Team Notes: Cornell Opens League Play in North Country
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Coming off a pair of losses to open the regular
season, the Cornell men’s hockey team will take to the road
to open ECAC Hockey play this weekend. Cornell begins league action
at St. Lawrence in Canton, N.Y., on Friday before facing Clarkson
on Saturday in Potsdam, N.Y. The Big Red will be attempting to win
its third straight league opener when it tangles with St. Lawrence
on Friday night. Both games can be heard in the Ithaca area on WHCU
870 AM with Jason Weinstein on the call, while live audio will also
be available through the Cornell Redcast subscription service.
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell began the season with a pair of losses last weekend at
home, falling in the season opener to New Hampshire, 7-4, before
dropping a 5-3 contest to RIT the following night. Sophomore John
Esposito led the Cornell offense on the weekend, registering three
points on a goal and two assists, while freshman Dustin Mowrey made
a large impact in his collegiate debut, scoring twice on the power
play in the loss to New Hampshire. Sophomores Nick D’Agostino
and Greg Miller both had a goal and an assist on the weekend, with
junior Sean Collins picking up two assists. In goal, both of
Cornell’s netminders struggled, as junior Mike Garman got the
start on Friday night and allowed six goals in 44:46 before being
lifted in favor of freshman Andy Iles. Iles made seven saves on
seven shots on Friday, but had a tougher night on Saturday in his
first career start, stopping 18 of the 22 shots he saw against RIT.
For the year, the Big Red’s goaltending tandem combined for a
6.00 goals-against average and a .778 save percentage. The Big Red
struggled on special teams over the weekend, scoring twice on 11
chances (18.2 percent) while killing off eight of the 11
opponents’ power plays for a 72.7 success rate.
ABOUT ST. LAWRENCE
The Saints come into Friday night’s game looking for their
first win of the season, going 0-4-3 to open the season. St.
Lawrence is coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to North Country rival
Clarkson on Saturday in Lake Placid, N.Y., as part of the Halloween
Faceoff. While the Saints have yet to find the win column this
season, they have been competitive in all of their contests, losing
twice by two goals and once by one goal along with three ties.
Senior Sean Flanagan leads the St. Lawrence offense with six points
in seven games on two goals and four assists, while freshman Greg
Carey has a team-best three goals to go along with one assist for
four points. In goal, freshman Matt Weninger has played most of the
time, recording a 2.57 goals-against average and a .906 save
percentage. The Saints have struggled on the power play, ranking
ninth in ECAC Hockey and tied for 46th in the nation with a 12.5
percent conversion rate (4-of-32) while their penalty-killing unit
has been much better, successfully ending off penalties at an 86.5
percent clip (32-of-37), good to rank tied for 14th in the nation
and fifth in ECAC Hockey.
THE SERIES WITH ST. LAWRENCE
Friday’s game will be the 100th all-time meeting between
Cornell and St. Lawrence in a series that dates back to the 1926-27
season. The Big Red holds a 52-40-7 edge in the series, gaining
three points out of last season’s matchups. The two teams
skated to a 1-1 tie at Appleton Arena on Jan. 16 before Cornell
turned around two weeks later and skated to a 2-1 win at Lynah
Rink. Cornell has traditionally had trouble at Appleton Arena,
holding a 17-19-5 record all-time at St. Lawrence’s home
rink. Cornell last won at Appleton Arena on Feb. 25, 2005,
capturing a 3-2 overtime victory, and has gone 0-3-2 in the five
games since. Cornell head coach Mike Schafer is 16-14-5 all-time
against St. Lawrence.
ABOUT CLARKSON
The Golden Knights appear to have rebounded after last
season’s injury-plagued campaign and enter the weekend with a
4-2-1 overall record, facing Colgate on Friday night before
Saturday’s matchup with Cornell. The Knights have three wins
by four goals this season, but have been shut out in both of their
two losses, falling at Nebraska-Omaha in the season opener, 8-0,
and losing at home to Bowling Green on Oct. 16, 3-0. The Knights
are 2-0-1 in their last three games heading into the weekend.
Freshman Matt Zarbo and senior Brandon DeFazio are tied for the
team scoring lead with five points apiece, with both players
potting a pair of goals and adding three assists. Junior Jake
Morely has a team-best three goals as 20 different skaters have
recorded at least one point through the first seven games of the
season. In goal, junior Paul Karpowich has played most of the
minutes, recording a .935 save percentage and a 2.07 goals-against
average with one shutout. Clarkson has been strong on the penalty
kill this season, successfully ending 38 of the 41 penalties
against (92.7 percent) to rank second in ECAC Hockey and the
nation. The Knights’ power play, however, ranks last in the
country, having yet to convert on any of the 33 man-advantage
opportunities.
