Offense Comes Alive as Men’s Hockey Downs Brown 6-1

This story has been updated.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Before men’s hockey took the ice on Friday, head coach Mike Schafer ’86 echoed the importance of defense.

“We're going to win 1-0, 2-1, and just take a more of a defensive mindset, because they're getting frustrated with the fact that they're not scoring,” Schafer said before the game. “You get in a funk like this, it happens, but the focus has got to be be physical, be disciplined, be good defensively [and] be patient.”

The one goal on Brown’s side of the scoreboard was expected, as the team remained attuned to its defensive details all week.

What was perhaps unexpected was the number on the other side of the scoreboard.

Cornell’s offensive floodgates broke open on Friday night, as the Red upended Brown, 6-1, marking the largest margin of victory for Cornell this season and a much-needed offensive outburst.

“It’s nice to have four lines of forwards. … we were able to play more physical, we were able to play better defensively, keep guys fresher for the whole game,” Schafer said. “Our forecheck was good — it’s just a lot of little things.”

The Red has faced its fair share of offensive woes as of late, but things seemed to click seamlessly on Friday. Four different skaters found the back of the net, with sophomore forward Ryan Walsh potting two goals. Freshman forward Charlie Major made his return to the lineup known, notching two points, while senior forwards Sullivan Mack and Jack O’Leary and junior forward Dalton Bancroft all posted multi-point nights.

“We’ve had some struggles with scoring over the past couple games, so to finally have an outburst like this is good,” Walsh said. “Obviously, we got three points, but it’s also good for morale — a lot of guys [are] happy tonight.”

For the majority of the first period, play was largely concentrated in the neutral zone, and it wasn’t until around seven minutes left in the frame that the teams began to pick up the pace.

Cornell took the momentum late, ultimately notching the game’s first goal. It was Major that lit the lamp in his first game back from an injury that forced him to miss eight games. Major’s second goal of the season beat Brown goaltender Lawton Zacher glove side, sending Cornell to the first intermission ahead 1-0.

“It went by quick,” Major said about the time spent away from the ice. “[It’s nice] when you have some time to think about the game and watch. … It helps you learn a lot, and coming back is nice.”

Though it took the Red 16 minutes to get going in the first period, it didn’t waste much time to get on the board in the second.

Walsh scored just 25 seconds into the middle frame, roofing a beautiful shot over the shoulder of Zacher to double the Red’s lead. The goal marks Walsh’s 10th of the season, the most of any Cornell skater.

The Red were tasked with another penalty kill shortly after, as senior forward Ondrej Psenicka was sent to the box once again for holding, but the Red posted yet another perfect night on the kill, fending off two Brown power plays.

The kill came not without its scares, however, as senior goaltender Ian Shane was called upon for a handful of high-quality shots that yielded even better saves. The senior netminder was nearly impenetrable on Friday night, finishing with 17 saves on 18 shots  for a .944 save percentage.

“I thought we were outstanding [defensively],” Schafer said. “I thought we were strong in our own zone. … We did a good job of shutting [Brown’s top line] down and keeping them off the scoreboard.”

As time waned down on the period, Cornell looked desperate to widen its lead.

That it would do –– two goals in a 19-second span capped off a dominant middle frame for the Red. Walsh and senior forward Kyle Penney got on the board, giving Cornell its largest lead since its 6-2 win over Princeton on Jan. 17.

Walsh’s second of the night was the result of a highlight-reel breakout play. Mack banked a pass off the boards to a striding Bancroft, who executed a flawless move to drag the puck to his backhand and dish it to Walsh, whose skate blade deflected the puck past Zacher.

“[Bancroft] made a great play,” Walsh said. “I was just driving to the net, and I started to get close to the net and I started stopping — kind of a lucky one, went off my skate, but they don’t ask how, they ask how many.”

Penney followed that up by finishing a hard drive to the net, collecting O’Leary’s pass and finding space through Zacher’s five-hole to make it a 4-0 Cornell lead.

A late Brown penalty capped off the onslaught of Cornell pressure, as 1:32 of power play time for the Red would bleed into the final frame.

Though Cornell wouldn’t find the back of the net on that man advantage, the Red kept its foot on the gas pedal and found a fifth goal. Senior defenseman Tim Rego deked through a sea of white sweaters and found himself all alone in front of Zacher, effortlessly tucking it past the right pad to give him his career-high fourth goal of the season.

Brown would eventually spoil Shane’s shutout bid when Nick Traggio sniped one to get his team on the board, but Psenicka immediately countered that with a goal of his own. The senior forward got on the board just 41 seconds after the Red surrendered a goal.

“We did all the stuff that’s not as fun in the [defensive] zone,” Major said. “It made us able to transition into the [offensive] zone and get chances.”

That sixth goal would be the last shot Zacher –– the Mike Richter Award semifinalist –– saw on Friday, as the sophomore concluded a tough night with 22 saves on 28 shots. Tyler Shea was sent in to finish the final 9:59, making three saves on three shots.

The Red will now set its focus on Yale, which will be celebrating its seniors against the Red on Saturday.

“We’ve got a lot to prove,” Schafer said.

Cornell will look to secure the six-point sweep as it takes on Yale on Saturday night in New Haven, Connecticut. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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