This story is a part of The Sun's 2025 NCAA Men's Hockey Tournament Supplement.
TOLEDO, O.H.. — No. 16 Men’s hockey is slated to face No. 1 Michigan State in the NCAA tournament regional semifinal at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
For the latest updates on the men’s hockey team, follow senior editor and men’s hockey beat reporter Jane McNally @janemcnally_.
The Numbers:
Records: Cornell (18-10-6, 10-8-4 ECAC) Michigan State (26-6-4, 15-5-4 Big 10).
Power play percentage: Cornell 14.3% (60th) Michigan State 24.5% (11th).
Penalty kill percentage: Cornell 83.8% (12th) Michigan State 82.6% (18th).
Faceoff win percentage: Cornell 53.9% (10th) Michigan State 51.3% (20th).
Goals scored per game on average: Cornell 3.1 (20th) Michigan State 3.5 (7th).
Goals against per game on average: Cornell 2.2 (9th) Michigan State 2.0 (4th).
Series history: In the brief history between the two teams, Cornell is 4-6-1 against the Spartans. The last series between the two teams took place in the 2019-2020 season, where Cornell swept the Spartans in East Lansing, Michigan.
Cornell’s last time out: Back-to-Back: Men’s Hockey Downs Clarkson to Secure Second-Straight ECAC Title in Schafer’s Final Season
Final score: Cornell 3, Clarkson 1.
Cornell won its second consecutive ECAC tournament championship with its 3-1 win over Clarkson in Lake Placid last Saturday. The Red scored two first-period goals and added an additional empty-netter to secure the program’s 14th Whitelaw Cup.
Senior forward Ondrej Psenicka scored the game-winning goal and had a three-point night. Senior goaltender Ian Shane continued his strong play as of late, stopping 30 shots en route to winning ECAC Tournament MVP.
Michigan State’s last time out: it took over a period and a half of extra hockey, but the Spartans downed Ohio State, 4-3, in the Big Ten tournament championship game. Michigan State led 3-1 more than halfway through the third period, but the Buckeyes scored twice in the final seven minutes to push the game into overtime.
It was Hobey Baker award finalist Isaac Howard that was the hero for the Spartans, beating Ohio State netminder Logan Terness on Michigan State’s 51st shot of the game. Howard had two goals in the title game, while Terness made a stunning 47 saves against the high-calibur Spartan offense.
Scouting the Spartans: The most lethal weapon on Michigan State’s roster is Howard, whose 51 points tie him for fourth in scoring nationally. The 2022 first-round draft pick (Tampa Bay Lightning) is coming off of a four-point performance in the Big 10 championship game. Howard has collected a plethora of awards, including Big 10 Player of the Year and First Team All-B1G, and is one of the ten finalists for the Hobey Baker award.
From there, though, the Spartans don’t have quite as much depth. The next leading scorer — Karsen Dorwart — has 21 fewer points than Howard. Michigan State has six players with over 20 points, each playing 34-36 games. Cornell has five players with over 20 points, with none having played more than 34 games.
Between the pipes, Michigan State boasts one of the country’s top goaltenders. Trey Augustine — drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft — is one of four finalists for the Mike Richter award, given to the best goaltender in college hockey. His .927 save percentage ranks 10th-best in the nation, and the netminder was lights-out in the 2025 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship back in January, winning a gold medal with the United States.
Cornell beats Michigan State if: … two things.
One, it must stay out of the penalty box. Cornell nearly let things get out of hand on Friday against Quinnipiac, taking four penalties in the second period and it took dramatic fashion to rid itself of the Bobcats. If the Red wants to advance to its third consecutive NCAA regional final, it cannot afford to lose another special teams battle. The most attainable solution to winning that battle is to stay disciplined.
Two, Shane must bring it. The best asset a team can have to make a deep playoff run is a good goaltender. Though Shane’s numbers might fare worse than Augustine’s, he was a crucial piece of Cornell’s run through the ECAC playoffs — Shane has a combined .957 save percentage in his last five games started, all of them being playoff games.
What They’re Saying in Ithaca: Head coach Mike Schafer ’86 on Michigan State: “They're No. 2 [in the tournament] for a reason, right? Howard and their goaltender [are two] of the better [players] in the country. So they have all the different pieces. … They've been consistent from the start of the year right through, and they haven't had many faces of adversity at all throughout the course of the year.”
Schafer on what Cornell needs to do to win: “We just need to play the same kind of hockey. You have to be above their forward, which we were against Quinnipiac and Clarkson, and you gotta be strong. I thought for the most part, in the game against Clarkson, we were disciplined. I didn't think so much against Quinnipiac, [and] their ability to draw calls is second to none in the country. So you have to make sure that you're not doing things to make yourself vulnerable.”
What they’re saying in East Lansing: Michigan State head coach Adam Nightingale about the matchup: “I think with Cornell, you look at the job Coach Schafer has done. He has been there a long time. This is his last year and the team has responded and finished strong. They’re well coached and defend really hard.”
How to follow along: Video on ESPN+ (subscription needed), radio in Ithaca on WHCU 97.7 FM/870 AM, on Twitter @DailySunSports.
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.
