No. 16 Cornell fell behind on two goals 74 seconds apart and lost its ECAC Hockey opener 4-1 to No. 6 Quinnipiac on Friday night at Lynah Rink. Chris Pelosi scored a hat trick for the Bobcats.
The Big Red dropped to 1-2-0 overall and 0-1-0 in the league, while Quinnipiac improved to 6-2-0 and 1-0-0, according to Cornell’s game recap. Caton Ryan scored Cornell’s lone goal, and Mathis Rousseau made 23 saves.
Quinnipiac strikes twice in the first period
Pelosi opened the scoring midway through the first period on a 2-on-1 after a Cornell defender lost his footing. Dylan Edwards followed with the eventual winning goal, taking a stretch pass tipped ahead by Gabriel Frasca at center ice and beating Rousseau with a backhand on a breakaway.
Cornell coach Casey Jones said a mental mistake contributed to the early deficit: The Big Red allowed Quinnipiac to leave its zone in a way Cornell’s staff had identified during its scouting preparation.
“It’s a good hockey team,” Jones said. “I just thought they were better than us tonight.”
Senior captain Ryan Walsh said Cornell started slowly and needed a better opening. He later had a short-handed breakaway stopped by Christian Kirsch as the Big Red pushed back in the second period.
Cornell generated 11 shot attempts in the final 2 1/2 minutes of the second, but only three reached Kirsch. Senior defenseman George Fegaras hit the post.
“We just started finally moving pucks,” Jones said. “All of a sudden, hesitation was gone from our game.”
Walsh said Cornell began taking over once it played its heavier style. “We need to figure out a way to play 60 minutes of that, and not 50,” he said.
Ryan cuts the deficit before Pelosi finishes his hat trick
Ryan brought Cornell within 2-1 early in the third period with his second goal of the season. After Quinnipiac won a faceoff, Walsh poked the puck free and chipped it toward the corner. Ryan drew Kirsch out of position and lifted the puck into the top of the net.
Pelosi restored the two-goal lead nearly 3 1/2 minutes later. He began the rush from below his own goal line and finished a cross-slot pass from Ethan Wyttenbach, last season’s Division I points leader.
Cornell had another opportunity when Elliott Groenewold received a five-minute major for hitting from behind following a Big Red challenge with fewer than three minutes remaining. Rousseau went to the bench for a 6-on-4 advantage, but Pelosi scored a short-handed empty-net goal with 1:30 left.
It was the first hat trick by a visiting player at Lynah Rink since Union’s Brandon Buhr scored three times Feb. 8, 2025. Kirsch finished with 19 saves as Quinnipiac outshot Cornell 27-20.
The Big Red went 0-for-4 on the power play but killed both Quinnipiac opportunities, keeping its penalty kill perfect this season. Cornell has killed 10 straight opposing power plays dating to last season’s March 20 ECAC Hockey semifinal against Princeton. Walsh credited penalty kill coach Chris Brown and said the unit also aims to build momentum.
In a matchup of Division I’s top two faceoff teams, Quinnipiac held a 37-35 edge at the dots. The Bobcats took six penalties for 15 minutes; Cornell had four for eight minutes.
Cornell hosts Princeton on Saturday
The defeat was Cornell’s first in a league opener since a 3-2 loss at Harvard on Nov. 5, 2021, and its first home loss in an ECAC Hockey opener since Princeton won 3-2 on Nov. 2, 2007.
Quinnipiac has won three straight at Lynah Rink, the last two by 4-1 scores. That is its longest winning streak in Ithaca since five straight victories from 2013 to 2016. Cornell has lost consecutive home games for the first time since February 2025.
The Big Red concludes its season-opening four-game homestand against Princeton at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, at Lynah Rink. ESPN+ will carry the game.
Princeton enters 2-1-0 overall and 0-1-0 in ECAC Hockey after losing 5-2 at Colgate on Friday. The Raiders scored three unanswered goals over the second and third periods; Malcolm Green and Shaan Kingwell scored Princeton’s goals on the power play.
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