ITHACA, N.Y. – Matched up against a line containing the nation’s leading scorer, the Cornell men’s hockey team’s line centered by freshman Kyle Betts did more than just hold its own Saturday – it powered the Big Red’s offense in a 6-2 rout of Canisius at Lynah Rink.
Betts scored three goals to lead a group of four players with three points apiece, and fifth-ranked Cornell (11-2) closed out the calendar year with a resounding victory over a Canisius (10-6-1) squad which leads the Atlantic Hockey standings and held a regular-season USCHO.com poll national ranking of 20th for the first time in program history. The Big Red continue to hold the nation’s best winning percentage (.846).
All three of Betts’ goals were identical on the score sheet, with sophomore winger Jeff Malott accumulating the primary assists and senior winger Alex Rauter picking up secondary helpers. Senior forward Trevor Yates also scored twice and added an assist for Cornell, bumping his team-leading goal total to 10.
Betts opened the scoring late in a disjointed first period that saw both teams shaking off the rust from the recent holiday hiatus. Cornell had a golden opportunity to double the lead a short time later, but it came up empty on 1 minute, 39 seconds of a two-man advantage.
Canisius, which entered the game with the nation’s third-most proficient power play at 26.5%, equalized 4:45 into the second period on a goal by Nick Hutchison. Yates’ unassisted goal at the 9:17 mark stemmed the tide, then a dominating shift led to Betts’ second goal 80 seconds later.
A little less than four minutes later, the freshman added his fourth goal in the last two games while also becoming the second Cornell player with a hat trick this season, joining sophomore forward Noah Bauld (Nov. 17 vs. St. Lawrence).
Despite the three-goal deficit after 40 minutes, the Golden Griffins did not go away quietly. Just 12 seconds into the third period, Dylan McLaughlin scored to ignite the visitors. With Canisius a two-on-one rush about seven minutes later, Cornell senior goaltender Hayden Stewart made a key save on Grant Meyer. Stewart made 24 to earn the victory, making his second consecutive start after having just one start over the last two seasons.
Yates’ second goal with 7:20 to play proved to be the dagger, and freshman Morgan Barron capped the scoring off Yates’ feed with 3:50 to play.
Cornell will play the rest of its regular season with 16 consecutive games within ECAC Hockey, starting with home games next weekend against Princeton at 7 p.m. Friday and Quinnipiac at 7 p.m. Saturday.
