Ryan Walsh scored Cornell's first two goals, and Caton Ryan broke a tie with 9.5 seconds left in the second period as the 15th-ranked Big Red beat Sacred Heart 5-2 Friday in their men's hockey season opener at Lynah Rink.
Walsh and Ryan each finished with three points. Cornell won its seventh consecutive home opener and scored five goals in a season opener for the first time since 2017, according to the team's recap.
Walsh gives Cornell a two-goal lead
Cornell dominated the first period, outshooting Sacred Heart 14-3 and holding a 40-8 advantage in shot attempts. The Big Red recorded 33 consecutive attempts during one stretch of more than 11 minutes.
Walsh opened the scoring at 9:14 after winning an offensive-zone faceoff. Michael Fisher's shot caromed off the end boards and Jake Kraft's stick before Walsh put the puck past Nils Wallstrom.
The senior captain scored again 36 seconds into the second period, recovering his own pass off a bounce in the low slot and shooting over Wallstrom's glove. Ryan and George Fegaras assisted.
Sacred Heart answered with a sustained push, recording 15 consecutive shot attempts during the middle of the period. Jake Bongo scored at 8:50, and Landen Gunderson tied the game at 12:54.
Ryan restored Cornell's lead just before intermission, one-timing Walsh's pass from below the goal line. Kraft picked up his second assist.
Two newcomers score in the third
Ivan Zadvernyuk, a junior transfer from Brown, made it 4-2 with a power-play goal 2:27 into the third period. Ryan and Xavier Veilleux assisted.
Freshman defenseman Ryland Randle added his first Cornell goal at 12:03, finishing a 2-on-1 with Brad Gardiner. Aiden Long had the second assist.
Cornell said Randle's goal extended its streak of a freshman scoring in the season opener to nine seasons. Randle and Zadvernyuk became the first pair to score their first Big Red goals in a season opener since Paul Varteressian and Greg Hornby in 2001.
Sophomore Mathis Rousseau made 17 saves in his Cornell debut. The Big Red outshot Sacred Heart 36-19, and Wallstrom finished with 31 saves. Cornell was 1-for-5 on the power play and killed Sacred Heart's only opportunity.
Big Red control the faceoff circle
Cornell won 51 of 74 faceoffs, its most faceoff wins in a game since 2019. Walsh was 20-for-28, his third career game with at least 20 wins.
Gardiner went 13-for-17 in his collegiate debut. Cornell said he was its first player since at least the 2004-05 season to win 10 or more faceoffs in his first career game.
Walsh became Cornell's first player with two goals in a season opener since Jeff Malott in 2017. Walsh and Ryan were the program's first teammates with three-point games in an opener since Chris Abbott and Jon Gleed in 2004.
Cornell, 1-0-0, and Sacred Heart, 3-4-0, finish the series Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. at Lynah Rink. The game will be available domestically on ESPN+ and internationally on IvyLeague.TV.
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