Senior Max Andreev scored two power-play goals, and the Cornell men’s hockey team netted the game’s final four goals, aiding the Big Red to a 5-1 victory over St. Lawrence in a physical ECAC Hockey contest at Appleton Arena on Friday night.
Joining Andreev in the scoring column were freshman Nick DeSantis, sophomore Kyler Kovich, and senior Sam Malinski.
DeSantis’ marker was the first of his collegiate career.
Sophomore goaltender Ian Shane made 21 saves to guide Cornell (2-3-0, 2-1-0 ECAC) to its second conference victory of the season.
Tomáš Mazura scored the lone goal for St. Lawrence (5-5-0, 2-1-0 ECAC), who saw its four-game home win streak come to an end. Emil Zetterquist stopped 19 shots in the defeat for the Skating Saints.
Andreev scored the first of his two power-play goals on the night just past the halfway point of the first period. Ben Berard and Gabriel Seger utilized quick passes to set up Andreev’s one-time shot on the doorstep of the goal.
St. Lawrence tied the game late in the first after the Saints capitalized on a loose puck close to Cornell’s goal. Reilly Moran quickly approached the puck and sent a pass in front of the net to Mazura, where he one-timed his shot past Shane, who was attempting to regain his position in the crease.
Just 37 seconds after the Saints tied the game up, DeSantis potted his first collegiate tally, which proved to be the first of Cornell’s four unanswered goals. DeSantis pounced on a rebound off a slap shot by Malinski from the right point. Ondrej Psenicka set up the initial shot attempt and was credited with the secondary helper.
Kovich increased Cornell’s lead, 3-1, halfway through the second period as his shot hit Zetterquist in the chest before getting behind him and finding the back of the net. Travis Mitchell and Sebastian Dirven logged assists on the goal.
For the second time on the night, Berard, Seger, and Andreev combined to score a power-play goal, increasing the Big Red’s lead to 4-1 in the second.
Following a Cornell penalty, St. Lawrence pulled its goaltender and Malinski was able to tack on a short-handed empty-net goal with 6:01 left to give the Big Red a 5-1 lead.
Cornell successfully killed all four of St. Lawrence’s power plays, increasing the Big Red’s streak to 10 consecutive successful penalty kills. Dating back to the series finale at Minnesota Duluth on Oct. 29, Cornell has killed 13 of its last 14 short-handed attempts.
Game Notes
• Friday was the 122nd all-time meeting between the pair of Empire State programs. Cornell increased its series lead to 68-46-9 and has won 11 of the previous 13 meetings. The Big Red also increased its win streak at Appleton Arena to six with the victory.
• Cornell has recorded at least three goals in nine of its last 11 games against St. Lawrence and has four-plus goals in seven of those contests.
• The Big Red continued its streak of allowing two goals or less to St. Lawrence for a 13th consecutive game. In that span, Cornell has averaged 1.23 goals allowed to the Saints, with eight of the 13 contests featuring Cornell giving up one goal or less to its Empire State foe.
• With its five-goal output, Cornell improved to 151-4-3 all-time under Mike Schafer ’86 when the Big Red scores at least five times in a game. Cornell has won its last 93 games when posting five-plus goals and is 123-0-1 in the last 124 instances.
• Andreev scored both of his goals on the power play, becoming the first Big Red player to do so since Ben Berard in a 2-1 victory over Quinnipiac on Jan. 22, 2022.
• Berard’s two assists matched his career high, which was previously established against St. Lawrence, also at Appleton Arena, on Nov. 16, 2019.
• Kovich recorded his first goal since scoring at North Dakota last season on Jan. 8, 2022, snapping his 10-game goalless streak.
• St. Lawrence posted more shot attempts than Cornell, 56-48, despite the Big Red having the advantage in shots on goal, 24-22.
• Cornell blocked 14 shots on the night compared to St. Lawrence’s 11. Hank Kempf blocked a team-high three shots, while Mitchell, Tim Rego, Andreev, and Malinski had two blocks apiece.
Looking Ahead
Cornell concludes its season-opening, six-game road trip on Saturday when the Big Red squares off against Clarkson in Potsdam, N.Y. Faceoff between Cornell and the Golden Knights at Cheel Arena is slated for 7 p.m. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+. Fans can also listen to Jason Weinstein’s call on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM).
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].