The teams are hot, the building is expected to be sold out and hockey's most prized possession will be on hand when the Big Red clashes with Boston University at famed Madison Square Garden on Saturday in New York. The third game of the most recent chapter in the teams' storied rivalry will unfold with Cornell seeking its first victory at the World's Most Famous Arena after the Terriers skated away with a 6-3  victory in 2007, then rallied late to force a 3-3 tie in the 2009 rematch. Cornell enters this year's clash — which will feature an appearance from the Stanley Cup — on a  five-game winning streak, with Andy Iles becoming just the second goalie in program history to record third consecutive shutouts. The Big Red's victory over Niagara on Tuesday was the team's 500th all-time at fabled Lynah Rink. From one celebrated venue to another, Saturday's game in New York can be seen on MSG Network, which is available on most cable packages in the Ithaca area. Cornell alumnus Bill Pidto '87 will provide the play-by-play. As with all other Big Red games, Jason Weinstein will be broadcasting on WHCU 870 AM and worldwide through the Cornell Redcast subscription service.
 
GAME #9: #17 Cornell vs. #15 Boston University
DATE: Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011
TIME: 8 p.m.
SITE: Madison Square Garden — New York
2011 RECORDS: Cornell 6-2; Boston University 6-4-1
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 23-17-2
LAST MEETING: Tied, 3-3, on Nov. 28, 2009 at New York
TV: MSG Network
RADIO: WHCU 870 AM (Jason Weinstein)
LIVE STATS: http://livestats.internetconsult.com/cornell/mhockey/

Game notes (PDF)
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell has been offensive in the early going this season, but in a good way. The Big Red has scored 30 goals over its first eight games to start out with a 6-2 record, climbing into the nation's No. 17 spot in the USCHO.com poll. The 3.75 goals per game total ranks sixth in the country. The Big Red's five straight wins started in a stretch of ECAC Hockey play with road victories at Harvard and then-ranked Dartmouth, followed by wins at home against Princeton, Quinnipiac and Niagara in a five-day span. While the Big Red remains among the national leaders in team offense, sophomore goalie Andy Iles is in the spotlight after three consecutive shutouts. Junior defenseman Nick D'Agostino leads the nation in points per game among blueliners (1.50) and is tied for the national lead in game-winning goals (4). Freshman forward Brian Ferlin has the nation's highest point-per-game mark for freshmen (1.38). Junior forward Greg Miller, who led the team in scoring last season, has points in all eight of the Big Red's games so far this season.
 
ABOUT BOSTON UNIVERSITY
The Terriers have warmed up after a slow start, winning their last three games after a disappointing overtime loss to now-No. 1 Merrimack on Nov. 11. BU responded two days later with a 5-0 thrashing of rival Boston College on national television, then followed that up last weekend with a pair of home victories over Hockey East foes Vermont and New Hampshire. Sophomore forward Matt Nieto (8-7—15) leads the team in scoring, tied with senior forward Corey Trivino (8-4—12) for the team lead in goals. Junior forward Alex Chiasson (5-6—11) led the team in scoring last season, and sophomore forward Charlie Coyle (2-9—11) was a teammate of Cornell goalie Andy Iles on last year's bronze medal-winning U.S. team at the World Junior Championships. Junior Wade Megan (6-1—7) leads the team with three power-play goals. In goal, senior Kieran Millan has surrendered just four goals over three games since being pulled in a 7-1 loss at UMass-Lowell.
 
THE SERIES WITH BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Two long-time rivals, Cornell and Boston University have met 42 times, with the Big Red holding a 23-17-2 lead in the all-time series. The two programs have combined to win seven NCAA championships, with the Big Red defeating the Terriers for the title in 1967, Cornell's first national championship. Moving to recent times, Boston University scored twice in the third period of the 2009 meeting between the teams at MSG, resulting in a 3-3 tie. The Terriers won the first incarnation of Red Hot Hockey at Madison Square Garden in 2007, 6-3, snapping a three-game Cornell winning streak in the series. Under Cornell head coach Mike Schafer, the Big Red is 3-3-1 against the Terriers.
 
