Seven of eight on the road.
That’s something head coach Casey Jones ’90 has never seen before.
“I was disappointed, just from the standpoint that [of] our fanbase not seeing many games down the stretch,” Jones said.
After completing an eight-game homestand, he supposes that’s just the price to pay.
“We've got to be road warriors for a little bit here,” Jones said. “We're looking forward to it.”
The long stretch of game away from Lynah Rink begins this weekend at Ivy League foes Yale and Brown. Winning both could put Cornell — already in the driver’s seat — in an even better position for an Ivy League title.
“Building off the weekend, energy's high,” said freshman forward Aiden Long. “Everyone's satisfied with how we played, but at the same time, we got two big games this weekend, so we kind of turned the page, and we're focused on that.”
Puck drop for Friday’s game is 7 p.m. at Yale, while Saturday’s tilt against Brown is a late afternoon affair with a 5 p.m. start. All action will stream live on ESPN+, and updates will be posted on @DailySunSports on X.
NPI Check-In
Heading into the weekend, Cornell sits ninth in the national percentage index, the mathematical determinant of the NCAA Tournament field. Two wins this weekend likely won’t move the Red up any further (Yale and Brown are 53rd and 57th in the NPI, respectively) but out-of-town results could cause things to fluctuate.
Games for Cornell fans to keep eyes on include Denver (13th) vs. Minnesota Duluth (6th), St. Thomas (11th) vs. Michigan Tech (24th) and Wisconsin (10th) vs. Minnesota (41st).
Malinski Cashes In
Sam Malinski ’23 inked a four-year, $19 million extension with the Colorado Avalanche in the NHL, announced by the club on Tuesday. The defenseman is set to earn $4.75 million per year, surpassing Morgan Barron ’21 and making him the highest-paid Cornell alum in the NHL.
“I love Colorado. I love all the guys on this team. The way the coaching staff has treated me, management and just everyone in Colorado. I’ve had nothing but good experiences here,” Malinski told reporters in Toronto on Tuesday. “I always knew I wanted to stay here.”
Malinski has already exceeded his career high in points in an expanded role with the Avalanche this season, totaling 24 points in 51 games. While he originally took shifts on the second or third pairing, injuries have allowed Malinski to play — on his off-hand — next to star defenseman Cale Makar.
Jones, though he never coached Malinski, was thrilled for the young blueliner and for what it means for the program.
“It’s everything for recruiting, right?” Jones said. “We're always talking about that opportunity. One of the things you want to come here for is an opportunity to move on to the next level. So we saw that today. Kudos to him, that’s a good, good contract. He deserved it, looks like he’s been playing well.”
Scouting the Opponents
Yale, headlined by its interim head coach, Joe Howe, has had the likes of a turbulent season. Cornell dealt Yale a 5-2 loss at Lynah Rink on Nov. 15, and since then, the Bulldogs have won just five games.
What this Yale team has that others have lacked, however, is scoring. In its last three wins, Yale has scored 20 goals, including two eight-spots against St. Lawrence and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
“I thought that game got away from them [at Lynah Rink] in the third period with the ice situation,” Jones said, citing the hour-long delay between the second period as ice issues were tended to. “But they always give us trouble with the way they play, the way they hunt pucks [and] their discipline.”
Ronan O’Donnell paces the Bulldogs' offense with a team-leading nine goals and 17 points, with fellow sophomore Donovan Frias trailing just behind with 16 points. In net, Noah Pak has accrued more minutes between the pipes, but junior Jack Stark has historically been given the starting nod against Cornell — he has an .895 save percentage in four starts against the Red.
Brown, on the other hand, has made headlines this season — but not in the way it might have liked. Most recently, its long-tenured head coach, Brendan Whittet, announced Wednesday that he is stepping away from the program and his position as head coach, effective Feb. 20, to tend to a family medical matter.
The Bears, who lost to Cornell by a 4-1 score on Nov. 14, have won just one of their last 12 games. Brown’s power play (5.8%) and penalty kill (70.6%) are figures that rank worst and third-worst in the NCAA. In fact, the Bears have allowed a power-play goal in 17 of their 20 games.
“I thought they played with pretty good pace,” Jones said of his squad’s last matchup against Brown. “I know they've lost a lot of close games.”
Brown has three overtime losses (including one to then-No. 5 Quinnipiac) and six one-goal losses. That has been due in large part to Tyler Shea’s .919 save percentage between the pipes.
No matter who the opponent is, though, consistency is key. After all, Jones deemed last weekend’s Dartmouth-Harvard series the most complete 120 minutes of hockey his team has put together all year.
“Every game is important. [There are] a lot of fluctuations from night to night [in the] standings, whatever it may be, right?” Jones said. “But we just want to be playing well this time of the year, so we're just going to focus on that.”
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.
