ITHACA, N.Y. – Seeking its eighth trip to the NCAA tournament in the last 11 years, the Cornell men's ice hockey program revealed five additions to the program for the 2012-13 season. Mike Schafer, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Hockey, announced that forwards Christian Hilbrich, John Knisley and Teemu Tiitinen, and defensemen Gavin Stoick and Reece Willcox will join the Big Red as members of the Class of 2016.
 
“I think when you look at this class on paper, that first thing that stands out is their size,” said Schafer, who will be entering his 18th season at the helm of the program. “There's great size with three of the players standing at least 6-foot-3.”

Cornell Men's Hockey Newcomers
Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown (Previous Team)
Christian Hilbrich	F	6-6	208	Port Credit, Ontario (Indiana Ice, USHL)
John Knisley	F	5-9	170	Pittsford, N.Y. (Vernon Vipers, BCHL)
Gavin Stoick	D	6-3	215	Portland, Ore. (U.S. National Team Development Program)
Teemu Tiitinen	F	5-11	187	Jyvaskyla, Finland (Lincoln Stars, USHL)
Reece Willcox	D	6-4	193	Surrey, British Columbia (Merritt Centennials, BCHL)

Class of 2016 Player Biographies
 
Christian Hilbrich
Forward — 6-foot-6, 208 pounds — Port Credit, Ontario — Indiana Ice (USHL)
Hilbrich scored 13 goals to go with 20 assists for 33 points in 58 games last season with the USHL's Indiana Ice, where he served as an assistant captain. He debuted with Indiana during the 2010-11 season with 10 goals and five assists for 15 points on the same team that featured Brian Ferlin '15. Hilbrich has also played with another Big Red player before, Armand de Swardt '14, while notching 12 goals and seven assists for 19 points during the 2009-10 campaign with the Wenatchee Wild of the North America Hockey League. The team won the West Division championship that season, and Hilbrich played for the West Division in the NAHL Top Prospects tournament.
* Coach Schafer on Hilbrich: “He's just kept blossoming as a hockey player. His skill and the rest of his game really started to come together in the second half of last season. He'll bring us versatility in that he can play both as a center or a wing.”
 
John Knisley
Forward — 5-foot-9, 170 pounds — Pittsford, N.Y. — Vernon Vipers (BCHL)
Knisley ranked fifth on the team in scoring in each of the last two seasons with the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL, totaling 22 goals and 48 assists for 70 points over 106 games. He had a career-high five-point game in his finale with the team on March 10 against Salmon Arm. The previous season, Knisley helped Vernon win the BCHL title and advance to the Royal Bank Cup, which is Canada's Junior A championship tournament. Knisley had three goals and one assist over the six games at the event, helping the Vipers win five of their six games to finish second. Prior to his time in Canada, Knisley played for the Eastern Junior Hockey League's Syracuse Stars, potting seven goals with 13 assists for 20 points in just 34 games. He originally hails from Pittsford, N.Y., which is within minutes of Rochester.
* Coach Schafer on Knisley: “He's small, but quick, and he has really good hockey sense. He played on both the power play and penalty kill in Vernon, which had a lot of success.”
 
Gavin Stoick
Defenseman — 6-foot-3, 215 pounds — Portland, Ore. — U.S. National Team Development Program
Stoick gives the Big Red a newcomer via the U.S. National Team Development Program's Under-18 team for the third consecutive season, joining Andy Iles '14 and Cole Bardreau '15. His two years with the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based program were highlighted by a positional switch from forward to defense. He posted a pair of assists in 36 games with the Under-17 team in 2010-11, then notched two goals with four assists for six points in 32 games the following year with the Under-18 squad. Stoick was a first-round pick in the USHL Futures Draft before electing to join the USNTDP. In years prior, Stoick won a Tier 1 Under-16 national championship in his two years with the Colorado Thunderbirds.
* Coach Schafer on Stoick: “He's a young, raw talent. He obviously got a lot of experience with the National Team Development Program, and now we really look forward to him developing here. He's got a great heavy shot and great mobility. He'll continue to learn the position.”
 
Teemu Tiitinen
Forward — 5-foot-11, 187 pounds — Jyvaskyla, Finland — Lincoln Stars (USHL)
Tiitinen comes with the reputation of being a hard-working forward for the Lincoln Stars of the USHL, where he's spent the last two seasons accumulating 14 goals and 24 assists for 38 points over 104 games. He served as an assistant captain for the 2011-12 season, helping the Stars capture the Western Conference championship. Tiitinen is a first for the Big Red in two ways — he will be the first member of the men's hockey team native to Finland and also the first player who calls Georgia home. He moved to Suwanee, Ga. with his family before playing for the Dallas Stars Midget Major AAA team. He played for his native Finland on the Under-18 team at the 2009 Ivan Hlinka Memorial in Piestany, Slovakia.
* Coach Schafer on Tiitinen: “For Teemu, his hockey sense is his strength. He ran into an injury problem last season, but his hockey sense is really going to aid in his transition to college hockey. He has really good offensive skills.”
 
Reece Willcox
Defenseman — 6-foot-4, 193 pounds — Surrey, British Columbia — Merritt Centennials (BCHL)
Willcox arrives fresh off a selection at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, where the Philadelphia Flyers picked up his rights in the fifth round with the 141st pick. He spent the last two seasons with the Junior A Merritt Centennials of the British Columbia Hockey League, a popular pipeline to Cornell. He posted 10 goals and 27 assists for 37 points in 105 games over two seasons from the blue line, including four power-play goals. He was named the team's Top Defenseman and Academic Scholar in 2012, as well as the Most Promising Player in 2011. He was selected as a BCHL Second Team All-Star during the 2011-12 season and also played five games with gold medal-winning Team Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge in November. NHL teams have taken notice, and the Central Scouting Bureau placed Willcox on the Draft Watch List — 114th in the Midterm Rankings and 90th in the Final Rankings.
* Coach Schafer on Willcox: “Reece is very similar to Brendon Nash '09 in regards to his poise with the puck. He makes great passes coming out of the defensive zone.”