a rebound past Stark. The goal came not without stellar playmaking from junior forward Jake Kraft, who led the breakout and a nifty give-and-go, eventually creating the rebound that Hiscock jumped on.
Before the Lynah Faithful could finish celebrating the second Cornell goal, Yale’s Ronan O’Donnell redirected a shot in the high slot that beat Cournoyer, halving the Red’s lead just 27 seconds later.
The floodgates for the Red, however, had opened. And while the first two Cornell goals were to no fault of Stark, the next two were ones the netminder would want back.
With 6:30 to play, a strong play by DeSantis — falling to the ice as he fired the puck — culminated in a shot that eked through the fivehole of Stark. A little over three minutes later, Walsh secured his second of the game by managing a loose puck between Stark and the post, a near no-angle play that put the Red up 4-1.
The line of DeSantis, freshman forward Gio DiGiulian and Ryan was noticeable all night and was assembled by Jones to capitalize on their speed.
“I thought was one of [DeSantis’s] better games this year,” Jones said.
Perhaps it was the 62-minute delay that ensued, but Cornell’s momentum was largely halted when the third period finally began. The Bulldogs ate into the Red’s lead and made it 4-2 with a goal 6:03 into the third — a turnover at Yale’s blue line created a two-on-one rush for the Bulldogs, and a ricochet off the defensive stick senior defenseman Jack O’Brien led to David Chen’s backhand poke past Cournoyer.
“I think we could’ve done some things better,” Walsh said when asked about how his team responded after the delay. “I think we need to learn how to play with the lead. We're a young team, and I think that'll come, but I thought we handled it all pretty well.”
Cornell’s kill was put to the test almost immediately after, but a strong showing on the PK kept the lead at two goals. Not much later, the Red made it 5-2 when Ryan redirected a sophomore defenseman Michael Fisher shot past Stark, the goal a result of a long shift in the offensive zone.
The score would hold as Cournoyer ended his night with a flurry of saves to cap his total at 27. The freshman netminder finished the weekend with a stellar .947 save percentage en route to a six-point sweep.
“It’s tough to be mad at not managing the game. The third period, [being] in that situation was tough, you know?” Jones said. “But I can’t emphasize it enough — our guys were talking about on the bench [about] the loyalty of the fans to stick around, and all that meant a lot to us.”
Cornell will be back on Lynah Rink ice next weekend as it hosts Union and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Nov. 21 and 22, respectively. Puck drop for both games is slated for 7 p.m.
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.
