Every coach or player who has graced the Cornell men’s hockey program in any way has their Harvard story.
Last year, former head coach Mike Schafer ’86 told The Sun a few of his favorite moments from the rivalry. Although head coach Casey Jones ’90 is a first-year head coach, he’s got his Harvard-Cornell story from his playing days.
“We hadn’t beat them in my career,” Jones said. “And we drew them in the playoffs my senior year.”
The Crimson headed to Ithaca in March 1990 — a season in which Harvard was defending its 1989 national championship and bidding farewell to legendary head coach Bill Cleary — riding an 11-game winning streak against the Red.
That year, Harvard had already cruised to 5-2 and 5-0 wins over Cornell. But the playoffs at Lynah Rink yielded a different result — 6-2 and 4-2 victories for the Red and a series sweep, sounding the end to both Harvard’s season and Cleary’s coaching career.
Clearly frustrated by the result and a seemingly embarrassing end to his coaching career, Cleary chose to act in a rather unsportsmanlike manner. He instructed his team to leave without shaking the hands of the other Cornell skaters and coaches (as is customary postgame), as the Lynah Faithful chased the Crimson off the ice.
Jones did not mention anything about Cleary, but he remembers what happened after.
“Back then the glass was low, so [the fans] climbed the glass,” Jones said with a smile. “We had everybody on ice, flooded the ice. It was good, it was big time. Big time.”
This weekend, No. 10 Dartmouth and Harvard are headed to Lynah Rink. For No. 12 men’s hockey, facing off against two of the top three teams in the league — both of which sit above Cornell in the standings — is a welcome challenge.
“This isn't a week where I have to wind anybody up. That's for sure,” Jones said. “It's more details and habits. They're ready to go. It’s a fun week as a player. They've got this one kind of circled.”
Cornell will face No. 10 Dartmouth on Friday and Harvard on Saturday at Lynah Rink. Puck drop for both games is slated for 7 p.m. All action will stream live on ESPN+, and live coverage will be provided by @DailySunSports on X.
Walsh and Castagna Nominated for Hobey Baker Memorial Award
Junior forwards Ryan Walsh and Jonathan Castagna were two of 87 NCAA Division I hockey players nominated for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award — named for Hockey Hall of Famer Hobey Baker and awarded yearly to the top player in college hockey. The preliminary list was announced on Wednesday.
Walsh paces Cornell’s offense with 18 points as Castagna trails just behind with 17, while Castagna’s nine goals also lead all Red skaters. On top of offensive production, the faceoff dot has also been a proven strength for Cornell’s top two centers — Castagna and Walsh have won 222 and 168 faceoffs, respectively, figures that rank within the top 75 of all NCAA skaters. Castagna, in addition, boasts the nation’s top faceoff win percentage among players with at least 200 faceoff wins at 65.7 percent.
Fans can vote for Walsh and Castagna by visiting hobeybaker.com/vote and clicking on Walsh and Castagna’s ‘vote’ tabs. Additionally, for the first time, fans can now text 26090 to 844-623-9688 to vote for Castagna, and text 26089 to 844-623-9688 to vote for Walsh. There is a limit of one vote per person, per day, and a list of the top 10 Hobey Baker finalists based on this phase of fan voting will be released on March 18.
Scouting the Opponents
As students ready for what many proclaim is the biggest rivalry game of the year, Dartmouth on Friday night poses a tough task for Cornell before then. The Big Green dealt the Red a 2-1 loss in Hanover, New Hampshire, back on Nov. 8, one of Dartmouth’s 11 straight wins to begin the 2025-2026 season. Things have simmered down since the Big Green was receiving first-place votes in the USCHO.com poll a couple of months ago, but Dartmouth has played itself into contention for a top spot in the ECAC standings.
“We come off that big win at Harvard, the rivalry game and all that, it’s always a tricky game for us. I'm not sure they played their best game either,” Jones said of the Nov. 8 loss. “It was a tight game. We had a chance with the goalie pulled at the end and the power play to tie the game, and didn't get it done.”
The Big Green is led by sophomore standout Hayden Stavroff, whose 20 goals tie him for the NCAA lead. Stavroff is one of three Dartmouth skaters nominated for the Hobey Baker Award, alongside Hank Cleaves and CJ Foley.
And while goaltender Emmett Croteau played a significant role in Dartmouth’s hot start to its season, the Big Green has pivoted to a goaltending tandem as the season has worn on. Croteau has the edge in save percentage with a .928 percent through 10 starts compared to classmate Roan Clarke’s .907 percent through nine, but both netminders rank in the top six in goals against average amongst all NCAA goaltenders.
“They’re consistent with how they play. They're going to come at us. They're extremely aggressive. They take time and space away,” Jones said. “They really don't have any flaws … You just gotta be ready. Our details on Saturday [against Quinnipiac] will get us in trouble if we play that way this weekend.
Harvard, on the other hand, has bounced in and out of the national polls but has won each of its last three games, outscoring opponents 11-2. The infamous rivalry between Harvard and Cornell has come in streaks — while the Red was winless against the Crimson for over four years between January 2020 and January 2024, Cornell is 5-0-1 in its last six against its archrival.
The Crimson has recruited a solid crop of young talent, but returning forward Mick Thompson leads all skaters with 20 points. In net, Harvard’s Ben Charette has taken strides in his second season, but was the losing goaltender in Cornell’s 3-1 victory at Bright-Landry Hockey Center back on Nov. 7.
“The interesting thing this weekend is [that] I think these are the number one or two penalty killing teams coming in the country," Jones said (Harvard holds the top penalty kill unit in the country, operating at a 93 percent success rate, with Dartmouth just behind with its 89.9 percent rate ranking fourth). “They're gonna put some pressure on us here on the power play, so we'll have to be sharp on special teams from that perspective.”
Worth Quoting
Jones’ phone has been buzzing all week.
This weekend’s games are critical for Cornell. Friday and Saturday’s tilts in Ithaca not only have massive implications for the ECAC standings, but also for the Ivy League title race and the NCAA Tournament.
But the texts have been pouring in for other reasons.
It’s men’s hockey alumni weekend, and the 1986 and 1996 ECAC championship teams will be honored. Jones has overlapped with members of both.
“I’ve been getting chirped pretty good in a couple of different text groups,” Jones said with a laugh. “Seems like I’d be an easy guy to pick on for some reason right now.”
The younger members of the 1986 team wound up being some of Jones’ older teammates when he arrived in Ithaca as a student-athlete in Fall 1986. On the other hand, the 1996 squad comprised a handful of years’ worth of Jones’ recruits, after Jones served for two years (1991-1993) on Bria McCutcheon’s staff.
“We're excited,” Jones said. “They'll be treated to a couple of good opponents. … You gotta manage your emotions. That’s probably the hardest thing, is just to get into [the mindset]. And a lot of times, a good old philosophy [is] you get a good hit early in the game, wake yourself up and kind of snap into what you need to do.”
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.
