2021–22 Cornell Big Red men's ice hockey season

The 2021–22 Cornell Big Red Men's ice hockey season was the 105th season of play for the program. They represented Cornell University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season and for the 60th season in the ECAC Hockey conference. They were coached by Mike Schafer, in his 26th season, and played their home games at Lynah Rink.

2021–22 Cornell Big Red
men's ice hockey season
Conference4th ECAC Hockey
Home iceLynah Rink
Rankings
USCHO#18
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall18–10–4
Conference12–6–4
Home12–6–2
Road5–4–2
Neutral1–0–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachMike Schafer
Assistant coachesBen Syer
Sean Flanagan
Mitch Stephens
Alternate captain(s)Kyle Betts
Cody Haiskanen
Brenden Locke
Cornell Big Red men's ice hockey seasons
« 2020–21 2022–23 »

Season

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Cornell began its season very well, appearing to have no hangover from its lost year. The Big Red won 9 of its first 10 games and swiftly rose up the rankings, finding itself in the top 10 after the first half of the season. The only problem for Cornell at the time was the strength of its schedule. ECAC Hockey, as a whole, had a dreadful non-conference result and saw many of its teams finding a home at the bottom of the PairWise rankings. Because of that, Cornell had little room for error but, as long as it played consistently for the remainder of the year, the Big Red should be able to earn a tournament bid.

The team returned from its winter break and promptly tripled its loss total for the year. The road series against Arizona State also saw the end of the goaltender rotation between Joe Howe and Nate McDonald as neither had been very reliable over the first dozen games. Mike Schafer turned to freshman Ian Shane as the starter and the young goalie began with a marvelous start, helping the Big Red sweep top-5 North Dakota and look like a sure thing for the tournament.

Prior to the second game against the Fighting Hawks, Schafer tested positive for COVID-19 and was replaced on the bench by associate head coach Ben Syer. The head coach spend several weeks recovering from the virus but, towards the end of the battle, doctors discovered an issue with his circulatory system and found that Schafer needed a coronary stent.[1] The news of their coach's health problem hit the team hard and Cornell went on a 6-game winless streak. The losses dropped the Big Red in the rankings and put them on the tournament bubble. Even after recovering towards the end of the regular season, the strength of schedule problem reared its head and stopped Cornell from being able to climb into the top-15 for the PairWise. Because of that, the team would have to have a strong performance in the conference tournament to have any chance at earning an at-large bid.

Schafer returned to the bench just in time for Cornell's first playoff game and the team responded with an inspired 3–1 win over Colgate.[2] The Big Red continued to play well in the next two games but were stymied by a stellar goaltending performance by Mitch Benson and were knocked out in the quarterfinals. Despite being 8 games over .500, the losses ended Cornell's once promising season.

Departures

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Player Position Nationality Cause
Matthew Galajda Goaltender   Canada Graduate transfer to Notre Dame
Joseph Leahy Defenseman   Canada Transferred to Vermont
Austin McGrath Defenseman   United States Graduation (retired)
Michael Regush Forward   Canada Transferred to Miami
Misha Song Defenseman   China Left Program (retired)

Recruiting

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Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Justin Ertel Forward   Canada 18 Kitchener, ON; Selected 79th overall in 2021
Joe Howe Goaltender   Canada 20 Barrie, ON
Hank Kempf Defenseman   United States 19 Wilmette, IL; Selected 208th overall in 2021
Kyler Kovich Forward   Canada 19 Coquitlam, BC
Sullivan Mack Forward   United States 21 Anchorage, AK
Dan McIntyre Forward   Canada 20 Almonte, ON
Ondřej Pšenička Forward   Czech Republic 20 Prague, CZE
Jimmy Rayhill Defenseman   United States 20 New Hartford, NY
Ian Shane Goaltender   United States 21 Manhattan Beach, CA
Michael Suda Defenseman   United States 19 Cheektowaga, NY

