Team Notes: Cornell Breaks from League Play, Hosts North Dakota

Photo by DSPics.com

The following article appeared January 20 on the Cornell Web site.

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Fresh off a win and a tie in the North Country, the Cornell men’s hockey team takes a break from ECAC Hockey play for the final time this season, welcoming North Dakota to Lynah Rink for the first time ever. The Big Red and Fighting Sioux will meet for a pair of games, facing off at 7 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday. Friday night’s game will be televised by Time Warner Cable Sports in New York, while both games can be heard in the Ithaca area on WHCU 870 AM with Jason Weinstein providing the call. Live streaming video of both games, including the Time Warner Broadcast, will be available through the Cornell Redcast subscription service.

ABOUT THE BIG RED
Adversity comes in many forms, and the Cornell men’s hockey team handled several of those last weekend in picking up three points in the North Country. With two-thirds of the team battling the flu, the Big Red scored a 3-1 win at Clarkson and a 1-1 tie at St. Lawrence to come home from the ECAC Hockey’s most difficult road trip with three valuable points. On Friday night at Clarkson, the Big Red got goals from Patrick Kennedy, Locke Jillson and Colin Greening to score its first win at Clarkson since Jan. 26, 2005. The following night, the Big Red got an outstanding goaltending performance from Ben Scrivens, who stopped 35 of the 36 shots he faced on the night for a 1-1 tie. The Big Red offense is paced by Greening and Blake Gallagher, who share the team lead with 20 points through the first 16 games. Gallagher has a team-best 11 goals and nine assists, while Greening has the team lead with 13 assists to go along with seven goals. Joining the pair in double figures in scoring on the year are Joe Devin (4-11--15), Riley Nash (5-9--14) and Brendon Nash (2-8--10). Scrivens has seen all of the time in goal for the Big Red, posting a 2.04 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage with one shutout. The Big Red power play, which at one point was converting at a 32 percent rate, has cooled off considerably, now connecting on 18-of-74 chances (24.3 percent), though the Cornell penalty killing unit has still been successful, killing off 73-of-83 chances for the opposition (88.0 percent).

ABOUT NORTH DAKOTA
The Fighting Sioux had a five-game unbeaten streak snapped on Saturday at Minnesota, falling by a 5-1 margin. The two teams met on Friday as well, skating to a 3-3 tie in Minneapolis. The 5-1 defeat to the Golden Gophers marked the first time among North Dakota’s seven losses this season that they fell by more than one goal. North Dakota features a balanced offensive attack, with 11 different players in double figures in scoring on the year. Evan Trupp leads the team in scoring with 20 points (5-15--20) while Jason Gregoire has a team-best 12 goals and Chris VandeVelde has a team-leading 12 assists. Brad Eidsness has played most of the minutes in goal, posting a 2.29 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage with one shutout. North Dakota has converted on 29-of-132 power play chances this season (22.0 percent) while killing off 104-of-122 opponents’ chances (85.2 percent).

Complete article can be accessed via the Cornell Web site by clicking here.