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NEW YORK — Playing in his seventh career NHL game, former Cornell men’s hockey defenseman Travis Mitchell ’23 fulfilled a lifelong aspiration that began in his childhood basement.

“You dream of scoring in the NHL, and to finally actually do it — you play basement hockey and you’re always dreaming of playing in the NHL, then scoring in the NHL,” Mitchell said following the New York Islanders’ 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks at UBS Arena on Thursday night. “To be able to do it was pretty cool.”

The South Lyon, Mich., native opened the scoring for New York 8:18 into the contest, helping stake the Islanders out to a 3-0 first-period lead. Mitchell’s goal came immediately after Matthew Schaefer — the first-overall pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft — skated from the offensive zone to the bench for a line change. Jumping into the play, Mitchell skated down the left side of the ice during sustained offensive-zone time. A shot from the point by fellow blueliner Scott Mayfield was redirected wide by Simon Holmstrom, ricocheting off the end-wall glass and coming out to the bottom of the left faceoff circle, where Mitchell blistered the loose puck past sprawling Anaheim goaltender Ville Husso.

 

MITCHELL’S FIRST NHL GOAL! @FORD | #LGI pic.twitter.com/z3cOtqzb6U


— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) December 12, 2025

“The opportunity came, Scotty had a good shot, and then I saw the rebound and just tried to pounce on it,” Mitchell said. “It ended up going in, so it was pretty cool.”

Mitchell finished the night with three shots on goal over 12:45 of ice time across 17 shifts, with one blocked shot and one hit. After the game, he received the team’s Ironman Mask in the locker room, which is presented to the “Player of the Game.”

 

Iron Mitchell and his first NHL goal puck! pic.twitter.com/kfZhuozujS


— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) December 12, 2025

Mitchell’s goal was also the first of three former Cornellians who opened their respective games with goals on Thursday, joining Winnipeg forward Morgan Barron (against Boston) and his former classmate, Colorado defenseman Sam Malinski ’23 (against Florida).

“Mitchie got us going. That was fun to see, and great goal by him,” said Islanders captain Anders Lee. “I thought we came out strong. We were as solid as we could be. We muscled quite a few pucks out when they started to roll a little bit and tried to limit them.”

Head coach Patrick Roy echoed Lee’s sentiments. “That was the first goal for Mitchell, so we were all happy for him,” Roy said. “It was a solid team effort. I thought that from the start to the end.”

Through his seven games, Mitchell has one point and a minus-1 rating while averaging just over 11 minutes of ice time per game (11:19). The 26-year-old has shown steady improvement as he adjusts to NHL play.

“Just each game, getting better and trying to get adjusted to the NHL and the speed, the pace, making plays — building that confidence game by game,” Mitchell said. “Guys are special players up here. It’s faster, quicker. Guys are always in the right position. So it’s just finding a way to fit in and help the team win.”

Mitchell and the Islanders will return to action Saturday, Dec. 14, when they face Tampa Bay at 3:30 p.m.