LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — The last time Cornell and Clarkson met in the championship game of the ECAC Men's Hockey Championship in 2019, it was Casey Jones '90 who prevailed over Mike Schafer '86, with a 3-2 overtime victory that secured Clarkson its sixth Whitelaw Cup.
This time, united on the same bench, it was Jones and Schafer – just like 2010 – who were able to be on the same side of the title as the sixth-seeded Cornell men's hockey team (18-10-6) hoisted the Whitelaw Cup for a second consecutive season and won its ECAC Hockey-leading 14th conference championship with a 3-1 victory over second-seeded and No. 18-ranked Clarkson (24-12-3) before 5,965 on Saturday evening at the 1980 Rink – Herb Brooks Arena.
Senior forward Ondrej Psenicka factored on all three Cornell's goals, scoring once and tallying two assists, to pace the Big Red's offense. Junior forward Nick DeSantis (goal and assist) and sophomore forward Jonathan Castagna (two assists) also had multi-point nights. Sophomore forward Ryan Walsh tallied an empty-net goal to round out the scoring, aiding senior goaltender Ian Shane (30 saves) in recording his 65th career victory to match David McKee and Ben Scrivens for the second-most wins by a Big Red goaltender.
Eric Bargholtz potted the lone tally on the night for Clarkson, who had a 21-save performance from graduate transfer Ethan Langenegger.
Cornell tallied the first two goals of the game in the first 7:03 as Psenicka capitalized on quick passes in succession from DeSantis and Castagna for a one-timer at the right hash mark of the left faceoff circle to give the Big Red an early advantage.
Not even two minutes later, Psenicka ignited a 2-on-1 scoring chance with senior forward Kyler Kovich and DeSantis by chipping the puck into the neutral zone up to Kovich. DeSantis snapped a shot past Langenegger that doubled the Big Red's lead.
Clarkson cut the Big Red's lead in half with under seven minutes to play in the second period as Bargholtz poked at a loose rebound at the right post that deflected off Shane's glove and into the net.
With 1:49 left in the contest, Cornell added an insurance marker with Walsh's empty-net goal to restore the Big Red's two-goal lead.
GAME NOTES
• Saturday was the 154th meeting between Cornell and Clarkson as the Big Red increased its lead in the all-time series to 74-60-20.
• Cornell became ECAC Hockey's first repeat Whitelaw Cup champion since Union won three consecutive titles between 2012 and 2014.
• It was the 37th time Cornell and Clarkson had met in a postseason setting, the 36th time they played in the ECAC Hockey Championship, and the sixth time in the tournament's championship game. The Big Red has won the last three playoff contests and are winners of five of the previous six postseason matchups.
• With Saturday's win, Cornell has won its last nine games within the ECAC Hockey Championship, the second-longest win streak in the conference playoffs in program history, trailing a 13-game win streak that spanned between March 7, 1967, and March 9, 1971.
LONGEST WIN STREAKS IN ECAC HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP
Cornell Program History
• 13 games, March 7, 1967 – March 9, 1971
• 9 games, March 15, 2024 - Present
• 7 games, March 11, 2005 – March 17, 2006
• 6 games, March 10, 1979 – March 13, 1981
• 5 games, March 14, 2003 – March 12, 2004
• 5 games, March 12, 2010 – March 11, 2011
• Psenicka's three-point game matched his single-game high for the third time in his Cornell career. The last time he had a three-point game was against AIC on Dec. 29, 2022.
• Castagna went 18-for-27 (.667) at the faceoff dot on Saturday, his highest faceoff win total in a game during his tenure with the Big Red.
UP NEXT
Cornell will find out its opponent and where it will play in next weekend's NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Championship on Sunday, March 23, at 3 p.m. The selection show will air live on ESPNU prior to the women's national championship game between Ohio State and Wisconsin.
The Big Red will be playing at one of the four regional sites, Allentown, Pa., Fargo, N.D., Manchester, N.H., and Toledo, Ohio. Additional information on the Big Red's matchup in the NCAA Tournament, including date, time, and site, will be provided when made available.