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Three goals in the first period led No. 9 Cornell to a win over No. 6 North Dakota.

Posted on by Bobb
Three goals in the first period led No. 9 Cornell to a win over No. 6 North Dakota.

First period goals scored by the young forward Nick DeSantissophomore forward Tyler Catalanoand freshman defenseman Nicholas Wolfenberg proved to be enough for the No. 9 ranked Cornell men’s hockey team as it defeated No. 6 ranked North Dakota in front of a sellout crowd of 4,267 at Lynah Rink on Friday night.

Senior goalkeeper Ian Shane made 23 saves against the Big Reds in his season opener, earning his 50th career win and becoming the seventh Cornell goalie to accomplish the feat.

Dylan James scored the only score in the game for the visiting Fighting Hawks (3-3-0), who got 16 saves from Hobie Hoequist, who replaced starter TJ Semptimfelter after he allowed three goals on four throws for the first 12. :32 actions.

“We did some good and we did some bad,” said Mike Schafer ’86head coach of the Cornell men’s hockey team Jay R. Bloom ’77. “I thought we lost fitness midway through the game and didn’t complete our checks. If you give (North Dakota) time and space, they will play. Their defense on film is dynamic, so we need to do better in that area. We need to move the puck between the blue lines a lot better.”

DeSantis opened the scoring just 1:39 into the contest, beating Zemptimfelter to the left side of the ice.

North Dakota responded with an own goal two-plus minutes later, taking advantage of a Cornell turnover in the neutral zone on its offensive blue line. Sacha Boisvert pounced on the puck and set up James for his third goal of the season.

Less than two minutes later, Cornell retook the lead when Catalano redirected a shot from the sophomore guard’s left point. Ben Robertson. Fellow sophomore blueliner Hoyt Stanley earned a secondary assist.

Halfway through the first period, Wolfenberg hit a shot from the right point, dodging traffic, and found the splits for his first collegiate tally.

Both teams failed to get on the scoreboard in the second period as each side had 10 shots on goal, but Cornell held a 3-1 lead.

Even though North Dakota outscored Cornell 9-5 in the third period, senior forward Sullivan Mac scored Big Red’s fourth goal of the evening into an empty net with four seconds left.

GAME NOTES
• Friday marked the 11th all-time meeting between the Big Red and the Fighting Hawks since the first meeting between the two DATE programs at the 1967 NCAA Tournament in Syracuse, N.Y. Cornell led the series 6-5-0, at while also picking up a third straight win over North Dakota. He has won five of his last six games against the Fighting Hawks, dating back to the 2008-09 season.

• The three-goal win was Cornell’s biggest win over North Dakota State, surpassing its 3-1 win in the teams’ last meeting in Grand Forks on Jan. 8, 2022.

• Cornell earned its fifth straight home opener win, the second-longest streak in program history, coming in Mike Schafer ’86First five seasons under Big Red head coach (1995–99). Only the 16-year period between 1963–78 was longer, with Cornell outscoring its opponents by 98 goals (136–38).

LONGEST WINNING STREAK IN A HOME OPENING
History of the Cornell Program
• 16 seasons (1963–78)
• 5 seasons (1995–99)
• 5 seasons (2019 – present)

• Under Mike Schafer ’86Cornell has a record of 18-6-3 (.722) in home openers and 19-9-2 (.732) in season openers.

• The Reds improved to 55-5-5 over the last five seasons when leading after the first period and to 71-0-3 when leading in the third period. Over the same period, Cornell posted a 65–10 record when games were decided by multiple goals.

• Cornell improved its record to 14-3-1 over its last 18 games against opponents ranked in the top six in the USCHO.com poll. Over the past 13 games against top-six opponents, Cornell has allowed just 12 goals with a 10-3-0 record.

• Shane has compiled an 11-3-0 record in his last 14 meetings against opponents rated 6 or higher, posting a 1.06 goals-against average and a .962 save percentage, stopping 375 of the 390 shots he has taken in his career. 848:49 actions between pipes.

• With his 50th career win, Shane tied Brian Cropper ’71 for sixth place in career wins among Big Red goalies. Nationally, Shane joins Western Michigan grad Cameron Rowe (56) and Wisconsin grad Tommy Scarfone (55) as the lone trio of Division I goaltenders with more than 50 career wins.

BIGGEST VICTORIES FOR A GOALKEEPER
History of the Cornell Program
1. Ken Dryden (1966–69) – 76
T2. David McKee (2003–06) – 65
T2. Ben Scrivens (2006–10) – 65
4. Matvey Galayda (2017-20) – 60
5. Andy Isles (2010-14) – 58
T6. Brian Cropper (1968–71) – 50 years old
T6. Ian Shane (2021-present) – 50

• Shane improved to 3-0-0 against North Dakota with a 1.27 goals-against average and .949 save percentage (93 saves on 98 shot attempts).

• Freshman forward Charlie Major and freshman defenseman Nicholas Wolfenberg both made their collegiate debuts Friday night. Wolfenberg’s first-period goal extended the Big Red’s streak of scoring by a freshman in a first season to seven straight seasons, joining Morgan Barron (2017-18), Max Andreev (2018-19), Jack Malone (2019-20) , Ondrej Pshenicka (2021-22), Winter Wallace(2022–23) and Ryan Walsh (2023-24). Anthony Angello (2015–16) also scored in his collegiate debut, making Cornell the freshman scorer in eight of the final nine opening games of the season.

Freshmen who scored goals in the SEASON OPENING
Last nine seasons
• 2015-16 (Anthony Angello – Niagara)
• 2016–17 (none)
• 2017-18 (Morgan Barron vs. Alabama-Huntsville)
• 2018/19 (Max Andreev – vs. Michigan State)
• 2019–20 (Jack Malone – Michigan State)
• 2021–22 (Ondrej Pshenicka – against Alaska)
• 2022–23 (Winter Wallace – in Duluth, Minnesota)
• 2023–24 (Ryan Walsh – vs. Minnesota Duluth)
• 2024–25 (Nicholas Wolfenberg – against North Dakota)

• Wolfenberg became the first freshman defenseman to score in a season opener since future NHLer Joakim Ryan scored twice. v. Mercyhurst October 29, 2011

• Schafer’s 543rd win as a head coach broke a tie with former legendary Army head coach Jack Riley (1950-86) and former Bowdoin bench coach Terry Meagher (1983-2016) for 23rd most wins among university hockey coaches.

NEXT
Cornell and North Dakota will conclude a two-game series at Lina Rink on Saturday, Nov. 2 with puck drop at 7 p.m. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+ and air on WHCU (8:70 a.m., 97.7 FM).