Team Notes: Cornell Hosts Foes Dartmouth, Harvard

Seven weeks after it last played a game within the confines of Lynah Rink and more than two and a half month since its surrendered a goal there, the Big Red returns its home ice this weekend for highly anticipated games against Dartmouth on Friday, Jan. 20 and Harvard on Saturday, Jan. 21. Cornell had a successful stretch away from home, dropping just the opener before going undefeated in its last five games to vault to a season-high ninth in the USCHO.com poll. It's the same spot the Big Red occupied last week before a come-from-behind 3-2 victory at Quinnipiac and 3-3 deadlock with Princeton. Now, the Big Red will attempt to build on its program-record home shutout streak of 312 minutes, 11 seconds. The stretch spans five shutouts from sophomore goalie Andy Iles, meaning the last time an opposing team celebrated a goal at Lynah Rink was Mercyhurst's final goal in Cornell's season-opener Oct. 29. This weekend's matchups will also mark the second time Cornell has played both Dartmouth and Harvard this season. The Big Red used early leads to defeat both teams in November — 4-2 at Harvard; 3-2 at Dartmouth). Friday's game against the Big Green will be televised regionally by Time Warner Sports, while both weekend games will broadcast by Jason Weinstein on WHCU 870 AM and can be accessed worldwide through the Cornell Redcast subscription service.
 
GAME #18: DARTMOUTH at #9/9 CORNELL
DATE: Friday, Jan. 20, 2012
TIME: 7 p.m.
SITE: Lynah Rink — Ithaca, N.Y.
2011-12 RECORDS: Dartmouth 7-7-2, 4-4-1 ECAC Hockey; Cornell 10-4-3, 7-1-2 ECAC Hockey
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 75-43-3
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 3-2, on Nov. 12, 2011 in Hanover, N.H.
TV: Time Warner Cable
RADIO: WHCU 870 AM (Jason Weinstein)
LIVE STATS: http://livestats.internetconsult.com/cornell/mhockey
VIDEO: www.cornellbigred.com/showcase
 
GAME #19: HARVARD at #9/9 CORNELL
DATE: Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012
TIME: 7 p.m.
SITE: Lynah Rink — Ithaca, N.Y.
2011-12 RECORDS: Harvard 4-6-6, 3-4-4 ECAC Hockey; Cornell 10-4-3, 7-1-2 ECAC Hockey
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 71-59-7
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 4-2, on Nov. 11, 2011 in Cambridge, Mass.
RADIO: WHCU 870 AM (Jason Weinstein)
LIVE STATS: http://livestats.internetconsult.com/cornell/mhockey
VIDEO: www.cornellbigred.com/showcase

Cornell game notes (PDF)
Dartmouth game notes (coming soon)
Harvard game notes (coming soon)

ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell is unbeaten in its last five games — all away from Lynah Rink — and has just two losses in its last 14 games. As a result, the Big Red has climbed instead the Top 10 of both major national polls to ninth in the country. After an impressive win and tie Jan. 6-7 against Colorado College at the Tigers' home rink in Colorado Springs, the Big Red returned to ECAC Hockey play by rallying for a 3-2 victory Friday at Quinnipiac, then holding on for a 3-3 tie Saturday at Princeton. Sean Collins scored on a shorthanded breakaway, then set up Joel Lowry's shorthanded, game-winning goal later in the third period against the Bobcats. It was the first time since 2005 that the Big Red had two shorthanded goals in a game. Collins then assisted on two second-period goals at Princeton, giving him four two-point efforts over his last five games. ... The Big Red is currently ranked third in the country in team defense, surrendering 2.06 goals per game. Sophomore Andy Iles is the first goalie in program history to record five shutouts in a six-game span, also notching two shutout streaks of 213 minutes, 35 seconds and 152 minutes, 36 seconds that rank second and ninth, respectively, in program history. ... The team's leading scorer last season, junior forward Greg Miller (6-10—16), has a slight lead in this year's race. Junior defenseman Nick D'Agostino (8-7—15) and freshman forward Brian Ferlin (6-9—15) are just one point off Miller's pace, and senior forward Sean Collins (6-7—13) has eight points over his last five games. ... Cornell is 7-0 in Friday night games.
 
