Game 9 • Cornell vs. Boston University
Faceoff: Saturday, November 28, 2009 at 8 p.m.
Site: Madison Square Garden (18,200) • New York, N.Y.
2009-10 Records: Cornell (6-2-0, 5-2-0 ECAC Hockey) • Boston University (4-7-1, 2-6-1 Hockey East)

Media Information
Television: none
Radio: WHCU 870 AM • Jason Weinstein (play-by-play), Tony Eisenhut (color)
Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/cornell/mhockey
Live Video: www.CornellBigRed.com/showcase
Live Audio: none
Tickets: www.TheGarden.com

Game Notes in PDF Format

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell hockey makes its second trip to Madison Square Garden in the last three seasons on Saturday when it battles Boston University in an 8 p.m. game at the World's Most Famous Arena. The Big Red will be seeking to avenge a 6-3 loss the last time the two teams met last two years ago at MSG. Saturday's game can be heard on the radio on WHCU 870 AM in the Ithaca area with Jason Weinstein providing the call. Additionally, live video of the game will be available through the Cornell Redcast subscription service.

ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell skated to a 4-2 victory over in-state rival Colgate on Tuesday night at Lynah Rink, with Jordan Kary, Blake Gallagher, Riley Nash and Colin Greening each finding the back of the net in the contest. Justin Krueger had three assists in the contest, while Brendon Nash added two for the Big Red. Goaltender Ben Scrivens tied a season high with 28 saves on the night. For the season, Gallagher leads the Big Red with 14 points on eight goals and six assists, while Colin Greening has 13 points on four goals and nine assists. Junior Joe Devin is third with four goals and six assists as the only other player in double figures through the first eight games. Scrivens has played every minute in goal this season, posting a 2.01 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage with one shutout. Cornell's special teams have converted on 13-of-42 power-play chances (31.0 percent) while killing off 38-of-43 opponents' power plays (88.4 percent).

ABOUT BOSTON UNIVERSITY
The defending national champions, the Terriers have gotten off to a bit of a slow start in their title defense, posting a 4-7-1 record through their first 12 games. Boston University most recently picked up a 6-5 overtime victory over ECAC Hockey foe Harvard on Tuesday night, boosted by a four-point night from Nick Bonino and Joe Pereira. Chris Connolly got the game-winner at the 2:18 mark of overtime, with Keiran Millan picking up 21 saves for the victory. Kevin Shattenkirk leads the Terriers in scoring with two goals and 10 assists for 12 points, while four different players share the team lead with four goals apiece. Millan has played 10 games in net for the Terriers, posting a 3.42 goals-against average and a .886 save percentage. Boston University has converted on 15-of-75 power play attempts (20.0 percent) while killing off 57-of-70 opponents' power plays on the season for an 81.4 percent success rate.

THE SERIES WITH BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Two long-time rivals, Cornell and Boston University have met 41 times in men's hockey, with Cornell holding a 23-17-1 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 won the last meeting between the two teams on Nov. 24, 2007, in the first incarnation of Red Hot Hockey at Madison Square Garden. The win in 2007 snapped a three-game Cornell winning streak in the series. Under Cornell head coach Mike Schafer, the big Red is 3-3 against the Terriers.

WALK THE LINE
Late last season, Cornell coach Mike Schafer put together the line combination of Blake Gallagher, Colin Greening and Joe Devin, to immediate results. Only an injury to Devin that ended his season kept that line from running through the end of the year, but with all three players healthy to start the season, Schafer has reunited the trio to amazing dividends. The three players have combined to score 37 points through the first eight games of the season, or an average of better than four and a half points per game.

ONE WAY TO STOP HIM
Cornell senior Colin Greening's night ended early against Quinnipiac on Nov. 21 after a questionable hitting from behind major and game misconduct sent him to the locker room late in the first period. With Greening missing more than two-thirds of the game, he was held without a point for the first time all season, snapping his six-game point streak that saw him compile 12 points over that span. He got back to his scoring ways against Colgate on Nov. 24, potting an empty net goal for his fourth marker of the season and keeping intact his string of a point in every game he has finished this season.

