Cornell men’s hockey (3-0-0, 1-0 ECAC) continued its hot start to the season with its first in-conference win against Ivy-rival Yale (1-0-1, 1-1 ECAC) on Friday, Nov. 3. A first test to see how a new Cornell team will fare on the road proved to be a success with the Red dominating the Bulldogs to win 3-1.
It was all Red to start the period dominating offensive zone time, however, it was Yale who struck first, with the Bulldog’s Iisai Pesonen who went bar down on junior goaltender Ian Shane. The goal shifted the momentum in favor of the Bulldogs, who found themselves playing more dominantly in the Red’s offensive zone. Being 1-0 down, it was the first time Cornell had trailed this season.
Minutes later, directly off the faceoff, freshman forward George Fegaras was called for interference, forcing Cornell onto the penalty kill.
Shane and the PK unit stood strong, limiting the Bulldogs to zero shots on goal and earning a shorthanded chance of their own.
The Red’s strong showing on the PK helped shift the momentum in its favor. With a turnover off the faceoff, Luke Devlin scored his first NCAA goal to knot the score at one apiece.
Cornell continued to apply pressure with two more shots on goal right after, but they were just stopped by Yale’s Nathan Reid.
With less than five minutes remaining in the first period, junior forward Ondrej Psenicka was called for contact to the head, earning a major penalty, thus resulting in a five-minute man-advantage for the Bulldogs. It didn’t last long however, with Yale’s Ryan Conroy being sent to the box for cross-checking, allowing for four-on-four play.
Cornell dominated the four-on-four, however were unable to find the back of the net as time ran out, sending the Red back to the penalty kill with time remaining on Psenicka’s five-minute major. Again, it didn’t last long as Yale took another penalty, sending it once again back to four-on-four play. Neither team was able to find the back of the net amid the back-and-forth penalties, keeping the score knotted at one entering the first intermission.
Just under a minute into the second frame, the Red had the man advantage after a Yale minor penalty. But Cornell was unable to convert. It wasn’t much longer until they had another chance on the power play as just under two minutes later, Yale’s Henry Wagner was called for interference. This time, the Red was able to strike, as freshman forward Ryan Walsh scored to give Cornell the 2-1 lead.
Possession alternated between the two teams for the rest of the second, which included a power play for the Bulldogs halfway through the second, which the Red successfully killed off.
The third frame began in a similar fashion, with both teams alternating control until two minutes in, when junior defender Tim Rego went to the box for hooking. Shane and the rest of the penalty killers stood strong and once again were able to kill off a penalty.
Both teams continued to dominate offensively and in the eight minute, Cornell took its sixth penalty of the night after Psenicka was called for interference. Once again, Yale was unable to find the back of the net with the man-advantage and Cornell’s 2-1 lead stood.
Yale and Cornell had some good looks, however, goalies on both ends made critical saves. With 1:50 left in the frame, the Bulldogs opted to pull its goaltender in favor of an extra attacker. Seger capitalized on the empty net and scored to give Cornell the 3-1 lead. The Red had one more chance to tack onto its lead as Yale’s David Chen was called for tripping, giving Cornell the man-advantage in the final minute. The Red was unable to convert and the clock ran out to give Cornell the 3-1 win.
The Red look to keep the ball rolling when they head to Providence to face Brown (2-1-0, 1-1-0 ECAC) on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.