Game 10 • Cornell at Rensselaer
Faceoff: Friday, December 4, 2009 at 7 p.m.
Site: Houston Field House (4,780) • Troy, N.Y.
2009-10 Records: Cornell (6-2-1, 5-2-0 ECAC Hockey); Rensselaer (8-6-1, 3-1-0 ECAC Hockey)

Media Information
Television: none
Radio: WHCU 870 AM • Jason Weinstein (play-by-play)
Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/rpi/mhockey
Live Video: www.b2livetv.com
Live Audio: www.CornellBigRed.com/showcase
Tickets: Available by calling (607) 254-BEAR


Game 11 • Cornell at Union
Faceoff: Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 7 p.m.
Site: Messa Rink (2,225) • Schenectady, N.Y.
2009-10 Records: Cornell (6-2-1, 5-2-0 ECAC Hockey); Union (6-3-4, 2-0-2 ECAC Hockey)

Media Information
Television: Time Warner Sports (Albany) • Matt DuBrey (play-by-play) & Dan Fridgen (color)
Radio: WHCU 870 AM • Jason Weinstein (play-by-play)
Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/union/mhockey
Live Video: www.unionathletics.com/showcase
Live Audio: www.CornellBigRed.com/showcase
Tickets: Available by calling (607) 254-BEAR

Game Notes in PDF Format

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's hockey team closes out the fall semester this weekend when it takes to the road to face Rensselaer and Union. The Big Red and Engineers will meet on Friday at the Houston Field House in Troy, N.Y, before Cornell heads to Union for a 7 p.m. contest with the Dutchmen on Saturday. Saturday's game will be televised in the Albany area by Time Warner Sports, while both games, as always, can be heard on the radio on WHCU 870 AM in the Ithaca area with Jason Weinstein providing the call. Additional links to follow along with the action will be provided on CornellBigRed.com.

ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell is coming off a 3-3 tie against Boston University on Saturday in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden, just the second time in history that building was sold to capacity for a college hockey game. Cornell got goals from Sean Whitney, Locke Jillson and Blake Gallagher, while Brendon Nash chipped in a pair of assists. Whitney, Patrick Kennedy and Colin Greening each added an assist for the Big Red on the night. In goal, Ben Scrivens came one save shy of his season high, stopping 32 of the 35 shots he faced on the night. For the season, Gallagher leads the Big Red with 15 points on nine goals and six assists, while Colin Greening has 14 points on four goals and 10 assists. Junior Joe Devin is third with four goals and six assists as the only other player in double figures through the first nine games. Scrivens has played every minute in goal this season, posting a 2.10 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage with one shutout. Cornell's special teams have converted on 15-of-47 power-play chances (31.9 percent) while killing off 44-of-50 opponents' power plays (88.0 percent).

ABOUT RENSSELAER
RPI enters the weekend riding the roller-coaster associated with a young team, as the Engineers have three of their last four games after winning six of the previous seven. Chase Polacek leads the offense for the Engineers, tallying 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points on the year, while freshman Brandon Pirri has seven goals and seven assists for 14 points. Paul Kerins and Jerry D'Amigo both are in double digits in scoring with 13 points apiece. In goal, Allen York has seen the majority of time, posting a 2.65 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage with a 6-5-1 mark. Rensselaer has converted on 17-of-85 power-play chances (20.5 percent) while killing off 63-of-83 opponents' power plays (75.9 percent).

THE SERIES WITH RENSSELAER
Cornell and RPI have met 92 times previously in men's hockey, with Cornell holding a 56-31-5 mark in the all-time series. Cornell claimed four of the five meetings last season, winning by 3-0 and 4-1 margins in the regular season before the Engineers claimed a 1-0 victory in the opening game of the ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series. Cornell responded by winning the next two games, 4-0 and 4-3, to advance to the ECAC Hockey semifinal. Cornell coach Mike Schafer holds a 24-10-3 record in games played against the Engineers during his tenure.

ABOUT UNION
Union comes into the weekend off a win and a tie last weekend to claim the RPI Holiday Tournament in Troy, N.Y, defeating the host Engineers, 5-4, in overtime, in the title game. The Dutchmen opened the tournament by skating to a scoreless tie against Lake Superior State in the opening game, advancing to the championship by a deciding shootout. Union is 3-0-3 in its last six games and will face Colgate on Friday night before battling Cornell on Saturday. The Dutchmen are paced offensively by Mario Valery-Trabucco, who has five goals and nine assists for 14 points, leading five players in double figures in scoring. Others who have reached double digits in scoring are Jason Walters (12), Adam Presizniuk (11), Kelly Zajac (10) and Mike Schreiber (10). In goal, freshman Keith Kinkaid, this week's ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week, has been solid early on, posting a .901 save percentage and a 2.75 goals-against average. Kinkaid has split time with Corey Milan, who has posted a .903 save percentage and a 2.63 goals-against average. The Dutchmen have converted on 12-of-55 power play chances (21.8 percent) while killing off 47-of-65 opponents' power plays (72.3 percent).