ABOUT DARTMOUTH
The Big Green surrendered four unanswered goals by New Hampshire's Stevie Moses to fall to the Wildcats in their last game, 4-1, on Saturday. Dartmouth mustered just one goal in its previous game, a 7-1 loss at the hands of host Union on Jan. 7. The drubbing came on the heels of a 4-3 win at RPI on national television the night before, giving the Big Green a season-high four-game unbeaten streak. ... Injuries have hobbled some of Dartmouth's more potent offensive weapons early on. Junior winger Dustin Walsh (3-7—10) is averaging better than a point per game, but has been limited to eight appearances due to injury. Sophomore center Matt Lindblad (2-9—11) has also missed a pair of games while on the mend, but is still tied for the team lead in scoring with classmate and linemate Eric Robinson (7-4—11) and freshman freshman center Tyler Sikura (7-4—11). Lindblad and Robinson play on the top line with senior left wing Doug Jones (4-6—10). ... Dartmouth's special teams are among the worst in the country, ranking third-to-last in both the power play (9.6 percent) and penalty kill (71.8 percent). ... All three goalies on the Big Green's roster have seen significant playing time. Senior James Mello (3-5-1, 3.10 goals against average, .896 save percentage) was named to the Preseason All-ECAC Hockey team, but is winless in his last five starts. Dartmouth then rode the hot hand of sophomore Cab Morris (3-1-1, 2.92, .902) for five straight starts.
 
THE SERIES WITH DARTMOUTH
Cornell holds a 74-43-3 lead in the all-time series against Dartmouth, a series that dates back to a Dartmouth win on Feb. 2, 1909, in Hanover, N.H. Cornell has won eight of the last 12 contests against the Big Green, including a 4-2 victory on Nov. 12 at Thompson Arena. Cornell has won the teams' last four regular-season meetings at Lynah Rink, also notching a best-of-three victory over the Big Red in an ECAC Hockey Championships quarterfinal series in 2008. Head coach Mike Schafer is 18-16-3 against the Big Green during his tenure behind the Cornell bench.
 
ABOUT HARVARD
If there's one thing in which the Crimson is adept, it's playing in tight games. Of Harvard's 16 games coming into Friday's matchup with Colgate, only three have been decided by more than one goal — including a 4-2 loss to Cornell on Nov. 11. Only one of those games has been decided by more than two goals — a 7-3 loss to North Dakota. Winless in its last six games, the Crimson led now-No. 2 Boston University by two goals heading into the third period of Saturday's game, only to eventually lose in overtime. ... Harvard features the nation's top power play, converting a gaudy 34.3 percent of the time on the man advantage. Nearly half (24 of 50) of the Crimson's goals have come on the power play, led by seven from its leading scorer, senior forward Alex Killorn (10-10—20). The only game in which Harvard didn't score a power-play goal was a 2-0 shutout loss to Union on Friday at Fenway Park. ... Junior Danny Biega (4-15—19) and freshman Patrick McNally (4-11—15) are second and eighth, respectively, in the nation in points per game for defensemen. ... The Crimson has surrendered at least two goals in all of its games. ... Freshman Steve Michalek (4-5-5, 3.28, .891), a Minnesota Wild draft pick, has emerged as the starter over sophomore Raphael Girard (0-1-1, 4.35, .846). The Big Red chased Girard with three goals in the first period on Nov. 11.
 
THE SERIES WITH HARVARD
One of the best rivalries in all of college hockey, Cornell holds a 71-58-7 lead in the all-time series with the Crimson. The Big Red won its third straight game at Harvard's Bright Center on Nov. 11, 4-2, after the teams split their two meetings last season. Cornell head coach Mike Schafer holds a 31-12-2 mark against his program's biggest rival.
 
A.I. — THE NEW ANSWER
With three consecutive shutouts in November, sophomore goalie Andy Iles recorded the second-longest shutout streak in program history, spanning 213 minutes, 35 seconds over a five-game span. The only Cornell shutout streak that went longer was posted by Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Ben Scrivens, who held the opposition scoreless for 267:11 during the 2010 playoffs. But Iles wasn't done there — he posted back-to-back shutouts against St. Lawrence and Clarkson on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3, respectively, spurring another lengthy shutout streak of 152:36 that ranks ninth all-time in Big Red history. Iles is tied for second in the nation with five shutouts. His goals-against average of 1.97 is third in the NCAA. Iles also picked up his first collegiate point with an assist Dec. 30 against Clarkson, which was the Big Red's first goalie assist since Ben Scrivens garnered one March 9, 2008 — a span of 120 games.
 
