Seniors Hank Kempf, Jack O’Leary, Tim Rego to Serve as Alternate Captains
ITHACA, N.Y. — Senior forward Kyle Penney has been named team captain of the Cornell men’s hockey team for a second consecutive season, it was announced by Mike Schafer ’86, the Jay R. Bloom ’77 Head Coach of Cornell Men’s Ice Hockey.
“He does everything the right way in hockey, training, practice, games, and cares about his teammates,” Schafer said of Penney. “He connects across all classes, freshmen to seniors, and he’s done that since he’s been here. He speaks up and picks his spots to make his point. He’s not soft-spoken but doesn’t waste his words. He works hard and you can’t have a captain that doesn’t do that. He checks all the boxes of great leaders. It’s an honor for him to be a two-time captain and it was going to be evident that the honor was going to be bestowed upon him by his teammates.”
Penney is the seventh player under Schafer’s tenure as the Big Red’s head coach to be named a two-time captain, joining Mitch Vanderlaan ’19, John McCarron ’15, Colin Greening ’10, Stephen Bâby ’03, Kyle Knopp ’99, and Brad Chartrand ’96. Penney is the 14th player on record in Cornell program history to be named a two-time captain. The entire list can be viewed below.
Joining Penney on the leadership team for the upcoming season will be senior defensemen Hank Kempf and Tim Rego and senior forward Jack O’Leary, who will all serve as alternate captains.
“We had great leadership from Kyle, Jack, and Gabriel Seger last year, but when the players sat down and voted, played over in Europe, and came back with all the training, Hank and Tim have played major roles in our program from day one,” Schafer said. “Both are great teammates who work hard at their trade; they have all the characteristics of good captains. We’re excited for our leadership group; they won’t be the only leaders on our team, but those are the guys our team has given a letter to.”
O’Leary is the second player on record in Cornell program history to be named an alternate captain in consecutive seasons, joining Cole Bardreau ’15, who served as an alternate captain for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 campaigns.
Cornell will begin its 2024-25 campaign with a scrimmage against ECAC Hockey and Ivy League foe Princeton at Lynah Rink on Saturday, Oct. 19, at 5 p.m. The Big Red’s only other exhibition prior to its season-opening game against North Dakota on Friday, Nov. 1, will be a contest against the University of Toronto on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m.
Fans are still eligible to purchase season tickets for the upcoming season. For more information, please visit bigredtix.com.
MULTI-YEAR CAPTAINS
Cornell Program History
Lance Nethery (1977-78, 1978-79)
Doug Berk (1979-80, 1980-81)
Brock Tredway (1979-80, 1980-81)
Randy MacFarlane (1982-83, 1983-84)
Duanne Moeser (1984-85, 1985-86)
Mike Schafer (1984-85, 1985-86)
Ryan Hughes (1991-92, 1992-93)
Brad Chartrand (1994-95, 1995-96)
Kyle Knopp (1997-98, 1998-99)
Stephen Bâby (2001-02, 2002-03)
Colin Greening (2008-09, 2009-10)
John McCarron (2013-14, 2014-15)
Mitch Vanderlaan (2017-18, 2018-19)
Kyle Penney (2023-24, 2024-25)
(Photo provided by Cornell Men’s Athletics/Hockey)
