The Cornell men’s hockey team clinched the outright Ivy League title on Friday with a 4-0 victory against Yale at Ingalls Rink. It’s the Big Red’s third consecutive title in the Ancient Eight and 20th in program history.
The Big Red’s first-period proficiency was on display yet again, with three of Cornell’s goals coming in the first 14 minutes of the game. Junior forward Cam Donaldson opened the scoring just 2:40 in, then junior forward Kyle Betts doubled the lead a little more than two minutes later.
A major turning point in the game came at the 11:31 of the first period when Yale had an apparent power-play goal by Jack St. Ivany overturned upon video review by the officials. Cornell coaches successfully challenged that Yale’s original entry into the offensive zone on the play was offsides.
Less than two minutes later, the Big Red turned an apparent skinny 2-1 lead with lots of hockey left into a dominating 3-0 advantage. A dogged forecheck by freshman Matt Stienburg led to sophomore defenseman Joe Leahy’s second goal of the year. The goal was Cornell’s 17th in the first period of its six February games to date – more than double any other team in the country.
The Cornell men's hockey team strikes early and often in a 4-0 win at Yale to lock up its third straight and 20th overall Ivy League title! #YellCornell (?: Ned Dykes/Cornell Athletics) pic.twitter.com/2NL8pxX2qS
— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) February 22, 2020
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