This story has been updated.
POTSDAM, N.Y. — Less than five minutes into the game, No. 17 men’s hockey was celebrating an early goal to take a lead on Clarkson’s home ice
Things can change, though, and quickly.
That goal was scrubbed off the board for goaltender interference, and the Red would never quite find the response it needed. Three Clarkson goals in a 1:53 span in the third period, along with undisciplined play by Cornell, were the difference as the Golden Knights rolled over Cornell, 4-1, at Cheel Arena.
“We haven't looked young a lot this year,” said head coach Casey Jones ’90. “We looked young tonight.”
Cornell entered the weekend averaging the fewest penalty minutes per game in the nation with 6.4. It tripled that on Friday.
The Red (6-4-0, 5-2-0 ECAC) took nine minor penalties in the game, and although Clarkson (6-11-0, 2-5-0 ECAC) would not score on any of the ensuing advantages, the 18 minutes Cornell spent away from even strength stunted any semblance of a comeback.
“I thought we didn't handle any adversity tonight. I thought we took bad penalties,” Jones said. “I thought as the game wore on, [Clarkson] won the one-on-one battles. … We took multiple bad penalties. We got what we deserved tonight.”
Freshman goaltender Alexis Cournoyer made 25 saves in what became his second-consecutive loss, while Clarkson’s goaltender Shane Soderwall — a Division III junior transfer — dazzled with 32 saves on 33 Cornell shots.
Sophomore defenseman Michael Fisher was the victim of the successful Clarkson coaches challenge — his point shot beat the Clarkson goaltender but was ultimately wiped due to goaltender interference.
The call gave Clarkson some momentum, and after sophomore defenseman Luke Ashton turned the puck over on a stretch pass, the Golden Knights came racing back and Jace Letourneau wristed the puck past Cournoyer. The goal also marked Clarkson’s first shot on net.
The Red’s game-tying goal — and only tally on the scoreboard on Friday — came just over eight minutes into the period and on the power play. A faceoff win by junior forward Jonathan Castagna, a handful of shots and rebounds led him to pot the game-tying goal, sailing the puck over a flailing Clarkson netminder.
From there, most of the action was seen in the penalty box. Eight minor penalties were whistled in the first, including four roughing minors — two by each team — coming with just one second left in the opening frame.
“It bothered us,” Jones said about the influx of penalties, “but we didn’t handle it very well. We just weren’t our best tonight.”
Though the second period would not see either team light the lamp, penalty-ridden play continued, namely by the Red. Cornell was tasked with three penalty kills in the middle frame alone, the third of which would bleed into the third period.
“The penalties we took weren’t good,” Jones said. “A slashing penalty right after we’re on a power play, a slashing penalty in the offensive zone below the goal line. Needless penalties. Just simple slashes and elbow retaliation. Young guys took a couple bad penalties that put us in a bad spot.”
Both goaltenders stood tall in the second, with Soderwall making 14 saves while Cournoyer tallied eight. Some of Soderwall’s best work came with around five minutes to go in the middle period, as the junior netminder made seven saves in less than three minutes.
In the third period, the Golden Knights got to work. Clarkson came up snakebitten once again on the power play, but with momentum on its side, more and more shots reached Cournoyer.
Clarkson ultimately regained the lead 6:24 into the third period, when a feed from behind the net found Remi Gelinas, who fired it far side past Cournoyer.
That’s when the floodgates opened.
“We're in a game in the third, and it got away from us pretty quickly.” Jones said. “It was a little bit [because of] our emotional, mental mindset there. … We got rattled a bit. And it snowballed pretty quick on us.”
Just 17 seconds after making it 2-1, a snipe by Owen Van Steensel over the left shoulder of Cournoyer made it 3-1. After playing the puck in the corner and returning to his crease, Cournoyer had little time to react to a perfectly placed shot.
Then, 1:36 later, it was 4-1. After a turnover, a lackluster recovery by Cornell awarded Clarkson a two-on-one opportunity, and a spinning feed found Shawn O’Donnell, one-timing the puck past Cournoyer to cushion the lead.
Though it was tasked with its largest deficit of the season, Cornell had no answer to the Golden Knights’ smothering defense. It was not until the 15:00 mark — long after Clarkson’s three third–period goals — that Cornell was able to muster consecutive shots on net.
In all, Soderwall had 11 pucks reach him in the final frame, but nine of those would come in the final five minutes, as Cornell desperately searched for five-on-five offense.
“All of a sudden we got some urgency,” Jones said. “We needed it a lot earlier than that.”
Time would run out on the Red, solidifying its worst loss of the season to date, and just the second conference win for Clarkson.
“It came down to the fact that we just didn't sustain our identity, didn't sustain our composure,” Jones said. “We got rattled. They started grabbing us after every whistle, they got under our skin and we were the team that lost composure.”
Cornell will look to salvage a split when it takes on St. Lawrence on Saturday night at Appleton Arena in Canton, New York. The puck will drop at 7 p.m. and all action will stream live on ESPN+.
“I thought they had more resolve tonight. They stuck to their game plan better than we did,” Jones said. “It’s gonna have to be a lesson learned. It’s an important game for us tomorrow night.
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.
