From the flatlands of southwest Florida to the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, Cornell's six-game stretch away from home continues this weekend with a stiff test in the form of two games at WCHA perennial power Colorado College. The matchup features one of the nation's top offenses (CC) against one of the top defenses (Cornell), as well as two of the most efficient power plays in the country. It will be the Big Red's first trip to Mountain Time Zone since Dec. 27-28, 1995, when it played a pair of games at the Denver Cup. The series also concludes Cornell's annual seven-game schedule outside of league play, where it currently sits atop both the ECAC Hockey and Ivy League standings. The set against Colorado College opens at 7:37 p.m. local time (9:37 p.m. EST) on Friday, Jan. 6, followed by the finale at 7:07 p.m. (9:07 p.m. EST) on Saturday, Jan. 7. Both games will broadcast by Jason Weinstein on WHCU 870 AM and available worldwide through the Cornell Redcast subscription service, which will also feature Weinstein's call.
 
GAME #14: #13/14 CORNELL at #6/8 COLORADO COLLEGE
DATE: Friday, Jan. 6, 2012
TIME: 9:37 p.m. EST (7:37 p.m. MST)
SITE: World Arena — Colorado Springs, Colo.
2011 RECORDS: Cornell 8-4-1, 6-1-1 ECAC Hockey; Colorado College 12-6, 9-5 WCHA
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 3-2
LAST MEETING: Colorado College won, 4-2, on Dec. 29, 2009 in Estero, Fla.
RADIO: WHCU 870 AM (Jason Weinstein)
LIVE STATS: www.sportdesigns.com/wcha/wcha_m_scoreboard.php
VIDEO (fee): www.b2livetv.com
 
GAME #15: #13/14 CORNELL at #6/8 COLORADO COLLEGE
DATE: Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012
TIME: 9:07 p.m. EST (7:07 p.m. MST)
SITE: World Arena — Colorado Springs, Colo.
2011 RECORDS: Cornell 8-4-1, 6-1-1 ECAC Hockey; Colorado College 12-6, 9-5 WCHA
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 3-2
LAST MEETING: Colorado College won, 4-2, on Dec. 29, 2009 in Estero, Fla.
RADIO: WHCU 870 AM (Jason Weinstein)
LIVE STATS: www.sportdesigns.com/wcha/wcha_m_scoreboard.php
VIDEO (fee): www.b2livetv.com

Cornell game notes (PDF)
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell came off a 25-day hiatus with its annual trip to the Florida College Hockey Classic in Estero, where it finished in third place by way of a loss to Massachusetts and victory over Clarkson. The results led the Big Red to hold steady at a season-high No. 13 in the USCHO.com poll, but slip one spot to No. 14 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. ... The Big Red is currently ranked third in the country in team defense, surrendering 2.00 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. ... Junior defenseman Nick D'Agostino (8-7—15) and freshman forward Brian Ferlin (6-9—15) are tied for the team lead in scoring, followed closely by last season's leading scorer, junior forward Greg Miller (4-10—14). ... The Big Red is 7-2-1 over its last 10 games, including one overtime loss. ... Cornell is 5-0 in Friday night games.
 
ABOUT COLORADO COLLEGE
The Tigers have won four of their last five games with the loss coming against crosstown rival Air Force, 2-1, on Dec. 30. The squad rebounded the following night with a 2-1 victory over ECAC Hockey's Union. The contests were by far the lowest scoring two-game weekend of the season for Colorado College, which averages 3.89 goals per game while surrendering 2.94 per game. ... Colorado College is 7-2 at its home rink, World Arena, which features an Olympic-sized sheet of ice which is 15 feet wider than the standard NHL-sized sheet. ... Junior center Rylan Schwartz (16-11—27) leads the team in scoring, and his average of 1.41 points per game ranks eighth in the country. His 16 goals is ried for second in the nation, and his six goals on the man advantage is tied for fifth. ... Sophomore Jaden Schwartz (5-13—18) is tied for second in team scoring and typically plays on the left wing of his older brother's line, but he has missed the last four games while serving as captain for Team Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championships. The tournament concludes Thursday, meaning Jaden Schwartz could return this weekend. ... Junior Mike Boivin (6-12—18) is one of just six defensemen in the nation to average better than a point per game. ... Sophomore Josh Thorimbert has become the goaltender of choice, starting the last five games since junior Joe Howe was pulled in a Dec. 9 home loss to Alaska-Anchorage. Thorimbert has a 7-2 record, 2.50 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.
 
THE SERIES WITH COLORADO COLLEGE
Cornell leads the all-time series against Colorado College, 3-2, with four of the five contests coming on neutral ice. In the teams' last meeting on Dec. 29, 2009, CC skated away with a 4-2 victory at the Florida College Hockey Classic. Cornell's first goal scored by then-freshman Greg Miller and the second assisted by classmate Nick D'Agostino. ... Cornell defeated CC, 3-2, on March 25, 2006 in an NCAA regional semifinals in Green Bay, Wis. ... The series began with Cornell's 9-8 victory on Dec. 28, 1973 at the defunct Syracuse Invitation Tournament. ... This will be the teams' first meeting at 13-year-old World Arena.
 
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. While his goals-against average of 1.91 is fifth in the NCAA, it's third among goalies who have played the majority of his teams' minutes. 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 seven assists for 15 points entering the weekend. His average of 1.15 points per game ranks fourth 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 — which has been in tact for most of the team's games this season — 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 second the nation in rookie points per game (1.15) and is also tied for second in the ECAC Hockey 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.
 
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 — 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 321 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 305th career win.
 
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.
 
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).
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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. This is the ninth consecutive season that the son of a former Big Red player has also suited up for Cornell.
 
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.
 
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 scored four short-handed goals last season after going without a goal on the penalty kill since Dec. 28, 2008. 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.
 
UP NEXT
Cornell returns to Ithaca, N.Y. for a few days before heading back on the road to start a stretch of 14 ECAC Hockey games to wrap up the season. The Big Red visits Quinnipiac on Friday, Jan. 13, then Princeton on Saturday, Jan. 14.