ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's hockey team will look to snap a three-game losing streak on Saturday when the Big Red faces a familiar foe in Colgate at an unfamiliar venue, the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., the home of the National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils. Cornell and Colgate will take to the ice on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in a contest that will not count toward the ECAC Hockey standings. Saturday's game can be heard locally on WHCU 870 AM with Jason Weinstein on the call. 

ABOUT THE BIG RED

Cornell fell in both of its outings last weekend, losing to league-leading and nationally ranked Yale, 4-2, before falling to Brown the following night, 3-2. Brothers Mike and Joe Devin both had a pair of points on the weekend, with Joe tallying a pair of goals and Mike recording a goal and an assist. Mike Garman got the start against Yale on Friday and stopped 26 of 29 shots in the loss, while Andy Iles made 16 saves on 19 shots on Saturday against Brown. For the year, Mike Devin shares the team scoring lead with freshman Dustin Mowrey and sophomore Nick D'Agostino with five points apiece, with six players having four points on the season. Iles and Garman have split time in goal, with Iles posting a 2.37 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage and Garman recording a 3.23 goals-against average and a .889 save percentage. The Big Red has converted 6-of-38 power-play chances (15.8 percent, 34th in the nation) and killed off 36-of-42 opponents' power play opportunities (85.7 percent, tied for 18th nationally).

ABOUT COLGATE

The Raiders enter the weekend with a 2-8-1 overall record and a 0-5-1 mark in league play, having dropped each of their last six contests. Colgate's main problem has been on the defensive end, having allowed more than three goals in all but one of its last seven games. Robbie Bourdon leads the Colgate offense with 10 points on five goals and five assists, with Brian Day leading the team with six goals. Alex Evin has played the majority of time in between the pipes this season, recording an .898 save percentage and a 2.89 goals-against average with one shutout. Colgate's power-play unit has converted on 9-of-65 extra man opportunities (13.8 percent, 46th nationally), while killing off 39-of-51 opponents' power plays (76.5 percent, 48th nationally).

THE SERIES WITH COLGATE

Saturday's game with Colgate marks the 138th all-time meeting between the two programs, with Cornell holding a 72-54-11 lead in the series. Cornell claimed victory in both of last year's two meetings, winning by a 4-2 margin on Nov. 24 at Lynah Rink before scoring a 6-2 win at Starr Rink on Feb. 16. The Big Red has won seven of the last 10 matchups with Colgate, going 7-1-2 over that span. Cornell head coach Mike Schafer is 22-10-6 all-time against the Raiders.

PUT IT IN NEUTRAL

Cornell and Colgate have a history of neutral site games among the 137 contests already played in the all-time series. The two teams have met at neutral sites 21 times in their history, with Colgate holding a 10-9-2 advantage in those contests. The last neutral site game between the two programs came on March 22, 2008, in the consolation game of the ECAC Hockey tournament, a game won by Cornell, 4-2. Of the 21 neutral site games played by Cornell and Colgate, four have been played at the home of a National Hockey League team, with one each at Boston Garden and Madison Square Garden and two at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. In those games, Cornell leads the series, 2-1-1, winning at Madison Square Garden and Boston Garden. 

ONE MORE TO THE MILESTONE

Cornell head coach Mike Schafer needs one more victory to reach the 300 mark for his career, a milestone that only 45 other coaches in Division I have ever reached. Schafer ranks third in ECAC Hockey in coaching victories among current bench bosses, trailing Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold by just five wins.

ANOTHER MILESTONE NEARS

The Big Red's 4-1 win against Quinnipiac on Nov. 12 marked the 988th all-time victory in the history of the Cornell program. Cornell ranks 17th all-time in wins by current NCAA Division I programs, trailing Dartmouth by 16. Cornell needs 12 more wins to become the 17th program to record 1000 all-time victories. The Big Red also ranks fifth in ECAC Hockey in victories, trailing Clarkson (1,307), Harvard (1,293), Yale (1,123) and Dartmouth (1,004).

YET ANOTHER MILESTONE

Cornell needs another 11 victories at Lynah Rink to post the 500th win at the storied venue. Cornell is guaranteed nine more home games this season, needing to win all nine and to host a weekend playoff series and win that series in order to reach the 500th victory this season.

