The Cornell men’s hockey team defeated Harvard 5-2 on March 15, securing a spot in the ECAC Hockey championship weekend after winning the decisive third game of the quarterfinal series at Lynah Rink.
The victory is significant for Cornell, as it marks their fourth consecutive appearance in the league’s championship weekend and continues a strong postseason record against Harvard. The Big Red overcame an early deficit by scoring three unanswered goals across the first two periods, including sophomore defenseman Michael Fisher’s first goal with Cornell and his first NCAA tally in 57 games.
Freshman forward Reegan Hiscock and junior forward Ryan Walsh contributed key goals to set up Fisher’s game-winner. Junior forwards Jake Kraft and Jonathan Castagna added empty-net goals late in the game. “After a tough start on Friday, we really found our way to bounce back on Saturday,” Walsh said. “They’re a really good team, so to be on the winning side of it feels pretty good.”
Harvard opened scoring with a power-play goal from Lucas St. Louis, but Hiscock quickly responded for Cornell. Walsh gave Cornell the lead with a power-play goal in the second period before Fisher extended it further. In the third period, Harvard narrowed the gap to one goal, but freshman goaltender Alexis Cournoyer made several important saves to maintain Cornell’s advantage. “Courns stood on his head,” Walsh said. “He made a bunch of really good saves down the stretch. It’s good to see guys rally around the team.” Head coach Casey Jones also praised Cournoyer: “The breakaway save was huge for us… He just swallows pucks up. He doesn’t give a lot of second-chance opportunities, which is a real difference-maker in those situations.”
With this win, Cornell improved its all-time record against Harvard to 87-72-14 and has now won eight of its last ten meetings with them. The team’s performance included tying its program record for home wins in a season at Lynah Rink (15), matching previous seasons’ outputs.
Looking ahead, Cornell will face Princeton in the semifinals of the ECAC Hockey Championship on March 20 at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid.