THE SERIES WITH UNION
Cornell holds a 27-12-5 lead in the all-time series against Union, a series which dates back to 1928. Cornell is riding a four-game winning streak in the series, including wins in both meetings last season. Cornell won the opener, 4-1, at Messa Rink, before claiming a 5-2 win at Lynah Rink last season. Under head coach Mike Schafer, the Big Red is 18-8-4 against the Dutchmen.

FIT TO BE TIED
Cornell's 3-3 tie against Boston University on Nov. 28 at Madison Square Garden marked the 50th tie in the coaching tenure of head coach Mike Schafer. The Big Red bench boss, in his 15th season, is averaging 3.33 ties per season during his tenure. Cornell recorded six ties in 2003-04, while posting as few as one tie in 2002-03. Additionally, while the tie was the 50th for Schafer, it also marked the 99th all-time tie in the history of the Cornell men's hockey program.

POWERFUL PLAY
Cornell's power play unit has regained the top spot in the nation at 31.9 percent, having converted on 15-of-46 chances this season. Cornell has scored two or more power-play goals in five of the nine games this season, while tallying one power-play goal in three others. Cornell's only game this season without a power play goal came on Nov. 21 against Quinnipiac.

THE SELLOUT
Cornell and Boston University combined to record just the second sell-out of a college hockey game in the history of Madison Square Garden on Nov. 28 when the two programs met at The World's Most Famous Arena. The first sellout came during the 2007-08 season in the first incarnation of Red Hot Hockey between Cornell and Boston University.

THE SELLOUT, PART TWO
Of the nine Cornell games so far this season, seven have come in front of capacity crowds, highlighted by the Nov. 28 game at Madison Square Garden. Of Cornell's two road games, the Nov. 13 contest at Yale was a sellout, while five of Cornell's six home games were also filled to capacity. The only Cornell home game that wasn't sold out was the Nov. 21 contest against Quinnipiac, which came 40 tickets shy of being a sellout.

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 39 points through the first nine games of the season, or an average 4.33 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. Greening continued that streak when he assisted on Sean Whitney's goal to open the scoring on Nov. 28 against Boston University at Madison Square Garden.

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 1.67 average. Gallagher trails only Massachusetts' James Marcou, who has a 1.92 points per game average. Fellow senior Colin Greening is fifth in that category, averaging 1.56 points per game.

OFFENSIVE DEFENSEMAN
Cornell's seven defenseman rotation has provided additional offense for the Big Red, as the seven players have combined to score five goals and 25 assists for 30 points this season, or a full 30 percent of the team's offensive production. Senior Brendon Nash leads the way with one goal and eight assists for nine points, while freshman Nick D'Agostino has two goals and four assists. Sophomore Sean Whitney also has six points, his coming on one goal and five assists, including his first career multi-point game on Nov. 28 against Boston University at Madison Square Garden.

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.

SIX OF ONE...
Cornell's offense erupted for six goals against Harvard on 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 nine games this season and has not scored fewer than two goals in any game.

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 36 goals through nine games for an impressive 4.00 average. Still, while the Big Red has been lighting up the scoreboard, the defense hasn't been too shabby, either. Cornell has allowed just 20 goals in eight games for a 2.22 goals-per-game average, good for ninth in the nation.

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.

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 282 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 112 career games played after appearing in all nine 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 112 career games played, while Justin Krueger has appeared in 110 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 108. Nearing the century mark are Brendon Nash, who has appeared in 96 games, and Ben Scrivens, who has played in 92 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 97 points through 112 career games. Hot on his heels on the race to 100 is junior Riley Nash, who has tallied 76 points in 81 career games, and Blake Gallagher, who has 78 points through 108 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
After taking a break for fall exams, the Cornell men's hockey team returns to action with the annual Florida College Classic in Estero, Fla. The Big Red will open the tournament against the WCHA's Colorado College on Dec. 29 at 7:30 p.m. before facing either Princeton or Maine the following night.