No. 16 Cornell begins its road schedule Friday at Brown before visiting Yale on Saturday, looking to build on its first ECAC Hockey victory of the season.
The Big Red enters the weekend 2-2-0 overall and 1-1-0 in conference play. Both games begin at 7 p.m., with Friday’s matchup at Meehan Auditorium in Providence, Rhode Island, and Saturday’s at Ingalls Rink in New Haven, Connecticut. ESPN+ will stream both games domestically, with international coverage on IvyLeague.TV, according to Cornell Athletics’ weekend preview.
Cornell takes familiar success on the road
Cornell has swept its past four regular-season trips to Brown and Yale, outscoring the two opponents 40-11. The Big Red has won its past eight road games against the pair and is unbeaten in its past 17 meetings with them overall, going 15-0-2.
Road openers have been a tougher assignment. Cornell has lost four of its past five, including a 4-3 defeat at Dartmouth in 2024 and a 2-1 loss at UMass last season.
This trip follows four straight games at Lynah Rink. Cornell split its opening conference weekend, losing 4-1 to No. 6 Quinnipiac on Nov. 6 before beating Princeton 3-2 the following night.
Senior Jake Kraft scored twice against Princeton, including the winner with 8:54 remaining. Junior defenseman Michael Fisher added his first goal of the season, and sophomore goalie Mathis Rousseau made 17 saves, including 11 in the third period.
Rousseau has started all four games, posting a 2.53 goals-against average and an .884 save percentage. Cornell entered the season without any returning goaltending minutes from the previous year.
Brown seeks its first win as Zadvernyuk returns
Brown is 0-3-0 overall and in ECAC Hockey heading into its home opener. The Bears lost 2-1 at Yale, 4-1 at Harvard and 3-1 at Dartmouth, scoring once in each game.
Ben Poitras leads Brown with two points on a goal and an assist. The Bears have gone scoreless on 10 power-play opportunities, while Cornell has killed eight of nine penalties this season.
Brown has used two goaltenders. Eli Pulver has a .933 save percentage and a 2.52 goals-against average; Fred Halyk has an .857 save percentage and a 3.84 average.
Cornell leads the all-time series 91-44-8 and has won eight straight meetings, outscoring Brown 37-7 during that run. Last season, the Big Red won 4-1 in Ithaca and 4-2 in Providence.
The matchup also brings Cornell transfer Ivan Zadvernyuk back against his former team. Zadvernyuk recorded 11 goals and 21 assists in 62 games for Brown from 2024-26. Eighteen players on the current Bears roster were his teammates.
Yale brings an overtime win and productive power play
Yale enters the weekend 2-1-0 overall and in conference play. After opening with a win over Brown, the Bulldogs lost 3-2 at Dartmouth and beat Harvard 4-3 in overtime last weekend.
Kyle O’Leary and Ronan O’Donnell share the team scoring lead with four points apiece. O’Leary has three goals, while O’Donnell has three assists.
The Bulldogs have converted four of 12 power plays, a 33.3% rate, but have killed only 10 of 14 penalties. Jack Stark has started two games in goal, posting a 1.93 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage. Noah Pak has a 3.06 average and a .935 save percentage in one start.
Cornell is unbeaten in its past 13 games against Yale, going 11-0-2, and has won six straight at Ingalls Rink. The Big Red won both meetings 5-2 last season and leads the all-time series 96-63-10.
Walsh leads at the faceoff dot and nears milestones
Senior captain Ryan Walsh leads Division I with 17.25 faceoff wins per game, winning 69 of 114 draws for a 60.5% success rate. Freshman Brad Gardiner has won 36 of 60, or 60%.
Cornell’s 57% team faceoff rate ranks fourth nationally. Its 40.75 faceoff wins per game lead Division I.
Walsh, a Rochester native, has two goals and two assists this season and 90 career points. He needs 10 points to reach 100 and nine goals to reach 50. His career totals against this weekend’s opponents include six goals in six games against Brown and five goals in seven games against Yale.
Three Cornell representatives headed to Davos
Walsh was named Nov. 5 to the U.S. Collegiate Selects roster for the Spengler Cup, scheduled for Dec. 26-31 in Davos, Switzerland. He joins sophomore defenseman Xavier Veilleux, whose selection was announced Oct. 22. Cornell coach Casey Jones will serve as an assistant coach.
Walsh had a goal and an assist in three games at last year’s tournament, with both points coming in the championship game against host HC Davos.
“I’m really fortunate and honored to have the opportunity to go back again,” Walsh said in Cornell’s preview.
The Selects open against Frölunda HC on Dec. 26. The semifinals and final are scheduled for Dec. 30-31.
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