RISK/REWARD

Cornell has had some success playing with the extra attacker this season when trailing late in games. While the Big Red has allowed four empty-net goals – one in each of the first three games of the year and one against Yale on Nov. 19 – Cornell has also scored three times with the extra attacker. The Big Red also scored a delayed penalty goal on Nov. 20 against Brown

ANOTHER LONG AWAITED DEBUT

A pair of sophomores this season have made their collegiate debuts after being scratched for every game last season. Vince Mihalek made his debut on Oct. 30 against RIT, collecting an assist in that contest. Meanwhile, defenseman Jarred Seymour made his first career appearance on Nov. 13 against Princeton after Nick D'Agostino and Mathieu Brisson were sidelined. Every skater on the Cornell roster has appeared in at least one game in his career, and every player but sophomores Chris Moulson and Omar Kanji have played this season.

INTO THE LEAD

Senior defenseman Mike Devin leads the team in both games played and in points, having appeared in 106 contests during his three-plus years at Cornell. Devin has 43 points on 11 goals and 32 assists over his career, with the 11 goals third on the team behind only his brother, Joe's, 23 goals and Patrick Kennedy's 15. 

OUT IN FRONT

Cornell is 2-1 this season when scoring the game's first goal, but has lost all five of the games that it has given up the opening tally of the contest. Cornell has also gone 2-1 this seasonwhen leading after one period.

NOT THE RIGHT KIND OF STREAK

Cornell has posted a pair of three-game losing skids this season, something that hasn't happened since the 2006-07 season. That year, Cornell dropped three straight from Dec. 30 through Jan. 12, before closing out the season with four straight defeats.

WORKED WELL LAST TIME

Cornell opened the 2010-11 season with three straight defeats, something that hasn't happened since the 1979-80 season. While Cornell finished that season with a 16-15 record, the Big Red peaked at the right time, winning the ECAC championship and advancing to the Frozen Four for the first time since 1973. 

BALANCED ATTACK

When Cornell got its first win of the season on Nov. 6 at Clarkson, it came by way of a balanced offensive attack. A total of 13 different skaters collected at least one point on the night, with four players – Jordan Kary, Kirill Gotovets, Locke Jillson and Dan Nicholls – collecting a pair of points.

THAT WAS QUICK

Jordan Kary has needed just four games this season to record a career season high for points, with those two points even coming in one game. Entering the season, Kary had just two career points, collecting an assist as a freshman and a goal as a junior. He equaled that output on Nov. 6 against Clarkson, scoring a pair of goals against the Golden Knights. Kary added to his tally with a goal in the loss to Brown on Nov. 20.

SHORT-HANDED

John Esposito's goal against New Hampshire on Oct. 29 marked the first short-handed goal for a Cornell player in a span of 59 games since Riley Nash scored short-handed against St. Cloud State on Dec. 27, 2008, in Estero, Fla. 

THE FIRST ONE'S OUT OF THE WAY

Freshman Andy Iles picked up his first win of his career on Nov. 6 at Clarkson, picking up 35 saves in the victory. Iles is now 1-2 on the year and has seen action in four of the Big Red's six games this season. Mike Garman, meanwhile, scored his first victory of his career when he stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced on Nov. 12 against Quinnipiac at Lynah Rink.

NOT BLANKED OFTEN

Cornell's shutout loss at St. Lawrence on Nov. 5 marked the first time that the Big Red had been shut out since falling to Yale in the 2009 ECAC Hockey championship game in Albany, N.Y., by a 5-0 margin. Cornell went both NCAA tournament games that season, all of last season and the first two games of 2010-11 without being blanked, a span of 38 games.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB

All six members of the freshman class made their collegiate debut during the season's opening weekend on Oct. 29-30 against New Hampshire and RIT. Dustin Mowrey, Rodger Craig, Kirill Gotovets and Andy Iles saw time in both games, while Mathieu Brisson and Armand de Swardt both played in one game apiece, with Brisson appearing in the RIT game and de Swardt playing against New Hampshire.

THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN HERE

When New Hampshire scored seven times against the Big Red in the season opener on Oct. 29, it marked the first time that an opponent scored seven goals at Lynah Rink since Providence did so on Jan. 5, 1999, in a 7-3 Friar victory. It's been even longer since Cornell gave up seven in a season opener - in fact, it's never happened since Lynah Rink has been open. The last time the Big Red gave up seven goals in a season opener came in the 1947-48 season when Cornell lost, 9-0, to Army.

ALLOWING A DOZEN

Traditionally one of the nation's top defensive teams, Cornell allowed 12 goals in the first weekend of the season on Oct. 29-30 against New Hampshire and RIT. The Big Red hadn't given up 12 goals in a weekend since Feb. 6-7, 1999, at Yale and Princeton. That weekend, Cornell dropped the opener, 11-0, at Ingalls Rink in New Haven, Conn., before rebounding the following night with a 4-1 victory at Princeton. The last time Cornell gave up at least 12 goals in back-to-back losses came in Brian McCutcheon's final games as head coach, losing at Clarkson on March 6-7, 1995, by 6-2 and 7-2 scores.