Roster

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As of August 19, 2021.[3]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
2   Peter Muzyka Junior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-05-14 Toronto, Ontario New Mexico (NAHL)
3   Cody Haiskanen (A) Graduate D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1997-03-27 Fargo, North Dakota Fargo (USHL)
4   Hank Kempf Freshman D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-04-15 Wilmette, Illinois Muskegon (USHL) NYR, 208th overall 2021
5   Sebastian Dirven Junior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 1998-06-22 Bainsville, Ontario Central Illinois (USHL)
6   Kyler Kovich Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2002-01-31 Coquitlam, British Columbia Tri-City (USHL)
7   Jimmy Rayhill Freshman D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 2001-03-17 New Hartford, New York Odessa (NAHL)
8   Jack Lagerstrom Sophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-03-30 Edina, Minnesota Tri-City (USHL)
9   Jack O'Leary Freshman F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2000-03-28 St. James, New York Lincoln (USHL)
10   Travis Mitchell Junior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1999-11-25 South Lyon, Michigan Omaha (USHL)
11   Kyle Betts (A) Graduate F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 1997-09-17 Flesherton, Ontario Powell River (BCHL)
12   Tim Rego Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-10-31 Mansfield, Massachusetts Brooks (AJHL)
13   Jack Malone Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-10-13 Madison, New Jersey Youngstown (USHL) VAN, 180th overall 2019
14   Ben Tupker Junior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 191 lb (87 kg) 1999-12-23 Collingwood, Ontario Carleton Place (CCHL)
15   Max Andreev Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 1998-10-22 Moscow, Russia Central Illinois (USHL)
16   Dan McIntyre Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-11-22 Almonte, Ontario Grande Prairie (AJHL)
17   Zach Bramwell Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1999-05-09 Hamilton, Ontario Oakville (OJHL)
18   Justin Ertel Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2003-05-27 Kitchener, Ontario Summerside (MHL) DAL, 79th overall 2021
19   Sullivan Mack Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2000-07-05 Anchorage, Alaska Salmon Arm (BCHL)
20   Matt Stienburg Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 2000-10-07 Halifax, Nova Scotia St. Andrew's College (CISAA) COL, 63rd overall 2019
21   Zach Tupker Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1999-12-23 Collingwood, Ontario Carleton Place (CCHL)
22   Kyle Penney Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-07-18 Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia Chilliwack (BCHL)
23   Liam Motley Senior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 1997-05-08 Calgary, Alberta Whitecourt (AJHL)
24   Sam Malinski Junior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-07-27 Lakeville, Minnesota Bismarck (NAHL)
26   Ondřej Pšenička Freshman F 6' 6" (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2001-01-07 Prague, Czech Republic Waterloo (USHL)
27   Michael Suda Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2002-07-03 Cheektowaga, New York Fargo (USHL)
28   Brenden Locke (A) Graduate F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 1997-10-09 Iroquois Falls, Ontario Cobourg (OJHL)
29   Ben Berard Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1999-02-13 Duncan, British Columbia Powell River (BCHL)
30   Ian Shane Freshman G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2000-09-24 Manhattan Beach, California Bismarck (USHL)
33   Nate McDonald Senior G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 1999-08-11 North Bay, Ontario Markham (OJHL)
34   Joe Howe Freshman G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-06-04 Shanty Bay, Ontario Grande Prairie (AJHL)

Standings

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Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL 3/SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#8 Quinnipiac 22 17 4 1 0 1 1 54 71 14 42 32 7 3 139 53
#17 Clarkson 22 14 4 4 0 2 3 51 86 47 37 21 10 6 123 85
#15 Harvard * 22 14 6 2 0 0 2 46 69 46 35 21 11 3 116 82
Cornell 22 12 6 4 2 1 0 39 73 47 32 18 10 4 100 72
Colgate 22 9 9 4 1 0 3 33 55 57 40 18 18 4 111 112
Rensselaer 22 10 12 0 0 0 0 30 58 63 44 18 23 3 114 119
Union 22 9 11 2 3 1 0 27 52 66 37 14 19 4 89 110
St. Lawrence 22 7 10 5 2 0 2 26 44 60 37 11 19 7 72 110
Brown 22 6 12 4 0 1 2 25 36 61 31 7 20 4 50 100
Princeton 22 7 14 1 0 1 0 23 54 89 31 8 21 2 70 122
Yale 22 7 14 1 3 1 1 21 38 60 30 8 21 1 55 90
Dartmouth 22 5 15 2 0 3 1 21 45 71 32 7 22 3 69 110
Championship: March 19, 2022
† indicates conference regular season champion (Cleary Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Whitelaw Cup)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

