Two-point nights from senior forwards Kyler Kovich (two assists) and Kyle Penney (goal and assist) and freshman Charlie Major (two assists) spearheaded the No. 6-seeded Cornell men’s hockey team (15-10-6) to a 4-1 victory over No. 3-seeded Colgate (18-14-3) at the Class of 1965 Arena on Friday night in the first game of a best-of-three quarterfinal series of the 2025 ECAC Hockey Championship.
Joining Penney in the scoring column were senior forwards Jack O’Leary and Sullivan Mack and sophomore forward Jonathan Castagna. Senior goaltender Ian Shane stopped 21 of 22 shots he faced between the pipes for the Big Red.
Alex DiPaolo tallied Colgate’s lone goal of the night for Colgate, netting a late power-play goal in the second period. Andrew Takacs made 24 saves in the setback for the Raiders.
GAME NOTES
• Friday marked the 171st meeting between Cornell and Colgate as the Big Red increased its lead in the series to 91-63-17.
• Cornell now boasts a 6-2-1 record inside the Class of 1965 Arena and is 12-3-2 over its last 18 games played in Hamilton.
• With Friday’s win, Cornell improved to 10-3 all-time against Colgate in the ECAC Hockey Championship.
• Cornell improved to 61-21-3 (.735) all-time in the quarterfinals of the ECAC Hockey Championship and has won its last five games in the round. The five-game win streak in the quarterfinals is the program’s longest win streak within the playoff round since collecting five straight wins between March 14, 2009, and March 11, 2011.
LONGEST WIN STREAKS IN ECAC QUARTERFINALS
Cornell Program History
• 12 games, March 8, 1966 – March 8, 1977
• 6 games, March 6, 1979 – March 7, 1986
• 5 games, March 2, 1990 – March 7, 1992
• 5 games, March 14, 2009 – March 11, 2011
• 5 games, March 10, 2023 – Present
• With his assist on Penney’s first-period goal, Major upped his point streak to three games, marking his longest stretch of games with a point this season. He previously had points in consecutive games on two occasions. Major has posted assists in back-to-back games for the third time this season and is his first time notching assists in consecutive games since Feb. 14 (at Brown) and Feb. 15 (at Yale).
• Having the secondary assist on Penney’s first-period goal, senior defenseman Michael Suda has assists in his last three games, marking the longest point and assist streaks of his collegiate career.
• Stanley’s secondary assist on O’Leary’s goal upped his point streak to three games, matching his longest span of games with a point in his collegiate career. Stanley had points in three straight games between Jan. 13-20, 2024, all coming from assists.
• Penney recorded his second multi-point game of the season, his first since scoring twice at Dartmouth on Nov. 15. His assist on Castagna’s third-period goal was his first in 19 games (March 30, 2024, vs. Denver).
• After making 21 saves, Shane increased his career total to 2,198, trailing David McKee by 10 stops for seventh all-time in Cornell program history. Shane is also 27 saves away from tying Brian Hayward for sixth and 30 saves shy of matching Corrie D’Alessio for fifth place.
GOALTENDERS WITH 2,000 SAVES
Cornell Program History
1. Andy Iles (2010-14) – 2,988 saves
2. Ben Scrivens (2006-10) – 2,872 saves
3. Jason Elliott (1994-98) – 2,462 saves
4. Mitch Gillam (2013-17) – 2,403 saves
5. Corrie D’Alessio (1987-91) – 2,228 saves
6. Brian Hayward (1978-82) – 2,225 saves
7. David McKee (2003-06) – 2,208 saves
8. Ian Shane (2021-Present) – 2,198 saves
9. Darren Eliot (1979-83) – 2,143 saves
10. Matt Underhill (1998-02) – 2,052 saves
UP NEXT
Cornell and Colgate will return to the ice at the Class of 1965 Arena on Saturday night as the Big Red seeks to punch its ticket to Lake Placid for a third consecutive season.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+ and carried over the airwaves on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM, cortacatoday.com).
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].