This story has been updated.
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — “We didn’t get to do this last time,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86, Whitelaw Cup in hand, gesturing associate head coach Casey Jones ’90 closer.
Minutes before, Cornell clinched its second consecutive ECAC tournament championship — the final one for Schafer in his final season before retirement, and the 14th in program history. Schafer has helped the Red secure seven of those.
“Started [coaching] 30 years ago [at] 31 years old. Won my first two, and I win my last two,” Schafer said.
That “last time” was in 2019, when Jones coached Clarkson to a Whitelaw Cup win over Cornell on the same stage. Jones and Schafer were on opposite benches.
On Saturday, they got to pose with the Whitelaw Cup together.
“He beat me last time,” Schafer said. “So it's nice to celebrate with each other.”
Men’s hockey has gone back-to-back — the Red defeated Clarkson, 3-1, in the ECAC title game on Saturday. It is the Red’s second-straight title after last year’s win against St. Lawrence, making them the first ECAC team to go back-to-back since Union did it in 2014.
Senior forward Ondrej Psenicka had three points, while junior forward Nick DeSantis posted a two-point game. Senior goaltender Ian Shane stole the show, winning ECAC Tournament Most Valuable Player with his 30 saves, many of them highlight-reel stops down the stretch to clinch the title.
“He’s been a rock,” Schafer said.
“I trusted that my guys were gonna do their job in the offensive zone and that just kind of [gives] me confidence and [lets me] kind of calm down a little bit on my end,” Shane, who stopped seven Clarkson shots in the third period.
For Schafer, his 30 years of coaching in the ECAC have culminated in one final Whitelaw Cup.
“I'm just really grateful for the sport of hockey, what it's given to myself, my family here. We always ask the question, ‘what's the thing you're going to miss the most?’” Schafer said. “Being in the locker room, talking to guys, watching them overcome their individual adversity over the last year and a half. It doesn’t get any better than that as a coach.”
Clarkson, boasting the ECAC Coach of the Year, Goaltender of the Year and Player of the Year in J.F. Houle, Ethan Langenegger and Ayrton Martino, respectively, could not overcome an early first-period jolt by Cornell.
“When I was an assistant coach [at Clarkson], and when I played in the 90s, [Cornell] played the same way,” said Clarkson head coach J.F. Houle. “They're true to their identity.”
Just a couple of weeks earlier, Langenegger took the ECAC Goaltender of the Year crown from the 2024 winner at the other end of the ice, Shane. The start for Langenegger was one that few expected — allowing goals on two of the first three shots he faced.
Senior forward Ondrej Psenicka finished off what was a highlight-reel passing play for Cornell just 5:11 into the championship game. Junior forward Nick DeSantis tossed a pass to sophomore forward Jonathan Castagna, who dished a feed from behind the net right to Psenicka, roofing the puck past Langenegger for his eighth goal of the season and a 1-0 Cornell lead on just its second shot.
Two minutes later, that lead was doubled. Senior forward Kyler Kovich forced a turnover and emerged on a two-on-one rush — reminiscent of the one he had scored on shorthanded in the late stages of Friday night’s overtime thriller. Kovich shot that puck on Friday but opted to pass it on Saturday, cueing up DeSantis for a perfect one-timer that sailed past Langenegger.
“I knew I had to be better [than Friday night] for the team, and just to come out hot like that at the start was huge,” said DeSantis, who had an assist in addition to his goal.
A second-period kill for Clarkson seemed to ignite something from within, as the Golden Knights took over the latter half of the period. The onslaught ultimately culminated in the halving of Cornell’s lead. Off a Shane rebound, Erik Bargholtz stuffed one home to give Clarkson its long-awaited score with 6:36 left in the period.
From there, Cornell was playing to survive. The Red was pinned deep in its offensive zone, scrambling to escape the period with a lead. Cornell took a penalty with 1:40 left, and Clarkson went on to ring the post for a second time, but Cornell ultimately escaped with a slim 2-1 lead heading into the final frame.
Clarkson out-attempted the Red 25-16 in the second period. In the game, it was a 31-24 advantage in shots on goal for Clarkson, a stark contrast from Clarkson’s 3-1 win over the Red on Feb. 21, where the Golden Knights mustered just 11 shots on goal all night.
“[After that game] I was so sick and tired of analytics and everything else, and we got to work,” Schafer said. The Red is 7-1 since that game. “Practices were long, they were hard, they were tough, and these guys responded. The players just stiffened up and became even more resilient.”
The Red killed off the final 20 seconds on Stanley’s penalty, then got to work in the third. Langenegger made a pair of impressive glove saves on freshman forward Charlie Major and sophomore defenseman George Fegaras, respectively, before Clarkson took a cross checking penalty just over five minutes into the period.
But another successful Golden Knight kill kept it a one-goal game. The player who took over the game was Shane, making multiple stops under high pressure to preserve the fragile lead. He robbed Martino, a lethal goal scorer, around the midway point of the period, and continued to come up big as the Golden Knights continued to fire away.
“I’m very grateful to these guys, especially for [Shane] to make that save,” Schafer said. “I'm really grateful that he was able to get across and make that save, to keep it 2-1.”
But it wouldn’t be enough. Clarkson pulled Langenegger with 2:39 left, but sophomore forward Ryan Walsh would find the empty net and ice the game — the same 3-1 result the Red delivered to St. Lawrence in last year’s final.
“I just have a lot of gratitude, and that's all I've been thinking about,” Schafer said.
With the win, Cornell has punched its ticket to the NCAA tournament. It will look to take its next step to the Frozen Four, a place Schafer has been just once as a coach.
“I think there's always a stepping stone to get to the Frozen Four. You have to suffer a little bit of loss,” Schafer said. “You get close to where we were last year against Denver, and it's even more painful, but it's even more experience. And then there's that next step.”
Cornell, perhaps the hottest team in the country, will await its fate for the national tournament. The NCAA tournament selection show will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday and will deal Cornell its opponent for next weekend’s first round.
“I'm very grateful for this season,” Schafer said. “And it's not over.”
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.