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Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 16 7:00 PM Princeton* #15 Lynah RinkIthaca, New York (Exhibition) ESPN+   W 5–0  1,500
October 23 7:00 PM USNTDP* #15 Lynah Rink • Ithaca, New York (Exhibition) ESPN+   W 4–2  1,766
Regular Season
October 29 7:00 PM Alaska* #16 Lynah Rink • Ithaca, New York ESPN+ McDonald W 3–2 OT 3,198 1–0–0
October 30 7:00 PM Alaska* #16 Lynah Rink • Ithaca, New York ESPN+ Howe W 1–0 OT 2,864 2–0–0
November 5 7:00 PM at #13 Harvard #15 Bright-Landry Hockey CenterBoston, Massachusetts (Rivalry) ESPN+ Howe L 2–3  3,095 2–1–0 (0–1–0)
November 6 7:00 PM at Dartmouth #15 Thompson ArenaHanover, New Hampshire ESPN+ McDonald W 5–4  1,432 3–1–0 (1–1–0)
November 12 7:00 PM Union #13 Lynah Rink • Ithaca, New York ESPN+ Howe W 4–1  2,411 4–1–0 (2–1–0)
November 13 7:00 PM Rensselaer #13 Lynah Rink • Ithaca, New York ESPN+ Howe W 11–3  2,322 5–1–0 (3–1–0)
November 19 7:30 PM Brown #10 Lynah Rink • Ithaca, New York ESPN+ McDonald W 3–2 OT 2,362 6–1–0 (4–1–0)
November 20 7:00 PM Yale #10 Lynah Rink • Ithaca, New York ESPN+ McDonald W 3–0  3,448 7–1–0 (5–1–0)
November 27 8:00 PM vs. Boston University* #10 Madison Square GardenNew York, New York (Red Hot Hockey) ESPN+ Howe W 6–4  13,160 8–1–0
December 3 7:00 PM at St. Lawrence #9 Appleton ArenaCanton, New York ESPN+ McDonald W 4–1  1,256 9–1–0 (6–1–0)
December 4 7:00 PM at #19 Clarkson #9 Cheel ArenaPotsdam, New York ESPN+ McDonald T 4–4 SOL 2,792 9–1–1 (6–1–1)
January 1 9:07 PM at Arizona State* #9 Oceanside Ice ArenaTempe, Arizona   Howe L 2–5    9–2–1
January 2 9:07 PM at Arizona State* #9 Oceanside Ice Arena • Tempe, Arizona   McDonald L 2–3  900 9–3–1
January 7 8:07 PM at #5 North Dakota* #14 Ralph Engelstad ArenaGrand Forks, North Dakota NCHC.tv Shane W 4–3  10,128 10–3–1
January 8 7:07 PM at #5 North Dakota* #14 Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota NCHC.tv Shane W 3–1  11,192 11–3–1
January 15 7:00 PM Yale #9 Ingalls RinkNew Haven, Connecticut ESPN+ Shane W 3–0  - 12–3–1 (7–1–1)
January 21 7:00 PM Princeton #8 Lynah Rink • Ithaca, New York ESPN+ Shane L 4–5  2,133 12–4–1 (7–2–1)
January 22 7:00 PM #1 Quinnipiac #8 Lynah Rink • Ithaca, New York ESPN+ Shane W 2–1 OT 2,133 13–4–1 (8–2–1)
January 28 7:00 PM Dartmouth #8 Lynah Rink • Ithaca, New York ESPN+ Shane T 2–2 SOL 2,133 13–4–2 (8–2–2)
January 29 7:00 PM Harvard #8 Lynah Rink • Ithaca, New York (Rivalry) ESPN+ Shane T 2–2 SOL 2,133 13–4–3 (8–2–3)
February 1 7:00 PM Brown #11 Meehan AuditoriumProvidence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Shane L 1–2  262 13–5–3 (8–3–3)
February 4 7:30 PM Colgate #11 Class of 1965 ArenaHamilton, New York ESPN+ Shane L 2–3  1,292 13–6–3 (8–4–3)
February 5 7:00 PM at Colgate #11 Lynah Rink • Ithaca, New York ESPN+ Shane T 2–2 SOL 3,201 13–6–4 (8–4–4)
February 11 7:00 PM at Rensselaer #16 Houston Field HouseTroy, New York ESPN+ Howe L 2–6  200 13–7–4 (8–5–4)
February 12 7:00 PM at Union #16 Achilles RinkSchenectady, New York ESPN+ McDonald W 5–2  1,721 14–7–4 (9–5–4)
February 18 7:00 PM St. Lawrence #18 Lynah Rink • Ithaca, New York ESPN+ Shane L 1–2  3,577 14–8–4 (9–6–4)
February 19 7:00 PM #15 Clarkson #18 Lynah Rink • Ithaca, New York ESPN+ McDonald W 5–2  3,918 15–8–4 (10–6–4)
February 25 7:00 PM at #5 Quinnipiac #18 People's United CenterHamden, Connecticut ESPN+ Shane W 1–0  3,027 16–8–4 (11–6–4)
February 26 7:00 PM at Princeton #18 Hobey Baker Memorial RinkPrinceton, New Jersey ESPN+ Shane W 4–0  2,035 17–8–4 (12–6–4)
ECAC Hockey Tournament
March 11 7:00 PM Colgate* #18 Lynah RinkIthaca, New York (Quarterfinal game 1)   Shane W 3–1  3,550 18–8–4
March 12 7:00 PM Colgate* #18 Lynah RinkIthaca, New York (Quarterfinal game 2)   Shane L 2–4  4,034 18–9–4
March 13 4:00 PM Colgate* #18 Lynah RinkIthaca, New York (Quarterfinal game 3)   Shane L 1–2  2,735 18–10–4
Cornell Lost Series 1–2
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[4]

