Since head coach Mike Schafer ’86 began coaching 30 years ago, his teams have been renowned for their stingy defense and relentlessness on and off the puck.
Dozens of Cornell hockey alumni, most of whom were coached by Schafer himself, were in attendance to celebrate the historic head coach’s final regular season home game at Lynah Rink.
The alumni, representing teams such as the 2019-2020 squad ranked No. 1 in the nation as the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the 2004-2005 ECAC tournament champions, are a reminder of the prestige that exudes from the Cornell hockey program. And even moreso, a reminder of the success Schafer has brought to Ithaca, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest to ever grace the ice — and bench — in college hockey.
“Cornell is a special place. … It's a place of excellence: not just in the university, but in the community and [for me] raising family here,” Schafer said. “I just think that there's more to [tonight] than just hockey. … For me, it's embodied everything about being a college coach, and I'm very proud.”
It was only fitting that the alumni, as well as friends and family and the Lynah Faithful, were treated to a marquee Cornell hockey performance.
Men’s hockey saluted its seniors and Schafer with a triumphant 6-0 victory over St. Lawrence on Saturday night.
“I think something [Schafer] talked about a lot was considering who you're doing it for, and I think that's a message that resonated with all of us having our families here as seniors, but also with it being Schafer’s last regular season home game,” said senior defenseman Jimmy Rayhill. “All of us wanted to get the job done for him, for all the alums here who paved the way for us. … We really wanted it, and so that kind of led to us buying in and doing.”
With two goals in each of the first two periods, the Red easily skated past the Saints, limiting them to just 13 shots on goal.
“I thought they came out and played really well tonight, right from start to finish. They weren’t happy [with how] we didn't capitalize and score last night, but we didn't make that mistake two nights in a row,” Schafer said. “[We’re] starting to get more of a belief in our locker room.”
Senior goaltender Ian Shane concluded his final regular season game at Lynah Rink with a shutout. A senior having made an immeasurable impact on the program, Shane capped off a four-year career as Cornell’s starting goaltender. With the 13th shutout of his career, Shane tied legendary Ken Dryden ’69 for the fourth-most career shutouts by any goaltender in Cornell history.
The starting lineup for Cornell featured six seniors: senior forwards Sullivan Mack, Kyle Penney and defenseman Jimmy Rayhill taking the right-wing spot, while senior defensemen Michael Suda and Tim Rego and Shane rounded out the group.
“It's always an emotional night, but there's just a little added touch of how special it was, especially with all the alums around the circle and everything like that,” Mack said. “[It] was just an awesome night.”
The remaining four seniors: forwards Ondrej Psenicka, Kyler Kovich and Jack O’Leary, alongside defenseman Hank Kempf, cracked the starting lineup the night prior against Clarkson on Friday night.
All 10 took their well-deserved farewell laps after the final buzzer had sounded, and Schafer was honored after the game with speeches from athletics director Nicki Moore as well as ECAC commissioner Doug Christiansen.
After a slower start on Friday night, the Red made sure not to begin flat-footed once again.
Cornell rattled off the game's first shots and threw boatloads of pucks at St. Lawrence goaltender Mason Kucenski who — despite letting two shots squeak by — had a strong opening period.
Amped by a roaring Lynah Rink capacity crowd celebrating the seniors and Schafer, it was only fitting that a senior got the Red on the board first. After a spin-o-rama pass by freshman forward Charlie Major from behind the net, O’Leary backhanded the puck past Kucenski to send the Lynah Faithful into a fit of roars.
“I think one of [Schafer’s] messages was that those alums would just give anything to be on the ice at Lynah for one more game,” Mack said. “So I think everyone kind of understood that. And, you know, we had everyone going tonight.”
With the crowd on its feet waving the white towels left on each seat, public address announcer Arthur Mintz ’71 didn’t have a chance to finish the announcement of O’Leary’s goal before the next one beat Kucenski.
29 seconds after O’Leary potted the first score, junior forward Dalton Bancroft roofed a shot over the St. Lawrence netminder to double the Red’s lead. Bancroft’s 11th tally on the season prompted the Saints to take a timeout.
Both goals were scored after even strength despite the two power plays Cornell earned in the opening period. Both came in the final 4:45, and both were cross-checking calls. The Red came close to making it a three-goal lead when sophomore defenseman Ben Robertson wired a shot that ricocheted off the mask of Kucenski in the final minute of the period.
St. Lawrence’s undisciplined ways persisted in the second period as the Saints were penalized twice more in the first eight minutes. The second of the two came on Cayden Casey, who had already sat for two minutes in the first, after making head contact with a Cornell skater. Casey was issued a misconduct, awarding the Red a precious five minutes of power play time.
Despite some strong passing plays along the perimeter, Cornell’s reluctance to shoot kept it a 2-0 game with the St. Lawrence bench hollering as play returned to even strength.
But less than a minute after the major penalty’s expiration, the third goal would finally come, off the stick of yet another senior. Bancroft fired a hard one-timer that Kucenski couldn’t control, and Mack came barrelling in to poke it past the goal line.
“Even though [we didn’t score on] the five minute major, we came right back out, and to score the power play goal was awesome,” Schafer said. “I think the power play is turning the corner.”
Inevitably frustrated, the Saints took yet another penalty just 44 seconds after Mack’s tally, this time a holding call on Jan Olenginski. The fifth time was the charm for the Red, as Bancroft collected his second of the night on a one-timer that deflected off a Saint skater past Kucenski with just over five minutes left in the period.
Cornell added another score late in the game, as Kempf fired a shot that trickled through Kucenski. Shane made a pair of strong saves in the final few minutes of the third period to preserve the shutout.
And before the final buzzer could sound, Bancroft completed the hattrick. Rayhill was credited with an assist on the goal that made it 6-0, the first point of his collegiate career.
“Jimmy Rayhill really represents [Cornell hockey],” Schafer said. “I said to [the team]: ‘Are you willing to really commit yourself to everything without knowing the end result?’ And I don't think a lot of people will. I thought our guys did a great job of doing that, of being committed.”
Each senior was honored after the game, partaking in the farewell lap and — per tradition — the jump into the boards in front of the Lynah Faithful. Schafer also addressed the crowd after the ceremony, and skated a farewell lap with his grandson in his arms, saluting the crowd that stayed almost an hour after the game’s end.
“I was skating around with my grandson, just realizing one of the reasons why I am happy to retire is to spend more time with family and [my grandson’s] future and everything else,” Schafer said. “[I have] gratitude for the alumni that were back, gratitude for our team, the fans, our administration. … I couldn't ask for anything better.”
Though all the celebrations were triumphant, Cornell is not done yet. The final regular season weekend will take place next weekend in the Capital District, as the Red takes on Union and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
And with the win tonight, Cornell has clinched a home playoff game. The Red can finish no worse than the No. 7 seed, meaning it would host a first-round playoff game. Cornell is still in contention to finish in the top-four, the cutoff for a first-round bye.
Puck drop for next weekend’s games is slated for 7 p.m. both nights. All action will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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.
