Cornell’s associate coach Casey Jones, who previously coached Clarkson for 13 seasons, rolled up the White Low Cup at the Olympic Center’s 1980 Herb Brooks Arena on Saturday. It also features Cornell players and head coach Mike Schafer. (Photo provided by Lou Reuters)
Lake Placid – Cornell Men’s Hockey coach Mike Schafer was ready to retire last spring.
However, when his assistant, whom he wanted to take over the helm, left to Princeton’s hockey team coach, he felt he could not leave yet.
“I knew I had a year left,” Schafer said.
And so far, it appears he’s made the right choice.
A day after knocking off the top seeded Kinnipiac Bobcats, Schafer’s sixth seeded red won the Clarkson Golden Knights, the second seeded and the second consecutive ECAC hockey title at 3-1, taking on his 14th win.
Cornell’s Hoyt Stanley, left, and Clarkson’s Elton Martino smile while fighting the puck during Saturday’s ECAC Hockey Championship game. (Photo provided by Lou Reuter
Half of these championships are under Schafer and officially quits it following the end of this season. His first two titles came in his first two seasons, almost 30 years ago.
“And now I have won the last two.
As Schafer lifted the White Low Cup, he turned around and handed over to his longtime friend and associate coach Casey Jones.
For Jones, winning the ECAC Crown was a bitter sweet thing. For the past 13 seasons before this year, Jones has been Clarkson’s head coach. However, last June he resigned to return to his alma mater, with the goal of taking over his reign in 2025-26.
“It was really difficult for him,” Schafer said. “He had his heart and soul in Clarkson for 13 years, and it was obviously really difficult for him to leave everything and come to Cornell, because he’s a coach that puts everything into it. They have a great team.
Clarkson’s Sean O’Donnell will fight for the puck against Cornell’s Ian Shane (30), Kyler Kovic (18) and Ben Robertson (21) during Saturday’s ECAC Hockey Championship Game. (Photo provided by Lou Reuter
Jones was proud to see Clarkson in the championship, but he admitted that it was difficult for some of his former players to hold him in a post-game handshake.
“It’s a huge loss when you lose a championship, but there’s a lot of good relationships there,” he said. “There are a lot of players I really care about, but they’re in a good place (with their new coach).
While Schafer’s days as Cornell’s head coach will continue to live out at least one more game, Jones said it will be a difficult act to follow in his footsteps next year.
“He left behind a legacy built outside of hockey,” Jones said. “People are only looking at victory, but what he does in the community, what he is doing for fundraising, what he is doing for community service. I can’t imagine anyone else in the country where he has a better resume.
Cornell’s Ondrej Psenicka scored one goal and assisted two other goals, while teammate Nick Desantis had goals and assists. Ryan Walsh won the empty netter in the final minutes of the third term. Jonathan Castaña chipped with two assists for the Big Red, who secured an automatic sleeper for the NCAA Tournament.
Cornell goaltender Ian Shane, named the tournament’s best player, recorded 30 saves in the victory.
“Clarkson was a really good team and I knew they were coming out strong, but I believed my peers were going to work in the offensive zone,” Shane said. “It gives me a bit of confidence and calms down a bit on my side. I know that when I slow things down, it gives my guys a chance to breathe and hopefully turn the pack back into the reverse.”
Big Red was connected in two of the first three shots, and Psenicka netted a pass from Castagna. Psenicka then ignited a 2-1 break in which Desantis found the back of the net to find a 2-0 advantage.
Clarkson scored 2-1 in the second season when Eric Balgolz plunged in with a loose rebound biased from Shane’s gloves to the net. However, the Golden Knights were unable to keep up with the big red defense.
The Golden Knights closed their first year under JF Houle with a 24-12-3 record. They beat Dartmouth 4-1 in the semi-finals on Friday.
Clarkson assistant captain Karen Taylor was a graduate student and was one of many who won a career in college on Saturday.
Taylor, who has a family that grew up in Bloomingdale and grew from her father’s side, suppressed her emotions at a press conference. Downstairs was about 15 of his family and waiting to see him.
For Taylor, who grew up in California, seeing those supporters after a game at Lake Placid is one of the things he misses most about playing for Clarkson.
“I grew up in California so I didn’t think this was possible,” he said. “Then when the day came when I realised that I could actually go here, the amount of support I had, and the meaning that it was Golden Knight. I won’t trade anything for the last five years.”
Cornell (18-10-6) will then compete in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament with the Michigan Spartan in Toledo, Ohio on Thursday at 5:30pm. Qunnipiac will face UConn Huskies in their first round in Allentown, Pennsylvania at 5pm on Friday.
