MANCHESTER, N.H.—Cornell University men’s ice hockey team pulled off an upset Thursday evening, shutting out the University of Denver in the first round of the NCAA men’s ice hockey tournament.
The 2-0 win puts Cornell in the Manchester Regional finals, with a trip to the Frozen Four on the line on Saturday, March 25. Cornell hasn’t made the Frozen Four since 2003, despite nine trips to the tournament since then.
Cornell scored two goals in the first period as Ben Berard and Jack O’Leary each netted respective early scores. From there they were carried by sophomore goalie Ian Shane, who stopped all 27 shots he faced to help the 12th-ranked Big Red defeat fourth-ranked Denver, who won the NCAA title in 2022.
O’Leary added an assist, as did Max Andreev and Matt Stienburg. Cornell handed Denver its fifth scoreless result out of 42 total games, and Thursday was the second straight game in which Denver did not score a goal.
Cornell now advances to a matchup with Boston University, the fifth-ranked team overall and the #2 seed in the Manchester Regional, which will be held Saturday at 4 p.m. in Manchester. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU, ESPN+ and TSN+, with a radio broadcast on WHCU locally.