LEADING THE WAY
With eight games in the books, Cornell's team and individual appearances among the national leaders is now more than an anomoly. Senior Blake Gallagher is second in the nation in points per game, posting a 1.75 average. Gallagher trails only Massachusetts' James Marcou, who has a 1.91 points per game average. Fellow senior Colin Greening is sixth in that category, averaging 1.62 points per game.

OFFENSIVE DEFENSEMAN
Freshman Nick D'Agostino has scored one point in six of the seven games he has played this season, continuing that streak with an assist against Colgate on Nov. 24 at Lynah Rink. D'Agostino was only held off the score sheet in the Big Red's 6-0 victory at Brown on Nov. 14.

LIFE OF RILEY
Junior Riley Nash has a similar streak going, tallying at least one point in seven of the eight games this season. Nash was held scoreless only against Brown on Nov. 14, recording nine points through the first eight games on a pair of goals and seven assists.

A TRIO FOR KRUEGER
With Sean Whitney scratched from the lineup against Colgate on Nov. 24, senior Justin Krueger stepped into Whitney's place on the first power play unit and delivered a career best three assists on the night. Prior to the game against the Raiders, Krueger had never had a multi-point game in his first 108 games at Cornell.

BREATHING ROOM
When Cornell defeated Princeton, 5-2, on Nov. 20, the Big Red snapped a string of five straight games against the Tigers that were decided by one goal. All three games played in 2008-09 were one-goal games, with Cornell winning 1-0 in Princeton, N.J., the Tigers claiming a 2-1 victory in Ithaca, N.Y., and Cornell winning the season series with a 4-3 double-overtime thriller in Albany, N.Y.  The last game in the series that was decided by more than one goal was a Feb. 17, 2007, matchup at Lynah Rink that Cornell won, 8-4.

POWERING UP
Cornell boasts the nation's second-most prolific power play unit, converting on 13-of-42 chances (31.0 percent). The Big Red trails only Colorado College, Cornell's opponent in the opening round of the Florida College Classic on Dec. 29, who has converted on 22-of-70 chances (31.4 percent).

SIX OF ONE...
Cornell's offense erupted for six goals against Harvardon Nov. 7, marking the first time that the Big Red put six goals on the board against its rival since a 6-3 win at Lynah Rink on Feb. 1, 2002.

...HALF DOZEN OF ANOTHER
When Cornell's offense put six goals on the board against Harvard on Nov. 7, it marked the first time in more than a full season that Cornell has scored six goals in a game. The last time Cornell scored six was on March 9, 2008, against Dartmouth in game three of the first round of the ECAC Hockey tournament at Lynah Rink. The Big Red has played 42 games since then. Prior to that, the Big Red scored six time the week just before against the Big Green.

ANOTHER SIX-PACK
With Cornell going 42 games without scoring six goals prior to the Nov. 7 win against Harvard, it took far less time to record another six-goal game, as exactly one week later, the Big Red put six goals on the board in a 6-0 victory at Brown. Cornell has scored at least five goals in four of the seven games this season and has not scored fewer than two goals in any one game.

ONE BUSY PERIOD
When Ben Scrivens saw 22 shots in the first period against Yale on Nov. 13, he stopped 20 of them, tying his personal record for most saves in a period. The senior netminder previously stopped 20 shots in the third period of the 2008-09 season opener at Princeton.

SCITUATE > CAMBRIDGE
In this case, the town of Scituate, Mass., nearly single-handedly scored more points than then entire Harvard roster when the two teams met on Nov. 7 at Lynah Rink. Boosted by seven points from brothers Joe and Mike Devin, the three Scituate natives on the Cornell roster equaled the entire scoring output from the Harvard roster. Joe Devin scored twice, including the game-winner, and added an assist, while twin brother Mike scored one goal and added three assists. The pair were aided by fellow Scituate native Sean Whitney, who chipped in an assist against the Crimson.

IS THIS REALLY CORNELL?
Fans of college hockey might be surprised to see Cornell standing third in the national rankings in scoring offense. Most around college hockey know Cornell to be a defensive juggernaut, but this season, the Big Red has scored 33 goals through eight games for an impressive 4.12 average. Still, while the Big Red has been lighting up the scoreboard, the defense hasn't been too shabby, either. Cornell has allowed just 17 goals in eight games for a 2.12 goals-per-game average, good for eighth in the nation.

