This is a developing story.
In a move perhaps no one saw coming, freshman goaltender Alexis Cournoyer has entered the NCAA men’s hockey transfer portal, according to the Grand Forks Herald transfer portal tracker.
First rumored by College Hockey Insider founder and publisher Mike McMahon on X Tuesday afternoon, the move became official Wednesday morning and comes after the Quebec native was named the ECAC Ken Dryden Goaltender of the Year and ECAC Rookie of the Year finalist. Cournoyer has been rumored by multiple sources to be transferring to this year’s national runner-up, Wisconsin, though nothing has been confirmed officially.
The Ivy League Rookie of the Year and All-ECAC First Team awardee posted a .915 save percentage and an 18-10 record in his debut season. Cournoyer is now one of the highest-regarded goaltenders in the portal to date, and the move comes a year removed from former defenseman Ben Robertson’s transfer out of Cornell.
Cournoyer’s journey to college hockey has been tumultuous. Before arriving at Cornell and before being drafted in the fifth round (145th overall) by the Montreal Canadiens, Cournoyer split time between Junior A and Major Junior hockey in his home province of Quebec.
Cournoyer earned a call-up to the Canadian Hockey League in January of the 2024-2025 season after a strong start in the lower-tier Maritime Junior A Hockey League, and stormed his way to a 13-6-1 record and .942 save percentage in the CHL’s prestigious Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.
With the help of Trevor Stienburg — NHL amateur scout and father of Matt Stienburg ’23 — Cournoyer was connected with Cornell in the latter half of the 2024-2025 season and eventually made his commitment public in June 2025, marking one of head coach Casey Jones’ ’90 earliest and strongest moves at the helm.
Though he occasionally battled for the starter’s crease with senior goaltender Remington Keopple, Cournoyer emerged as Cornell’s No. 1 netminder for the majority of the season. Cournoyer started all five of the Red’s playoff games, including the three-game slate against Harvard in the ECAC quarterfinals, the ECAC semifinal matchup with Princeton and the NCAA Tournament regional semifinal game versus Denver.
Without Cournoyer in Ithaca next season, it begs questions about Cornell’s goaltending situation for 2026-2027. Two goaltenders — rising junior Justin Katz and rising sophomore Erick Roest — are set to return, while Cornell currently has one goaltender recruit in the system: Nick Cirka. It is not confirmed whether Cirka will enroll at Cornell starting in 2026-2027, or whether Jones and his staff will take to the transfer portal to fill Cournoyer’s spot.
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.
