# 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.

## Season

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. 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. 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

| 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

| 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

As of August 19, 2021.

## Standings

2021–22 ECAC Hockey Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall 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

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Rank$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Exhibition ||||||||||
| October 16 | 7:00 PM | Princeton* | #15 | Lynah Rink • Ithaca, 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 Center • Boston, Massachusetts (Rivalry) | ESPN+ | Howe | L 2–3 | 3,095 | 2–1–0 (0–1–0) |
| November 6 | 7:00 PM | at Dartmouth | #15 | Thompson Arena • Hanover, 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 Garden • New 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 Arena • Canton, 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 Arena • Potsdam, 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 Arena • Tempe, 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 Arena • Grand 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 Rink • New 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 Auditorium • Providence, Rhode Island | ESPN+ | Shane | L 1–2 | 262 | 13–5–3 (8–3–3) |
| February 4 | 7:30 PM | Colgate | #11 | Class of 1965 Arena • Hamilton, 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 House • Troy, New York | ESPN+ | Howe | L 2–6 | 200 | 13–7–4 (8–5–4) |
| February 12 | 7:00 PM | at Union | #16 | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, 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 Center • Hamden, 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 Rink • Princeton, 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 Rink • Ithaca, New York (Quarterfinal game 1) | | Shane | W 3–1 | 3,550 | 18–8–4 |
| March 12 | 7:00 PM | Colgate* | #18 | Lynah Rink • Ithaca, New York (Quarterfinal game 2) | | Shane | L 2–4 | 4,034 | 18–9–4 |
| March 13 | 4:00 PM | Colgate* | #18 | Lynah Rink • Ithaca, 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: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| 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 |

## Goaltending statistics

| 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

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | 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.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award |
| Sam Malinski | ECAC Hockey First Team |
| Matt Stienburg | ECAC Hockey Second Team |
| Max Andreev | ECAC Hockey Third Team |
| Hank Kempf | ECAC Hockey Rookie Team |

## Players drafted into the NHL
### 2022 NHL Entry Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NHL team |
| 3 | 83 | George Fegaras$^†$ | Dallas Stars |
| 6 | 182 | Luke Devlin$^†$ | Pittsburgh Penguins |
† incoming freshman