A POWERFUL POWER PLAY
Cornell scored a trio of power-play goals in the win against Dartmouth on Nov. 6, marking the first time in nearly a year that the Big Red recorded three man-advantage goals. Cornell's last three power-play goal game came on Nov. 13 at Colgate in a 4-1 Big Red win. Cornell has scored multiple power-play goals in four of the eight games this season.

THE DRIVE FOR FIVE
Cornell scored at least five goals in both games during the weekend of Nov. 6-7 against Dartmouth and Harvard, marking the first time in nearly three years that the Big Red has scored at least five in back-to-back games. Cornell scored six goals against Union on Dec. 2, 2006, then scored five against New Hampshire on Dec. 29, 2006, in the opening game of the Florida College Classic.

10-GOAL WEEKEND, FOUR-POINT WEEKEND
Cornell scored 11 goals on Nov. 6-7 against Dartmouth and Harvard, marking the first time the Big Red had scored at least 10 in a weekend since the first round of the ECAC Hockey tournament on March 7-9, 2008, against Dartmouth. That weekend, the Big Red scored 12 goals in three games after scoring three in the opener, three in a game two loss, and six in the clinching game three. The last time Cornell scored 10 goals or more in a two-game weekend was on Jan. 4-5, 2008, when it scored six against Niagara on Friday night and four on Saturday.

START ME UP
Cornell has an all-time record of 55-32-6 in season openers after opening the 2009-10 campaign with a 3-2 overtime win against Niagara on Oct. 30. Cornell has won two the first game of the season in back-to-back seasons after scoring a 1-0 win over Princeton to kick off the 2008-09 campaign. Under head coach Mike Schafer, the Big Red is 10-4-1 in season openers.

HAPPY DEBUTS
Four members of Cornell's freshman class made their official collgiate debut in the win against the Purple Eagles on Oct. 30. Forwards Greg Miller, John Esposito and Erik Axell each found themselves in the starting lineup, as did defenseman Nick D'Agostino. D'Agostino also picked up the second assist on Joe Devin's overtime game-winner against Niagara. A fifth member of the freshman class, Braden Birch, made his official debut on Nov. 6 against Dartmouth.

A MIGHTY WIND-SOR
Tyler Roeszler and Nick D'Agostino scored two goals each as Cornell opened the exhibition season with a 7-0 win over Windsor on Oct. 23. Patrick Kennedy, Blake Gallagher and Dan Nicholls also added goals Michael Garman got the start in goal for the Big Red, stopping all 20 shots he faced on the night.

EXHIBIT B
Sean Whitney and Riley Nash both scored  as the Cornell men's hockey team closed out the exhibition season with a 3-2 loss to the U.S. Under-18 National Team on Oct. 24 at Lynah Rink. Ithaca-native Andy Iles had 39 saves in the victory for Team USA, while Cornell's Ben Scrivens stopped 24 shots in the loss. Joe Devin, Greg Miller and Blake Gallagher each chipped in an assist. Cornell finished the game 0-for-5 on the power play, while Team USA was 1-for-5 with the man advantage.

QUIETLY MAKING NOISE
One of the most overlooked players on the Big Red roster is ironically, one of the most visible in goaltender Ben Scrivens. Entering his senior season, Scrivens ranks among the top-10 goaltenders in NCAA history in several categories, though he typically gets passed over for league and national recognition because of Cornell's defensive reputation. Scrivens enters the year ranked tied for eighth in save percentage (.928) and tied for ninth in goals-against average (1.96). Additionally, last season, he tied for 15th all-time with his six single-season shutouts, and, should he start every game this season, he would break David McKee's NCAA record of consecutive starts by a goaltender of 102.

I FEEL A DRAFT
Cornell has six players on the roster for 2009-10 who have been previously selected in the NHL Entry Draft. Seniors Colin Greening and Justin Krueger, junior Riley Nash, sophomore Sean Collins and freshmen Braden Birch and Nick D'Agostino have been picked in the NHL draft over the last five seasons.

NUMBER PLEASE
During the Big Red's final weekend of the regular season in February, Cornell will retire two numbers from a pair of great players from seasons past. Ken Dryden, who backstopped the Big Red to its first national title in 1967, will have his number 1 retired, while Joe Nieuwendyk, a 20-year NHL veteran and current general manager of the Dallas Stars, will have the number 25 he wore for three seasons at Cornell retired. The two numbers will be the first two numbers to be permanently retired in Cornell hockey history.

