Cornell men’s hockey secured a 5-2 victory over Colgate on Friday night at the Class of 1965 Arena, extending its win streak to five and locking up hosting rights for a first-round ECAC Hockey playoff game.
Sophomore forward Charlie Major led the Big Red with two goals, while freshman defenseman Xavier Veilleux recorded a season-high three assists. Junior forward Jonathan Castagna continued his strong stretch with a multi-point performance, helping Cornell improve to 17-5-0 overall and 12-3-0 in conference play.
Colgate opened the scoring midway through the first period, but Cornell responded quickly to even the game and then took a 2-1 lead late in the period on a goal by Aiden Long. Cornell extended the advantage during the second period with a power-play tally from Major, building a two-goal cushion heading into the final frame.
The Raiders cut the deficit to one early in the third period, but Major scored his second goal on an odd-man rush in the closing minutes to restore the two-goal lead. Cornell added an empty-net goal to seal the win.
Goaltender Alexis Cournoyer stopped 30 shots to earn his 14th victory of the season, continuing a strong debut campaign in net. Andrew Takacs made 26 saves for Colgate.
The victory marked Cornell’s 11th win in its last 12 games and its third consecutive win over Colgate in the rivalry series. The Big Red also improved to 14-0-0 this season when scoring at least three goals.
Cornell returns to action Saturday, February 7, hosting Colgate at Lynah Rink with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.
