Armed with the longest active unbeaten streak among Division I teams, the Big Red faces off against Central New York rival and fellow ECAC Hockey contender Colgate in a home-and-home series this weekend. The series kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27 at Lynah Rink, followed by a rematch at Colgate's Starr Rink at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28. Cornell is 4-0-3 in its last seven games, a stretch that has included victories on Fridays and ties on Saturdays in each of the last three weeks. The results have boosted Cornell into a season-high sixth place in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll and ninth in the USCHO.com poll for the third consecutive week, not to mention strengthen the Big Red's first-place status in both the ECAC Hockey and Ivy League standings. Friday's game at Lynah Rink will be televised nationally by CBS Sports Network, while both weekend games will broadcast by Jason Weinstein on WHCU 870 AM and can be accessed worldwide through the Cornell Redcast subscription service. The Big Red won its last appearance on CBS Sports Network, a 6-2 victory on Nov. 4 at then-No. 9 Yale.
 
GAME #20: COLGATE at #6/9 CORNELL
DATE: Friday, Jan. 27, 2012
TIME: 7:30 p.m.
SITE: Lynah Rink — Ithaca, N.Y.
2011-12 RECORDS: Colgate 12-9-3, 6-5-1 ECAC Hockey; Cornell 11-4-4, 8-1-3 ECAC Hockey
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 74-54-12
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 5-2, on Jan. 22, 2011 in Ithaca, N.Y.
TV: CBS Sports Network
RADIO: WHCU 870 AM (Jason Weinstein)
LIVE STATS: http://livestats.internetconsult.com/cornell/mhockey
 
GAME #21: #6/9 CORNELL at COLGATE
DATE: Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012
TIME: 7 p.m.
SITE: Starr Rink — Hamilton, N.Y.
RADIO: WHCU 870 AM (Jason Weinstein)
LIVE STATS: http://livestats.internetconsult.com/colgate/mhockey
VIDEO: www.gocolgateraiders.com/showcase

Cornell game notes (PDF)
Colgate game notes (PDF)
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell has just two losses in its last 16 games and its four overall losses are tied with No. #1/1 Minnesota-Duluth for the fewest in the nation. As a result, the Big Red has climbed inside the Top 10 of both major national polls for the last three weeks and established itself as one of the front-runners in ECAC Hockey. 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 Jan. 13 at Quinnipiac, then holding on for a 3-3 tie Jan. 14 at Princeton. Most recently, freshman Cole Bardreau scored a power-play goal in overtime to spur the team's 4-3 victory over resilient Dartmouth on Friday in the team's first home game in nearly seven weeks, then sophomore goalie Andy Iles made 31 saves the following night to secure a 2-2 tie against Harvard. Freshmen Joel Lowry and Joakim Ryan scored the Big Red's goals against the Crimson. ... Cornell has not trailed in its last three games, all of which have gone to overtime. Senior forward Sean Collins' shorthanded goal in the third period of a Jan. 13 game at Quinnipiac started the streak, meaning the Big Red has either led or been tied with the opposition it its last 209 minutes, 53 seconds of play.... The Big Red is currently ranked fifth in the country in team defense, surrendering 2.11 goals per game. ... The team's leading scorer last season, junior forward Greg Miller (6-11—17) is tied for this year's race with freshman linemate Brian Ferlin (7-10—17) and junior defenseman Nick D'Agostino (8-9—17). Senior forward Sean Collins (6-8—14) has nine points over his last seven games. ... The last time Cornell had more than four ties was during when it went 16-10-6 during the 2003-04 season.
 