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 15th season, Schafer has 281 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 Quinnipiac's Rand Pecknold by 10, with St. Lawrence's Joe Marsh well ahead with 443 career wins.

WHAT'S IN A NUMBER?
Sophomore defenseman Sean Whitney will be wearing jersey number 19 this season, the same number that his older brother, Ryan, wears for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League.

IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR
In what seems to be an annual trend for the Cornell hockey team, there are two sets of brothers on the roster in 2009-10. Twins Joe and Mike Devin are juniors, while the Nash family has senior defenseman Brendon and junior forward Riley as members of the Big Red.

BROTHERLY LOVE
A glance around the college hockey landscape shows 13 collegiate players who have older brothers as regular players in the NHL. Two of those 13 players happen to play for the Big Red, as sophomore defenseman Sean Whitney's brother, Ryan, is a defenseman for the Anaheim Ducks. Additionally, freshman forward Chris Moulson's older brother, Matt, is a forward for the New York Islanders. Cornell joins New Hampshire, North Dakota and Union (coincidentally, all three are opponents on the schedule in 2009-10 for a total of five games) with having two players whose older brothers are currently in the NHL.

ONE LONG SEASON
In 2007-08, the Big Red tied the 2002-03 campaign with the most games in a single season in school history at 36. That mark was again equaled last year as the Big Red went 22-10-4, just the third time in program history that Cornell has played 36 games. The Big Red advanced to the NCAA Midwest Regional Final, where it fell to Bemidji State, 4-1, in the 36th game of the year.

IRON MAN
Senior Colin Greening has a shot at breaking the school consecutive games record this season. Entering the year with 103 straight games played, the Big Red captain needs to play in 36 games this season to eclipse the mark of 138, set by Jeremy Downs from 2002-05. He is currently at 111 career games played after appearing in all eight games so far this season.

TRIPLE DIGITS
Three Cornell players have played in more than 100 games in their Big Red careers, with another two nearing the century mark. Colin Greening leads the way with 111 career games played, while Justin Krueger has appeared in 109 contests for the Big Red. The most recent member to hit triple digits is Blake Gallagher, who played in his 100th career game in the season opener against Niagara and now stands at 107. Nearing the century mark are Brendon Nash, who has appeared in 95 games, and Ben Scrivens, who has played in 91 contests.

EVEN MORE TRIPLE DIGITS
Cornell senior Colin Greening is making a bid to become the 45th player in Cornell history to record 100 career points. The Big Red senior has 96 points through 110 career games. Hot on his heels on the race to 100 is junior Riley Nash, who has tallied 76 points in 80 career games, and Blake Gallagher, who has 77 points through 107 career games.

IN THE AIR TONIGHT
All of Cornell's games this season can be heard in the Ithaca area on WHCU 870 AM. Jason Weinstein returns for his fifth season calling Big Red hockey action.

ON THE TUBE
Five of Cornell's regular season games are scheduled to be on television this season, with the first being the Big Red's game at Union on Dec. 5, televised in the Albany area by Time Warner Sports. The other four games are all slated to be after the New Year, including the Big Red's game against North Dakota on Jan. 22. Other games to be televised include the game at New Hampshire on Jan. 3, at Quinnipiac on Feb. 5 and at Colgate on Feb. 16. Last season, Cornell played in 12 televised games, going 8-4 when on television.

REDCAST
Live streaming video of most of Cornell's home hockey games is available through Cornell REDCast. In addition to streaming video of home games, fans can also get live audio of all of Cornell's road games. REDCast is a subscription-based joint venture of Cornell athletics and Internet Consulting Services (ICS). Numerous subscription options, including yearly, monthly, sport-by-sport and pay-per-view passes, provide viewing and listening flexibility without the worry of automatic renewal. REDCasts are available on all computer operating systems.

UP NEXT
Cornell closes out the fall semester with its annual trip to the Capital District, taking on Rensselaer in a 7 p.m. game on Dec. 4 before battling Union the following night, also at 7 p.m. Saturday night's game will be televised in the Albany area by Time Warner Cable Sports.