2021–22 Cornell Big Red men's ice hockey season
Collegiate 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 .[ 1]
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]
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.[ 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 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 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 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 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
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
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 . [ 4]
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
[ 5]
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
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
Players drafted into the NHL
† incoming freshman
[ 11]
References
^ "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 .^ "On the Verge of 500th Win, Schafer Makes Return" . Cornell Daily Sun . March 12, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022 .^ "2018–19 Men's Ice Hockey Roster" . Cornell University . Retrieved July 10, 2018 .^ "Cornell 2021-22 Team Schedule" . College Hockey Inc . Retrieved February 2, 2022 .^ "Cornell Univ. 2021-2022 Skater Stats" . Elite Prospects . Retrieved July 3, 2020 .^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll" . USCHO.com . Retrieved November 26, 2019 .^ "ECAC Hockey Announces 2022 First-Team All-League" . ECAC Hockey . March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022 .^ "ECAC Hockey Announces 2022 First-Team All-League" . ECAC Hockey . March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022 .^ "ECAC Hockey Announces 2022 Third-Team All-League" . ECAC Hockey . March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022 .^ "ECAC Hockey Announces 2022 All-Rookie Team" . ECAC Hockey . March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022 .^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2022 NHL Draft" . USCHO.com . Retrieved July 9, 2022 .