DANGEROUS D'AGOSTINO
Junior defenseman Nick D'Agostino is tied for second on the team in scoring with eight goals and seven assists for 15 points entering the weekend. His average of 0.88 points per game is 10th in the nation among blueliners; his five game-winning goals is tied for the NCAA lead; and his six power-play goals is tops nationally among defensemen. D'Agostino earned ECAC Hockey Player of the Week honors Nov. 14 after a gaudy four-goal weekend in victories at Harvard and Dartmouth. The Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick scored three power-play goals over the weekend, including a pair of goals on the man advantage just 56 seconds apart against the Crimson. He then scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Niagara on Nov. 22, then accomplished the same feat in a 1-0 win against St. Lawrence on Dec. 2. D'Agostino then was Cornell's lone representative on the Florida College Hockey Classic's all-tournament team last weekend after he posted a goal and an assist in the Big Red's opener against Massachusetts.
 
STELLAR 'D'
Junior defenseman Braden Birch went two months without being on the ice for an even-strength goal against. The streak of 668 minutes, 49 seconds covered all 12 games in which Birch has appeared, ending with Clarkson's final goal Dec. 30 at the Florida College Hockey Classic. The pairing of Birch and senior Sean Whitney still has not surrendered a five-on-five goal this season.
 
FERLIN'S FURIOUS START
Freshman forward Brian Ferlin, a native of Jacksonville, Fla., is tied for 10th the nation in rookie points per game (0.88) and is tops in the ECAC Hockey rookie scoring race after posting 11 points in the Big Red's first eight conference games. Teams around the league have taken notice, tabbing the Boston Bruins draft pick as the Rookie of the Week on consecutive weeks of Nov. 7 and Nov. 14. Teammate Joakim Ryan earned the honor on Oct. 31, meaning the Big Red had ECAC Hockey's top newcomer for the first three weeks of its season.
 
BIG STAGE PERFORMERS
Seniors Sean Whitney and Locke Jillson have shown a knack for producing in front of the biggest crowds they've seen in their college careers. Both scored goals against Boston in front of a sold-out crowd of 18,200 at Madison Square Garden in 2009, then the duo teamed up to score the Big Red's lone goal against BU on the same stage on Nov. 26. Whitney had the initial shot on Jillson's goal, which came on a sharp-angle shot off a rebound. Jillson then potted his second goal of the season to open the scoring in a 3-1 victory Jan. 6 at then-No. 6 Colorado College.
 
RYAN OFF AND RUNNING
Freshman defenseman Joakim Ryan got his season off to a flying start with two goals and an assist in the opening 5-4 loss to Mercyhurst on Oct. 29. For his efforts, Ryan was awarded as the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week. It was actually the second straight year that a freshman potted two goals in his debut for the Big Red — Dustin Mowrey did it on Oct. 29, 2010 against New Hampshire. But it was the first time a Big Red freshman has scored three points in the opener since Byron Bitz also had two goals and an assist against Western Michigan on Oct. 31, 2003.
 
CLASS-Y KEIR
Senior captain Keir Ross is one of 20 national candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence — community, classroom, character and competition. Ross posted a plus-12 rating last season, good for second on the team, and was penalized the least of any defenseman despite frequently being matched up against some of the opposition's best forward combinations. Outside of the rink, Ross is a two-time selection to the ECAC Hockey Academic All-League team and was the Big Red's Hockey Scholar Athlete last season. He was also named to the College of Human Ecology Dean's List in 2010, carrying a 3.57 grade point average in Human Biology, Health and Society.
 
FEEL THE DRAFT?
Cornell has six players on the roster who have been selected in the NHL Entry Draft, including picks in the fourth and fifth rounds last June. Freshmen Brian Ferlin (Boston Bruins) and Joel Lowry (Los Angeles Kings) were selected in a span of 20 picks, giving the 2011-12 Big Red the program's highest number of draft picks on a single team since 2006-07. Other players whose NHL rights are already owned are senior Sean Collins (Columbus Blue Jackets), juniors Braden Birch (Chicago Blackhawks) and Nick D'Agostino (Pittsburgh Penguins) and sophomore Kirill Gotovets (Tampa Bay Lightning).
 
NEW SUPPORT STAFF
Mike Schafer returns for his 17th season as the Cornell head coach, but he has three new assistants this year. While the new assistant coaches will be new faces in their positions behind the bench, their faces will still be familiar. Ben Syer joins the Big Red after eight seasons as an assistant coach for ECAC Hockey opponent Quinnipiac, and Topher Scott returns to East Hill just 3½ years since he last competed for the Big Red as a senior co-captain who eclipsed 100 career points. Volunteer assistant coach Kris Mayotte is also familiar with ECAC Hockey, having tended goal for Union from 2002-06 — a span which included a trip to Colorado College's World Arena.
 
