Harvard defeated the ninth-ranked and third-seeded Cornell men’s hockey team 3-1 before a sold-out crowd at Lynah Rink on March 13. Ben MacDonald led Harvard with two goals, including a short-handed goal late in the second period that broke a 1-1 tie and an empty-net goal to secure the win.
The loss ended Cornell’s nine-game win streak in ECAC Hockey Championship play and its four-game winning streak against Harvard. The game began with Harvard taking an early lead after Michael Callow scored following an offensive-zone faceoff. “I thought we looked like we had two weeks off to start the first period,” said Casey Jones ’90, the Jay R. Bloom ’77 Head Coach of Cornell Men’s Ice Hockey. “We were a step behind. I thought we settled in in the second. I didn’t mind our game.”
Cornell tied the game in the second period when sophomore defenseman Luke Ashton scored off a feed from junior defenseman George Fegaras, following a faceoff win by junior forward Jonathan Castagna. However, MacDonald’s short-handed goal shifted momentum back to Harvard after a Cornell player lost his footing, leading to a Crimson rush and goal past freshman goaltender Alexis Cournoyer.
“Our kid just fell — it’s just a blown edge,” Jones said about the pivotal play. “It wasn’t deflating. I didn’t think that sucked the air out of us at all. I thought we started to assert ourselves in terms of O-zone time, but still not where it needs to be.” Despite efforts in the third period, Cornell could not get past Harvard goalie Ben Charette, who made 30 saves.
The defeat also marked Harvard’s first road postseason win over Cornell, ending Cornell’s previous unbeaten record (9-0-1) against Harvard at home during postseason games. Fegaras extended his point streak to five games—the longest by a Big Red defenseman since Ben Robertson’s seven-game run from October to November 2023—and junior forward Ryan Walsh won a career-high 22 faceoffs.
Looking ahead, Cornell will try to avoid elimination from the ECAC Hockey Championship when it faces Harvard again on Saturday night for game two of their best-of-three series.
