Before Ken Dryden ’69 became an NHL Hall-of-Famer with the Montreal Canadiens, he shone under the lights at Lynah Rink, including one season where he backstopped Cornell to its first-ever national championship in 1967.
Dryden donned the Carnelian jersey for three seasons — only because, at the time, freshmen were not eligible to suit up for the Varsity team.
On Friday, it would be a freshman goaltender — one drafted by the Canadiens — who stole the show in an evening honoring the legendary late Dryden.
Quebec native Alexis Cournoyer stopped 27 of 28 shots for No. 20 men’s hockey to secure a 4-1 win over Brown on Ken Dryden Tribute Night.
“It was special from the start,” Cournoyer said. “The ceremonial puck drop was my first one, too. So it was kind of cool to do it for him, and we played our game for him tonight.”
With the win, the Red improved to 21-1-3 in its last 25 games against the Bears. It was a solid game for Cornell until the final minutes of the third period, where Brown was able to spoil a near shutout for Cournoyer on a goal with 3:32 left.
“I would’ve liked to see us close out with the zero on the board in recognition, but so be it,” said head coach Casey Jones ’90. “Alexis [is] a Quebec guy and a Montreal [prospect], so it was kind of neat to see his game and his performance tonight.”
Before the game, Cornell honored Dryden — who died on Sept. 5 after a battle with cancer — with a tribute video and a ceremonial puck drop. In lieu of the captains taking the faceoff, both starting goaltenders took to center ice to honor Dryden, as one of Dryden’s fraternity brothers at Cornell dropped the puck.
The sold-out crowd of 4,267 at Lynah Rink would not be disappointed — the Red scored a season-high four goals as freshman forward Caton Ryan potted the first two scores of his collegiate career.
“It was pretty cool. Obviously, [the goals were] in front of the Lynah Faithful. [The crowd] was something I've never experienced,” Ryan said. “Especially just kind of coming on the ice for the national anthem, and you hear the band playing, and it’s really loud.”
For the first time since its season-opening weekend, Red would strike first. After Brown was whistled for a cross-check, Cornell’s recently lethargic power play cashed in — Ryan secured his first collegiate goal by deflecting a shot from junior defenseman George Fegaras past the Brown goaltender.
Ryan’s goal gave Cornell a 1-0 lead with just 55.8 seconds left in the opening period, and marked just the second time the Red had tallied the first goal across its first five games.
“We’re making progress on our special teams, so that was important for us tonight,” Jones said. “It’s important to win a special teams battle. It’s so hard to score five-on-five that you have to score on the power play to make hay sometimes.”
The Red doubled its lead at the 9:42 mark of the second period, when freshman forward Gio DiGiulian crashed the net and buried a big rebound from Brown goaltender Tyler Shea. The tally marked DiGiulian’s fourth goal in his first five collegiate games, and put Cornell up by two heading into the final frame.
Though the Red would pot two more goals in the third, it was Cournoyer who stole the show. The first-year looked anything but inexperienced, stopping 13 shots in the final frame to pick up his third collegiate win.
Offensively, Cornell would begin the period by getting stifled on its third power play, finishing one-for-three on the man advantage. But the Red ultimately tacked on another goal 5:55 into the third when a strong point shot from sophomore defenseman Luke Ashton was redirected masterfully by Ryan into the net, giving Ryan his second of the game and extending the lead.
Only 55 seconds would pass before Cornell lit the lamp again. Junior forward Ryan Walsh tucked one home to secure his first of the season and make it a 4-0 game with 13:10 to play.
“I thought one of the more important goals we got tonight was [from] Ryan Walsh,” Jones said. “He’s an important player for us. He's got to get on a score sheet for us, and [he] got that little monkey off his back this season.”
A lapse in the final six minutes proved costly for Cornell. The Red was pushed back onto its heels by Brown, culminating in a shot that would end Cournoyer’s shutout bid. Strong perimeter play by Brown allowed Brian Nicholas — skating left and shooting right — to beat Cournoyer. The Cornell netminder appeared to have never seen the shot come off Nicholas’ stick.
“We're a young team. We got to learn how to close games properly,” Cournoyer said. “I thought we slowed the pace down, tried to go showtime, trying to hit some guys. But we’ve got to learn how to close games down.”
A pair of senior forward Nick DeSantis penalties in the third period sullied what was a relatively disciplined game for Cornell. Though it went a perfect 4/4 on the penalty kill, the Red was unhappy with how it took its foot off the gas pedal in the waning moments.
“I was disappointed — I thought we had two retaliation penalties, [and] one of our pillars of our program is discipline,” Jones said.
Cornell will look to secure a weekend sweep when it faces Yale on Saturday night. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. at Lynah Rink and all action will stream live on ESPN+.
“We just got a little bit casual. It's one of those things we work on,” Jones said. “You want to close it out, especially for the goalie who made some good saves for you. But, you know, it's also nice that you can have some teaching things come over with a ‘W,’ and we'll take advantage of that as a coaching staff.”
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.