ABOUT COLGATE
Around the same time as the Big Red started its current seven-game unbeaten streak, the Raiders were entering its current six-game winless skid. A 5-2 victory over Canisius after the holiday break extended Colgate's unbeaten streak to seven games and vaulted it to ninth in both major national college hockey polls before darker times ensued. Ferris State swept a pair of games from visiting Colgate in early January, then the Raiders were thumped for two losses Jan. 13-14 at Princeton and Quinnipiac by a combined score of 13-3. The Raiders then rallied for a 2-2 tie with visiting Harvard last Friday and led Dartmouth by three goals entering the third period of Saturday's game at Starr Rink. But the Big Green potted three goals in the final 20 minutes to force overtime, then Doug Jones netted the winner to hand Colgate a 5-4 loss. ... The Raiders have surrendered 27 goals over the winless skid (4.5 goals per game). ... All conversations about Colgate start and end with senior forward Austin Smith (24-14—38), who leads the nation in goals and is tied for second in points. The Hobey Baker Award hopeful also leads the country with five short-handed goals. He typically on the right wing of a line with sophomore center Chris Wagner (9-21—30) and freshman left wing Joe Wilson (5-4—9). Wilson played his high school hockey for Cicero-North Syracuse, which is in the same league as Ithaca High School. ... Sophomore Eric Mihalik (8-7-2, 2.95 goals-against average, .896 save pct.) has started 17 of the Raiders' 24 games, though senior Alex Evin (4-2-1, 1.97, .930) has better numbers and started the team's last game. Mihalik and Evin are a combined 0-4-1 in six appearances against Cornell.
 
THE SERIES WITH COLGATE
This weekend's games will mark the 141th and 142th all-time meetings between the two Central New York rivals, with the Big Red holding a 74-54-12 lead in the series entering this weekend. The Big Red hasn't lost in the last 11 matchups (8-0-3), with Raiders' last victory coming on Jan. 25, 2007 at Starr Rink. Colgate's last victory at Lynah Rink came on Jan. 30, 2004, behind a would-be shutout from Steve Silverthorn was foiled when he was ejected for fighting with 5.7 seconds remaining in the third period. Last season, Cornell secured a pair of 5-2 victories last season at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (a non-conference game) and Lynah Rink. The teams also played to a 1-1 draw at Starr Rink. Cornell head coach Mike Schafer holds a 24-10-7 lead over the Raiders during his tenure behind the bench.
 
IVY LEAGUE LEADERS
Using a front-loaded schedule, the Big Red has taken a commanding lead in the chase for its first title in the Ivy League since the 2004-05 season. With just February games at home against Brown and Yale remaining, Cornell is 5-1-2 in Ivy League play. The other five teams in the league have up to four games in hand, meaning the Big Red will likely have to wait for an opportunity to clinch the title. Second-place Princeton (2-4-1) can't catch Cornell, but the other four teams can. Yale, Brown, Dartmouth and Harvard all have two games apiece against each other this weekend.
 
T.G.I.F.
The Big Red is an untarnished 8-0 on Friday nights this season. Some of the team's biggest victories have come at the start of the weekend, including at then-No. 9 Yale on Nov. 4 and at then-No. 6 Colorado College on Jan. 6. Colgate is 8-2 on Fridays.
 
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 the team lead in scoring with eight goals and nine assists for 17 points entering the weekend. His average of 0.89 points per game is 10th in the nation among blueliners; his five game-winning goals is tied for fourth in the NCAA; 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 ninth the nation in rookie points per game (0.89) and is tops in the ECAC Hockey rookie scoring race after posting 13 points in the Big Red's first 11 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).
 
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.
 
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 324 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 (325). Schafer is tops among Ivy League coaches, with Dartmouth's Bob Gaudet recently reaching his 307th career win.
 
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 two 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.
 
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 and ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones), Tyler Roeszler (Sweden's Vita Hästen), Patrick Kennedy (ECHL's Idaho Steelheads and Trenton Titans), Jordan Kary (CHL's Texas Brahmas), Dan Nicholls (CHL's Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and Texas Brahmas, and SHL's Fayetteville FireAntz), defenseman Mike Devin (ECHL's Elmira Jackals) and goalie Mike Garman (ECHL's Colorado Eagles and CHL's Tulsa Oilers). Two players who left Cornell after the 2010 season have also made their NHL debuts this season — goalie Ben Scrivens with the Toronto Maple Leafs and forward Riley Nash with the Carolina Hurricanes.
 
UP NEXT
For the fourth consecutive weekend, the Big Red will be on television when its Friday, Feb. 3 showdown at RPI will appear on NBC Sports Network (formerly VERSUS). The weekend will conclude with a pivotal game Saturday, Feb. 4 at Union, the current second-place team in ECAC Hockey.