Men’s hockey found the back of the net four times on Friday night.
One came on the power play, a much-needed gift for the Red’s struggling special teams.
But none generated a louder roar from the Cornell bench than the five blocks made by Cornell skaters in the final 60 seconds. Senior defenseman Michael Suda, senior forward Ondrej Psenicka, and sophomore forward Ryan Walsh all kept the puck out of the net as the Engineers scrambled to get on the board down two goals.
“That’s Cornell hockey,” said senior forward Kyle Penney.
The resilient Red, aided by a perfect penalty kill and resurgence on the power play, defeated Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 4-2, at Lynah Rink on Friday. The win marked Cornell’s fifth consecutive win over the Engineers and its eighth out of the last 10 matchups.
Cornell controlled the pace for much of the first period, evident in its 13-6 edge in shots after 20 minutes. RPI failed to possess the puck substantially in its offensive zone, as the Red was quick in transition and able to aggressively forecheck with most of its forward group back and healthy.
“Mostly our forecheck [had to change], even what we do off of faceoffs. … You can't expend that energy,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86 prior to Friday’s game. “We’ve gone from an aggressive forecheck to a passive forecheck.”
The Red earned the first power play opportunity on either side when RPI’s Jake Gagnon was sent off for cross-checking with 4:44 left in the period. With the league’s second-worst penalty kill facing off against the league’s worst power play, something was bound to break.
Ultimately, it was the RPI penalty kill. Rego fired a shot from a distance that ricocheted off of two Engineer skates and beat RPI goaltender Noah Giesbrecht for the first goal of the game.
Though it wasn’t a highlight-reel goal by any stretch of the imagination, it was a lucky bounce that came to an incredibly unlucky Cornell man advantage as of late.
“We’ve been fighting it a little bit on the power [play], so it was definitely nice to get one,” Rego said.
“That’s what you want on the power play. You want to put pucks into the areas towards the net,” said associate coach Casey Jones '90 said. “I actually thought we could’ve had more than one there tonight.”
Though RPI got an early second-period opportunity to even the score when sophomore defenseman Hoyt Stanley was nabbed for roughing 15 seconds into period two, the Red stymied the Engineers’ efforts and killed off the penalty without allowing a shot on net.
In all, the Red limited the Engineers to just three shots on goal and six total attempts in the middle frame, while Cornell fired seven shots on Giesbrecht, yielding six saves from the RPI netminder.
The one Giesbrecht couldn’t stop came off the stick of senior forward Kyle Penney, who had received a massive applause when announced as a starter before puck drop, playing in his first game for nearly two weeks.
“The goal is obviously huge. But there's an energy he brings. … He's an important piece in our bench,” Jones said.
Penney ripped a shot that cleanly beat Giesbrecht, notching another Cornell goal within the final five minutes of a period. Penney’s fourth goal of the year was his first point of any kind since Nov. 15, though the drought is partially attributable to an injury that forced him to miss nine games.
“It felt good. I’m starting to feel like myself out there again,” Penney said. “It's good to get back to it and contribute.”
After a scrum ensued in front of Giesbrecht’s net not long into the third, one skater on each side was sent off for roughing, prompting two minutes of four-on-four play.
With more time and space, the Engineers finally found an answer to Shane. An impressive individual effort was made by Will Gilson, carrying the puck into the zone and ultimately driving to the net, deking Shane and halving the Red’s lead.
But Cornell regained its footing just past the halfway mark of the final frame, creating some good looks in the offensive zone. The pressure culminated in the Engineers’ fifth penalty of the night, as Tyler Hotson was sent to the box for hitting from behind.
Though the Red didn’t convert on its fourth power play of the night, an elongated stay in its offensive allowed Cornell to extend the lead after Hutson was released. Junior forward Nick DeSantis dished a highlight reel, behind-the-back pass to senior forward Jack O’Leary, who made no mistakes burying the puck all alone on the doorstep.
The Engineers did not go away, however. A costly turnover by Penney right in front of Shane allowed Dovar Tinling to collect the puck and wrist a rocket right past Shane, making it a 3-2 game with 3:00 to go in the game.
“I thought we showed a little bit of nerves at the end trying to close that one out. But for the most part, we liked our team. We didn't give much, you know?” Jones said.
But that would be all the Engineers managed on Friday, as the senior netminder concluded with 16 saves on 18 RPI shots. On the other end, Giesbrecht made 26 saves in the loss.
1:14 after the second RPI tally, senior forward Ondrej Psenicka sucked the wind out of RPI’s sails, as he emerged alone on Giesbrecht and fired it right by the goaltender to restore the two-goal lead. RPI made a last-ditch attempt and challenged the play for offsides, but a quick review upheld Psenicka’s sixth goal of the season.
RPI rallied its troops in the waning minutes, earning a six-on-four opportunity after Cornell was whistled for too many men on the ice. But five blocks by Cornell skaters, including a goal-line save by Suda, kept the Engineers at bay and secured the three points.
Cornell will be back in action Saturday night as it faces Union for a critical matchup at Lynah. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m.
“We gotta enjoy it for a little bit and then put that game behind us. We got a new team coming in tomorrow,” Penney said.
“Park it,” Rego said. “We’re chasing Union, so it’s a big three points against them.”
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.