THE SERIES WITH CLARKSON
A series that dates back to 1922-23, Cornell holds a 54-49-12 lead
against the Golden Knights. The Big Red claimed wins in both of
last season’s meetings, including a 5-3 win on Jan. 30 at
Lynah Rink and a 3-1 victory on Jan. 15 at Cheel Arena. Cornell has
not lost to Clarkson since Feb. 8, 2008, when the Golden Knights
scored a 4-1 victory at Cheel Arena. Cheel has not been a very
friendly building for the Big Red, as Cornell has gone 6-11-4
all-time since the building opened in the 1991-92 season. Cornell
head coach Mike Schafer has had plenty of success against Clarkson,
holding a 27-14-5 record since the 1995-96 season.
FOR STARTERS
Cornell’s loss to New Hampshire on Oct. 29 dropped the Big
Red’s all-time record in season openers to 55-33-6 and
snapped a string of two straight wins in season opener. The loss
also sent Cornell head coach Mike Schafer to 10-5-1 all-time in
season openers.
THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN HERE
When New Hampshire scored seven times against the Big Red in the
season opener on Oct. 29, it marked the first time that an opponent
scored seven goals at Lynah Rink since Providence did so on Jan. 5,
1999, in a 7-3 Friar victory. It’s been even longer since
Cornell gave up seven in a season opener - in fact, it’s
never happened since Lynah Rink has been open. The last time the
Big Red gave up seven goals in a season opener came in the 1947-48
season when Cornell lost, 9-0, to Army.
ALLOWING A DOZEN
Traditionally one of the nation’s top defensive teams,
Cornell allowed 12 goals in the first weekend of the season on Oct.
29-30 against New Hampshire and RIT. The Big Red hadn’t given
up 12 goals in a weekend since Feb. 6-7, 1999, at Yale and
Princeton. That weekend, Cornell dropped the opener, 11-0, at
Ingalls Rink in New Haven, Conn., before rebounding the following
night with a 4-1 victory at Princeton. The last time Cornell gave
up at least 12 goals in back-to-back losses came in Brian
McCutcheon’s final games as head coach, losing at Clarkson on
March 6-7, 1995, by 6-2 and 7-2 scores.
0-2 OPENERS
The last time Cornell began a season 0-2 was the 2007-08 season,
when the Big Red dropped contests to RIT and Princeton to begin the
year. The Big Red rebounded in the third game to record a 5-3 win
against Quinnipiac to avoid going 0-3 to begin the season. Cornell
concluded that season with a 19-14-3 record and a third-place
finish in the ECAC Hockey tournament. The Big Red last began a
season 0-3 in 1979-80, falling twice to Notre Dame and at Brown
before picking up a victory in game number four at Yale. In spite
of the start, Cornell wound up winning the ECAC Hockey championship
that season and finished fourth at the NCAA tournament.
SHORT-HANDED
John Esposito’s goal against New Hampshire marked the first
short-handed goal for a Cornell player in a span of 59 games since
Riley Nash scored short-handed against St. Cloud State on Dec. 27,
2008, in Estero, Fla.
A LONG AWAITED DEBUT
Sophomore forward Vince Mihalek was a scratch for all 34 of the
Big Red’s games a year ago and the season opener against New
Hampshire this season, but finally made his collegiate debut
against RIT on Oct. 30. Mihalek collected an assist in his
debut.
MOWREY’S GOT POWER
Freshman Dustin Mowrey scored a pair of goals against New
Hampshire in his collegiate debut on Oct. 29, with both of his
goals coming on the power play. Mowrey’s two power-play
markers are the only two goals scored this season with the man
advantage for the Big Red, while the Burnaby, British Columbia
native leads the Big Red with his two goals.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Cornell’s offense is getting a boost from several younger
players who have stepped into the lineup early in the season. Of
the Big Red’s top five scorers after one weekend, four are
either sophomores or freshman, with the fifth being junior Sean
Collins. Sophomores have combined for nine points, with freshmen
tallying three points. The junior class has contributed four
points, with Locke Jillson and Sean Whitney both adding in an
assist with Collins’ two points, and the senior class has
scored three points, with one point apiece from Tyler Roeszler,
Mike Devin and Dan Nicholls.
TWO HEADED GOALIE
Cornell coach Mike Schafer elected to go with a pair of
goaltenders in the season’s first weekend, with both junior
Mike Garman and freshman Andy Iles getting a start. Both had their
share of struggles on the weekend, coming up with a combined 42
saves on 52 shots with two empty net goals allowed.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB
All six members of the freshman class made their collegiate debut
during the season’s opening weekend on Oct. 29-30 against New
Hampshire and RIT. Dustin Mowrey, Rodger Craig, Kirill Gotovets and
Andy Iles saw time in both games, while Mathieu Brisson and Armand
de Swardt both played in one game apiece, with Brisson appearing in
the RIT game and de Swardt playing against New Hampshire.
