Cornell men’s hockey suffered its first home loss of the season Saturday night, falling 4-1 to seventh-ranked Quinnipiac before a crowd of 3,643 at Lynah Rink. The loss snapped the Big Red’s six-game winning streak and dropped Cornell to 12-5-0 overall and 7-3-0 in ECAC Hockey play.
After a tightly contested opening 40 minutes, Quinnipiac broke the game open with three goals in the third period. Luke Devlin scored Cornell’s lone goal late in regulation, while freshman goaltender Alexis Cournoyer finished with 23 saves.
The Bobcats struck first midway through the opening period when Andon Cerbone redirected a shot following an offensive-zone faceoff. Quinnipiac carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission after killing off a late Cornell power play. The second period remained scoreless as both teams traded chances, with Cornell holding a slim edge in shots but unable to solve Quinnipiac netminder Matej Marinov, who made 20 saves on the night.
Quinnipiac wasted little time extending its lead in the third. Ethan Wyttenbach scored just over two minutes into the frame to make it 2-0, and Elliott Groenewold capitalized on a turnover minutes later to push the margin to three. Tyler Borgula added a power-play goal midway through the period to put the game out of reach.
Devlin spoiled the shutout with 2:33 remaining, finishing a loose puck in front after a chance from along the goal line. Cornell went 0-for-2 on the power play, while Quinnipiac converted once in four opportunities.
Cornell continues its homestand next weekend, hosting Dartmouth and Harvard at Lynah Rink. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].