Scoring statistics

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Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Matthew Stienburg C 28 13 16 29 30
Benjamin Berard C 26 14 9 23 6
Max Andreev F 22 9 14 23 23
Sam Malinski D 32 5 18 23 26
Ondřej Pšenička RW 32 12 9 21 18
Jack Malone RW/C 32 8 12 20 26
Brenden Locke C 32 6 12 18 16
Kyle Betts C 32 6 12 18 34
Travis Mitchell D 32 3 13 16 40
Kyle Penney C 32 8 6 14 8
Tim Rego D 32 2 9 11 6
Justin Ertel D 23 1 8 9 10
Hank Kempf C/RW 32 0 8 8 6
Ben Tupker LW 26 3 4 7 6
Zach Tupker C 32 1 6 7 8
Cody Haiskanen D 30 1 5 6 14
Sebastian Dirven D 31 1 5 6 33
Kyler Kovich LW 19 3 1 4 8
Liam Motley F 21 2 1 3 19
Jack O'Leary F 11 1 1 2 19
Sullivan Mack F 20 1 1 2 4
Zach Bramwell F 4 0 0 0 0
Michael Suda D 6 0 0 0 0
Peter Muzyka D 6 0 0 0 15
Jack Lagerstrom D 14 0 0 0 4
Joe Howe G 8 0 0 0 0
Nate McDonald G 9 0 0 0 0
Ian Shane G 17 0 0 0 0
Bench - - - - - 12
Total 100 170 270 391

[5]

Goaltending statistics

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Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Ian Shane 17 979 7 6 3 28 387 3 .933 1.72
Nate McDonald 9 504 7 1 1 20 189 1 .904 2.38
Joe Howe 8 443 4 3 0 19 157 1 .892 2.57
Empty Net - 23 - - - 5 - - - -
Total 32 1950 18 10 4 72 733 5 .911 2.22

Rankings

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Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (Final)
USCHO.com 15 16 15 15 16 15 13 10 10 9 9 9 14 9 8 8 11 16 18 18 17 18 NR NR - NR
USA Today 13 NR 13 15 15 14 12 9 10 9 9 9 14 10 8 9 13 15 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 24.[6]

Awards and honors

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Player Award Ref
Sam Malinski ECAC Hockey First Team [7]
Matt Stienburg ECAC Hockey Second Team [8]
Max Andreev ECAC Hockey Third Team [9]
Hank Kempf ECAC Hockey Rookie Team [10]

Players drafted into the NHL

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Round Pick Player NHL team
3 83 George Fegaras Dallas Stars
6 182 Luke Devlin Pittsburgh Penguins

† incoming freshman [11]

References

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  1. ^ "Cornell coach Schafer overcomes COVID-19 before having cardiac stent placed, now recovering as Syer running games for Big Red". USCHO. February 3, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  2. ^ "On the Verge of 500th Win, Schafer Makes Return". Cornell Daily Sun. March 12, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  3. ^ "2018–19 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Cornell University. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  4. ^ "Cornell 2021-22 Team Schedule". College Hockey Inc. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  5. ^ "Cornell Univ. 2021-2022 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  6. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  7. ^ "ECAC Hockey Announces 2022 First-Team All-League". ECAC Hockey. March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  8. ^ "ECAC Hockey Announces 2022 First-Team All-League". ECAC Hockey. March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  9. ^ "ECAC Hockey Announces 2022 Third-Team All-League". ECAC Hockey. March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  10. ^ "ECAC Hockey Announces 2022 All-Rookie Team". ECAC Hockey. March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  11. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2022 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 9, 2022.