THE ELDER STATESMAN
Quick, what Cornell player has appeared in the most games over the
course of his career with the Big Red? If you guessed senior
defenseman Mike Devin, you guessed correctly. Devin appeared in his
100th career game on Oct. 30 against RIT and is the only active
player to have appeared in 100 games. Devin is also one point shy
of tying Patrick Kennedy for the most career points of any player
on the roster, having tallied nine goals and 30 assists for 39
points through his career.
THREE RIVERS RECAP
Cornell answered a lot of questions about its offensive abilities
with a five-goal first period in its exhibiton opener against
Quebec at Trois-Rivieres on Oct. 21. Joe Devin and Tyler Roeszler
both had a pair of goals in the first period, with Roezler tallying
three points in all on the evening. Freshman Armand de Swardt had a
goal and an assist, while Braden Birch and Greg Miller both had a
pair of helpers. Mike Garman got the start in goal, posting 23
saves for the victory.
USA! USA! USA!
Cornell’s offensive outburst continued in the second
exhibition of the season, defeating the U.S. U18 National Team,
6-0, on Oct. 23. Joe Devin had a pair of goals and a pair of
assists for a four-point night to lead the way for the Big Red.
Junior Sean Collins had a goal and two assists, while John Esposito
and Keir Ross both had a pair of assists. Kirill Gotovets had a
goal and an assist, with Rodger Craig and Tyler Roeszler both
adding a goal. Andy Iles posted 30 saves in his unofficial Cornell
debut to record the shutout.
A SOUTHWEST FLAVOR
Cornell’s roster in 2010-11 features a trio of players from
the state of Texas, in juniors Locke Jillson and Keir Ross and
freshman Armand de Swardt, with all three calling the Dallas area
home. Cornell has now had four players from the Lone Star State, as
the trio joins David McKee in hailing from Texas.
INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE
Freshman Kirill Gotovets got a taste of the big time in May when
he was selected to represent his native Belarus in the 2010 IIHF
World Championships – not an age group World Championships
(though he did play for Belarus at the U20 World Championship as
well) – but playing against some of the best players the
world has to offer. He played in three of Belarus’ eight
games at the World Championships, recording two shots and two
minutes in penalties, helping his nation to a 10th-place finish.
Gotovets has been in the United States for the last two years while
attending school at Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Minnesota.
BROTHERLY LOVE
A pair of Cornell players have older brothers who are currently on
rosters of NHL clubs, with four players having older brothers
playing professional hockey at some level. Junior Sean
Whitney’s older brother, Ryan, plays for the Anaheim Ducks,
while sophomore Chris Moulson’s brother, Matt, plays with the
New York Islanders. Another player, sophomore John Esposito, has an
older brother, Angelo, who plays for the Chicago Wolves of the
American Hockey League (Atlanta affiliate), with senior Patrick
Kennedy’s older brother, Michael, playing in the ECHL for the
Florida Everblades.
IS THERE A DRAFT IN HERE?
Cornell has four players on the roster for 2010-11 who have been
selected by NHL clubs. Junior Sean Collins (Columbus), sophomores
Braden Birch (Chicago) and Nick D’Agostino (Pittsburgh) and
freshman Kirill Gotovets (Tampa Bay) are each the property of NHL
clubs after having been drafted prior to beginning their careers at
Cornell.
AMERICAN INFLUENCE
The Big Red roster in 2010-11 has nine players who call the United
States home, up from seven last season and tied for second-most on
a Mike Schafer-coached Big Red team. Cornell had 10 Americans on
the roster in 1997-98, Schafer’s third season, and had nine
in 1999-2000, 2006-07 and 2008-09.
HOMETOWN HERO
With programs in major cities like in Boston and Minneapolis,
it’s commonplace for a hometown player to suit up for the
local college team, but that’s not something as common in a
city like Ithaca. So when freshman goaltender Andy Iles made his
official collegiate debut on Oct. 29 against New Hampshire, he
became the first Ithaca native to play for Cornell since Mike
Tallman, who suited up for 37 games in three seasons from 1986-87
to 1988-89.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Cornell head coach Mike Schafer is quickly moving up the ranks of
the coaching fraternity in his win totals. Now in his 16th season,
Schafer has 297 career victories, ranking him third in ECAC Hockey,
but with the shortest tenure of the two ahead of him in the
rankings. Schafer trails only Quinnipiac’s Rand Pecknold by
five, with St. Lawrence’s Joe Marsh well ahead with 455
career wins.
UP NEXT
Cornell returns home and takes on Princeton and Quinnipiac in a
pair of contests at Lynah Rink, opening up a four-game home stand.
Cornell opens the weekend with Quinnipiac at 7 p.m. on Fri. Nov.
12, before battling the Tigers the following night at 7 p.m.