0-2 OPENERS

The last time Cornell began a season 0-2 was the 2007-08 season, when the Big Red dropped contests to RIT and Princeton to begin the year. The Big Red rebounded in the third game to record a 5-3 win against Quinnipiac to avoid going 0-3 to begin the season. Cornell concluded that season with a 19-14-3 record and a third-place finish in the ECAC Hockey tournament. The Big Red last began a season 0-3 in 1979-80, falling twice to Notre Dame and at Brown before picking up a victory in game number four at Yale. In spite of the start, Cornell wound up winning the ECAC Hockey championship that season and finished fourth at the NCAA tournament.

THREE RIVERS RECAP

Cornell answered a lot of questions about its offensive abilities with a five-goal first period in its exhibiton opener against Quebec at Trois-Rivieres on Oct. 21. Joe Devin and Tyler Roeszler both had a pair of goals in the first period, with Roezler tallying three points in all on the evening. Freshman Armand de Swardt had a goal and an assist, while Braden Birch and Greg Miller both had a pair of helpers. Mike Garman got the start in goal, posting 23 saves for the victory.

USA! USA! USA!

Cornell's offensive outburst continued in the second exhibition of the season, defeating the U.S. U18 National Team, 6-0, on Oct. 23. Joe Devin had a pair of goals and a pair of assists for a four-point night to lead the way for the Big Red. Junior Sean Collins had a goal and two assists, while John Esposito and Keir Ross both had a pair of assists. Kirill Gotovets had a goal and an assist, with Rodger Craig and Tyler Roeszler both adding a goal. Andy Iles posted 30 saves in his unofficial Cornell debut to record the shutout.

A SOUTHWEST FLAVOR

Cornell's roster in 2010-11 features a trio of players from the state of Texas, in juniors Locke Jillson and Keir Ross and freshman Armand de Swardt, with all three calling the Dallas area home. Cornell has now had four players from the Lone Star State, as the trio joins David McKee in hailing from Texas.

INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE

Freshman Kirill Gotovets got a taste of the big time in May when he was selected to represent his native Belarus in the 2010 IIHF World Championships – not an age group World Championships (though he did play for Belarus at the U20 World Championship as well) – but playing against some of the best players the world has to offer. He played in three of Belarus' eight games at the World Championships, recording two shots and two minutes in penalties, helping his nation to a 10th-place finish. Gotovets has been in the United States for the last two years while attending school at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Minnesota.

BROTHERLY LOVE

A pair of Cornell players have older brothers who are currently on rosters of NHL clubs, with four players having older brothers playing professional hockey at some level. Junior Sean Whitney's older brother, Ryan, plays for the Anaheim Ducks, while sophomore Chris Moulson's brother, Matt, plays with the New York Islanders. Another player, sophomore John Esposito, has an older brother, Angelo, who plays for the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (Atlanta affiliate), with senior Patrick Kennedy's older brother, Michael, playing in the ECHL for the Florida Everblades.

IS THERE A DRAFT IN HERE?

Cornell has four players on the roster for 2010-11 who have been selected by NHL clubs. Junior Sean Collins (Columbus), sophomores Braden Birch (Chicago) and Nick D'Agostino (Pittsburgh) and freshman Kirill Gotovets (Tampa Bay) are each the property of NHL clubs after having been drafted prior to beginning their careers at Cornell.

AMERICAN INFLUENCE

The Big Red roster in 2010-11 has nine players who call the United States home, up from seven last season and tied for second-most on a Mike Schafer-coached Big Red team. Cornell had 10 Americans on the roster in 1997-98, Schafer's third season, and had nine in 1999-2000, 2006-07 and 2008-09. 

HOMETOWN HERO

With programs in major cities like in Boston and Minneapolis, it's commonplace for a hometown player to suit up for the local college team, but that's not something as common in a city like Ithaca. So when freshman goaltender Andy Iles made his official collegiate debut on Oct. 29 against New Hampshire, he became the first Ithaca native to play for Cornell since Mike Tallman, who suited up for 37 games in three seasons from 1986-87 to 1988-89.

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 16th season, Schafer has 299 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 four, with St. Lawrence's Joe Marsh well ahead with 457 career wins.

UP NEXT

Cornell closes out the fall semester on Dec. 3 and 4 when the Big Red plays host to Alabama-Huntsville for a pair of nonconference contests at Lynah Rink. Both games are scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.