After losing its star goaltender, Alexis Cournoyer, to the 2026 national championship runner-up Wisconsin Badgers in the NCAA transfer portal, the Red went to the drawing board.
How can a non-NIL-rich program like Cornell draw and retain premier talents in net?
The answer was simple: add an experienced, accomplished goaltending mind to the coaching staff.
Men’s hockey has hired a new director of hockey operations and video coordinator, Austin Keiser.
Alongside his duties as director of hockey operations and video coordinator, Keiser brings an accomplished record of goaltending development.
“Talking with Casey [Jones], this was a huge pickup,” Keiser said. “I'm going to build back this legacy of Cornell goaltending. Like you see it on the walls here at the rink, it's pretty impressive, and I'm pumped to be the staple of it.”
Keiser will replace Josh Robinson, who served as the Red’s director of hockey operations for two years and is now working as director of player personnel and video for the Omaha Mavericks.
A lifelong goaltender, Keiser played four years of NCAA Division III hockey — three years at SUNY-Potsdam and one year at Western New England University for his senior season.
After his playing career, Keiser made his coaching debut at his alma mater Western New England and has worked across the AAA, junior and professional ranks. Most recently, Keiser worked as goaltending coach and video coordinator for the Toledo Walleye (ECHL).
Keiser was referred to the job by Princeton’s assistant coach, Shane Talarico, who served as Cornell’s director of hockey operations from 2019 to 2022.
“One of my best friends, Shane Talarico, reached out to me over the summer and was like, ‘Are you interested in college hockey?’” Keiser said. “Cornell had an opening, and it’s the best place ever to get back into college hockey, especially just the history of the goaltenders too. I mean, it's unbelievable.”
During games, Keiser will work as video coordinator, “live coding” video to allow for easy review in between periods or after games.
“Whatever the coaches want, I have a button for,” Keiser said. “So, say there was a power play, I would hit ‘P’, watch the whole power play, click ‘P’ to end it, and same thing with penalty kill.”
Keiser will have help from a product of today’s modern world — artificial intelligence.
“We're going to use a new system this year, which I'm pretty excited about,” Keiser said. “It's an AI technology that's going to help break down our game film.”
Using this AI system, which organizes video clips, players will be able to watch their shifts, while coaches can pinpoint moments to review with ease.
It is not just video coaching that Keiser will help with, he will provide another perspective to aid in challenging plays during action.
“During the games, I will be looking at challenges,” Keiser said. “I will have an earpiece in. So I can challenge offsides or goals or anything that the coaches see on the ice. I'll be the eye in the sky.”
Keiser will be beneficial to the Red’s three netminders despite not officially being the team’s goaltending coach. Whether reviewing video or making tweaks on the ice, he will individually tailor his coaching to each goaltender’s style of play.
“I don't do cookie-cutter goaltending,” Keiser said. “The player, the goalie, is the most important thing to me, and I want to get to know them on a personal basis. They can trust me on the ice, and they can trust me personally. That's where I see the most growth.”
While Keiser grows the current class of Cornell netminders, the hope is that the honor of being in-between the pipes at Lynah Rink is rebuilt.
Eli Kwait is a staff writer for the sports department. He is a member of the Class of 2029 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. You can follow him on X @EliKwaitand reach him at ekwait@cornellsun.com.
