For men’s hockey, the penalty kill has emerged as a bright spot for what has been a tumultuous second half of the season.
On Saturday night, it nearly contained one of the nation’s top power play units, allowing one goal on three attempts.
But the one that went in would ultimately cost Cornell a pivotal three points. Cornell fell 4-1 to Union on Saturday night, allowing a power play goal that would ultimately stand as the game-winner. Union’s Brandon Buhr had a hattrick in the Garnet Chargers’ victory, the first visitors’ hattrick at Lynah Rink since Mar. 5, 1999.
“I didn’t like the way we started the game. I didn’t think we had the same pop [as last night],” said head coach Casey Jones ’90.
The Garnet Chargers, which entered Saturday’s game having scored the second-most goals in the ECAC, made their offensive prowess felt early. Union scored on its first shot of the game after a missed shot found the stick of Buhr, rifling it past senior goaltender Ian Shane for his team-leading 14th goal of the season.
Cornell (9-8-6, 6-6-4 ECAC) had a chance to even the score when DJ Hart was sent off for hooking sophomore forward Jonathan Castagna, who argued momentarily for a penalty shot as the infraction came with Castagna in the motion of shooting.
No penalty shot was awarded, and Union (15-9-3, 8-5-2 ECAC) swiftly killed off the penalty, largely thanks to its goaltender, Kyle Chauvette, who made a strong stop with his mask off a hard one-timer by junior forward Dalton Bancroft. Bancroft was recently moved up to the point on the power play –– a spot typically reserved for defensemen –– due to his hard shot, and he continued to keep shooting, finishing the game with eight shot attempts with three going on goal.
Just under eight minutes into the period, Cornell was whistled for having too many men on the ice, its second bench minor of that kind in as many games. That allowed Union, boasting a power play unit ranking 10th-best nationally and second-best in the ECAC, to take a threatening two-goal lead.
That nearly happened –– Union spent nearly 1:30 straight in the Cornell defensive zone, cycling the puck quickly and generating multiple grade-A chances. The Red had no answer for the puck movement around the perimeter, and only was able to make player changes when Shane gloved down a puck with 25 seconds left in the power play.
“I thought our first kill was our weakest of the night,” Jones said. “They have two good units. … I thought that we settled in on the penalty kill as the game went on.”
Union ultimately controlled the first period. The Garnet Chargers only found the back of the net once, but Shane was called upon for 11 saves in the opening frame. Cornell was not without its chances to tie the game, as junior forward Nick DeSantis hit the post with a shot with 1:48 left, but the Red entered the locker room trailing after 20 minutes.
Just shy of five minutes gone by in the second, Cornell dealt the Garnet Chargers another prime scoring opportunity when sophomore defenseman George Fegaras tripped a Union skater headed toward the net.
This time, the deadly Union power play couldn’t be stopped. A shot from Josh Nixon sailed just under the glove of Shane, doubling the Union lead as Cornell gave up just its third goal on the penalty kill since the calendar year turned to 2025.
But just 38 seconds later, the Union lead was back to one goal. Senior forward Kyler Kovich hit the post with the shot, but quickly collected his own rebound and buried it to halve the deficit. Kovich’s third goal of the year ties his season high in goals set his freshman year at Cornell, and the forward has already set a season high for points (seven) in his final season.
From there, Cornell began to find some rhythm and established a couple of strong shifts in its offensive zone. After trailing in shots for much of the game, it closed the gap late in the second period, ultimately taking a 20-18 lead in that category after 40 minutes.
“Our guys are getting chances,” Jones said. “Eventually, the floodgates have got to open for our guys.”
The second period was a bright spot for the Red, outchancing Union 22-10 and outshooting the Garnet Chargers 12-5. The Cornell pressure ultimately culminated in a Union penalty with three seconds left in the second period, as Hart was sent to the box for a second time. 1:57 of power play time would bleed into the third.
But the Red couldn’t find the tying goal, watching another power play come and go. Just 15 seconds after it expired, Union executed a perfect cross-ice pass and Buhr tapped the puck past Shane for his second of the game, making it 3-1 Garnet Chargers.
“Probably a mistake that that [defensive] pair hasn’t made all year along,” Jones said.
Cornell’s third power play chance, coming less than a minute after Buhr’s tally, yielded yet another scoreless result. Chauvette stole the show when he robbed sophomore forward Ryan Walsh right at the doorstep with his glove.
Cornell continued to press as time wore down, with Jones electing to pull Shane for the extra attacker with 3:17 left. But the Red could find no answer to Chauvette, who collected 30 saves, many of them point-blank from up close.
“The more we didn’t score, the more it seemed to get to us in terms of our poise,” Jones said.
A miscommunication at Cornell’s blueline allowed Buhr to skate 2/3 the length of the ice and tuck it into the empty net, solidifying the 4-1 win for Union.
The three points Cornell allowed to slip away will be costly as the team fights for a top-four seed for the ECAC playoffs. The Red also saw another crucial piece leave its lineup, as Castagna left for the locker room in the third period with an apparent injury.
The Red will look to get back on track next weekend as it takes on Brown and Yale at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night, respectively.
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.