EYES ON ILES
With three consecutive shutouts, sophomore goalie Andy Iles hasn't allowed a goal in 202 minutes, 28 seconds over a four-game span. The shutout streak ranks third in program history, trailing only a pair of scoreless strings posted by current Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Ben Scrivens. Scrivens' program-record streak of 267:11 was set in the 2010 playoffs. Iles has a slight chance of topping that mark Saturday against BU, if the teams are scoreless through regulation and the game goes deep into overtime.
 
THE BIG STAGE
Three of the Big Red's six goal-scorers in the MSG games against BU will be on the bench for Saturday's contest. Current senior defenseman Sean Whitney opened the scoring in the 2009 game, with classmate Locke Jillson doubling the lead just 2:20 later. In all, eight members of the Big Red played at MSG in 2009 — Whitney, Jillson, Nick D'Agostino, Braden Birch, Sean Collins, Greg Miller, Erik Axell and John Esposito. The other Cornell goal-scorer who will be at ice-level Saturday is assistant coach Topher Scott, who notched the Big Red's final goal in the 2007 game when he was a senior co-captain.
 
STREAKING
Junior forward Greg Miller has points in all of the Big Red's eight games to date, racking up a pair of goals and eightassists for 10 points. Linemate Brian Ferlin has 11 points over the last seven games, sitting one point behind junior defenseman Nick D'Agostino for the team lead in scoring. D'Agostino's 12 points have come in the form of six goals and six assists — including four goals on the power play.
 
DANGEROUS D'AGOSTINO
Junior defenseman Nick D'Agostino earned ECAC Hockey Player of the Week honors Nov. 14 after a gaudy four-goal weekend in victories at Harvard and Dartmouth. D'Agostino 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 hasn't slowed down since, most recently notching another power-play goal to spur a 1-0 victory over Niagara on Tuesday.
 
FERLIN'S FURIOUS START
Freshman forward Brian Ferlin leads the ECAC Hockey scoring race after posting 10 points in the Big Red's first five 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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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 319 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 (472) and is closing the gap on Quinnipiac's Rand Pecknold (320). Schafer is tops among Ivy League coaches, with Dartmouth's Bob Gaudet recently reaching his 303rd career win.
 
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.
 
CLASS-Y KEIR
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.
 
COLLECTING HARDWARE
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 this year's tournament in Bu falo, 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 had an outstanding evaluation camp with the team this summer, setting himself up to compete again in 2012.
 
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.
 
INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE, PART II
Sophomore 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) – 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.
 
THE OFFENSIVE DEFENSE
The Big Red scored four short-handed goals last season after going without a goal on the penalty kill since Dec. 28, 2008. Senior forward Sean Collins had two of those short-handed goals, becoming the first Cornell player with multiple shorties since both Cam Abbott and Mark McCutcheon had a pair of them in the 2005-06 season. The trend has continued early this season, with Joakim Ryan scoring a short-handed goal in the team's third game of the season at Brown and Vince Mihalek adding another shorty on Nov. 19 vs. Quinnipiac.
 
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).
 
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.
 
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.
 
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 makes his collegiate debut, it will be 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. Cornell also entered the season having sons of former players suit up for the team in each of the last eight seasons.
 
PROSE ABOUT PROS
All seven players who graduated after playing with the Big Red last season have played professionally this season. The group includes forwards Joe Devin (AHL's San Antonio Rampage), Tyler Roeszler (Sweden's Vita Hästen), Patrick Kennedy (ECHL's Trenton Titans) Jordan Kary (CHL's Texas Brahmas), Dan Nicholls (CHL's Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and SHL's Fayetteville FireAntz), defenseman Mike Devin (ECHL's Elmira Jackals) and goalie Mike Garman (ECHL's Colorado Eagles).
 
FIRST 1,000 DOWN ...
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.
 
UP NEXT
Cornell returns home for ECAC Hockey games against St. Lawrence (Friday, Dec. 2) and Clarkson (Saturday, Dec. 3) before the four-week intersession break. Play will pick up again Dec. 29-30 at the Florida College Classic.