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 17th season, Schafer has 322 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 St. Lawrence's Joe Marsh (475) and is closing the gap on Quinnipiac's Rand Pecknold (324). Schafer is tops among Ivy League coaches, with Dartmouth's Bob Gaudet recently reaching his 306th career win.
 
COLLECTING HARDWARE
Goalie Andy Iles became the first Cornell hockey player to earn a medal for the United States at the IIHF World Junior Championships when he was part of Team USA that claimed bronze at the 2011 tournament in Buffalo, N.Y. Iles is just the second Cornell player to be a member of the U.S. team, joining Jean-Marc Pelletier in 1998. The last Cornell player to earn a medal for any nation at the IIHF World Junior Championships was Sasha Pokulok, who claimed gold with Canada in 2006. The bronze medal won by Iles is the first bronze of the seven medals claimed by Cornellians at the tournament. Iles was been named the U.S. emergency goalie for this year's World Junior tournament, but was never summoned to join the team.
 
BLANK YOU VERY MUCH
Sophomore goalie Andy Iles made 15 saves for his first collegiate shutout on Nov. 18 in a 4-0 victory over Princeton. With that result, the Big Red extended its streak of seasons with at least one shutout to 17. The last time Cornell went a full schedule without posting a shutout came during the 1994-95 season under former coach Brian McCutcheon, as Cornell finished that year 11-15-4. The following year marked the first season for head coach Mike Schafer, and his clubs have never gone a full year without recording a shutout.
 
AMERICAN INFLUENCE
Seven of this season's nine freshmen were born in the United States, giving the Big Red a more American feel than it's seen in quite a while. Cornell has 12 players who were born in the United States, which is the most on a Mike Schafer-coached team at Cornell. The previous high was 10, which came in 1997-98.
 
INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE
Andy Iles isn't the only Cornell player to experience international competition recently. Freshmen forward Brian Ferlin and defenseman Joakim Ryan were also at the Junior Evaluation Camp from Aug. 6-13 in Lake Placid, N.Y. Ferlin had a goal and three assists in five games with the United States and Ryan trolled the blue line for Sweden. Ferlin was then invited to the U.S. World Junior Pre-Tournament Camp in mid-December, but did not make the final cut. Sophomore defenseman Kirill Gotovets also played for his native Belarus in the 2010 IIHF World Championships.
 
CLOSER TO HOME
Hometown fans of the Big Red got a rare treat last season when goalie Andy Iles became the first Ithaca native to play for the team since Mark McCutcheon in 2006-07. But when freshman Kevin Cole made his collegiate debut Dec. 30 against Clarkson, it became the first time in at least 50 years — and perhaps the first time in program history — that two Ithaca natives have played for the Big Red in the same season. Cole was born in Ithaca and raised in nearby Lansing before heading off to junior programs in Syracuse and Cornwall, Ontario. His father, Dave, lettered for the Big Red in the 1981-82 season, and his mother, Karen (Shull), also played for the Cornell women's hockey team. This is the ninth consecutive season that the son of a former Big Red player has also suited up for Cornell.
 
SOUTHERN FLAIR
None of the other 57 schools in Division I men's hockey have as many players that call states bordering the Gulf of Mexico home as Cornell. The Big Red has four players that fit into that category — Florida native Brian Ferlin and the three Texans, Locke Jillson, Keir Ross and Armand de Swardt. Northern Michigan is the only other team in the country that has three players from Texas.
 
MILESTONE MANIA
The Big Red's 2-1 win over Quinnipiac in game one of the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals last season marked the 1,000th victory all-time for the Cornell men's hockey program. Cornell became the 17th program to reach that milestone. The Big Red then surpassed another milestone this season by recording the 500th victory all-time at storied Lynah Rink with a 1-0 shutout of Niagara on Nov. 22.
 
THE OFFENSIVE DEFENSE
The Big Red has scored four shorthanded goals this season — leading ECAC Hockey and matching last season's total after going without a goal on the penalty kill since Dec. 28, 2008. Senior forward Sean Collins has one of this season's shorthanded goals after potting two  last season to become the first Cornell player with multiple shorties since both Cam Abbott and Mark McCutcheon had a pair of them in the 2005-06 season. Junior forward Vince Mihalek, freshman forward Joel Lowry and freshman defenseman Joakim Ryan have the Big Red's other shorthanded goals this season.
 
UP NEXT
With all of its out-of-state travels for the regular season concluded, the Big Red will prepare for its lone home-and-series of the campaign against regional rival Colgate. The Raiders visit Ithaca at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27 for a game that will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network, then teams will make the trek to Hamilton's Starr Rink for a rematch at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28.