Cornell men’s hockey players Alexis Cournoyer and Xavier Veilleux were both unanimously selected to the ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team, the conference office announced on Mar. 9.
The recognition highlights the strong performances of both freshmen during their first season with Cornell. Cournoyer, a goaltender, finished the regular season with a 16-7-0 record, a 2.01 goals-against average, and a .917 save percentage. His save percentage was second in ECAC Hockey, just behind Quinnipiac’s Dylan Silverstein, who played fewer games. In conference play alone, Cournoyer posted a .919 save percentage and matched his overall goals-against average.
Cournoyer is also a semifinalist for this year’s Mike Richter Award, which has been presented annually since 2014 to the top goaltender in men’s Division I hockey. He joins an exclusive group of Cornell netminders who have achieved at least 16 wins in their first 23 appearances.
Veilleux, a defenseman from Ancienne-Lorette, Québec, ended the regular season with 24 points (6 goals and 18 assists), ranking him second among first-year defensemen in Division I hockey for points scored. He led all ECAC Hockey defensemen in conference play with 18 points and had five power-play goals this season—tied for second-most by any defenseman nationally while on the man advantage.
Both players are set to return to action as Cornell hosts Harvard in a best-of-three quarterfinal series of the 2026 ECAC Men’s Hockey Championship this weekend. The games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
