Game 26 • Cornell at Harvard
Faceoff: Friday, February 19, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.
Site: Bright Hockey Center (2,850) • Cambridge, Mass.
2009-10 Records: Cornell (15-7-3, 12-4-2 ECAC Hockey); Harvard (7-15-3, 7-8-3 ECAC Hockey)
Series Record: Cornell leads, 66-58-7
Last Meeting: Cornell won, 6-3, on Nov. 7, 2009
 
Media Information
Television: none
Radio: WHCU 870 AM • Jason Weinstein (play-by-play)
Live Stats: www.gocrimson.com
Live Audio: www.CornellBigRed.com/showcase
Tickets: Available by calling (607) 254-BEAR

Game 27 • Cornell at Dartmouth
Faceoff: Saturday, February 20, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.
Site: Thompson Arena (4,500) • Hanover, N.H.
2009-10 Records: Cornell (15-7-3, 12-4-2 ECAC Hockey); Dartmouth (7-17-1, 5-12-1 ECAC Hockey)
Series Record: Cornell leads, 72-42-2
Last Meeting: Cornell won, 5-1, on Nov. 6, 2009
 
Media Information
Television: none
Radio: WHCU 870 AM • Jason Weinstein (play-by-play)
Live Stats: www.dartmouthsports.com
Live Audio: www.CornellBigRed.com/showcase
Tickets: Available by calling (607) 254-BEAR

Game Notes in PDF Format

ITHACA, N.Y. --Fresh off a 6-2 win at Colgate on Tuesday, the Cornell men's hockey team turns around on short rest for the long drive to Harvard and Dartmouth for a pair of games this weekend. The Big Red will be looking to keep pace with league co-leader Yale when Cornell takes on Harvard on Friday at 7 p.m. in Cambridge, Mass., and battling Dartmouth on Saturday, also at 7 p.m. in Hanover, N.H. Both games can be heard in the Ithaca area on WHCU 870 AM, with Jason Weinstein providing the call. Live streaming audio of the game can also be heard through the Cornell Redcast subscription service.

ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell completed the season sweep against its travel partner, Colgate, with a 6-2 victory on Tuesday in Hamilton, N.Y., led by a four-point night by junior Riley Nash. Nash had a pair of goals and two assists to lead the Big Red on the night, while seniors Colin Greening and Blake Gallagher both had a goal and an assist on the evening. Ben Scrivens stopped 33 shots in taking the victory for Cornell, which finished the night 1-for-6 on the power play. For the season, Gallagher continues to lead the team in scoring, tallying 16 goals and 15 assists for 31 points through the first 25 games. Greening is a close second with 12 points and 15 assists for 27 points, with Riley Nash also averaging a point per game, having recorded 21 points in 21 games on seven goals and 14 assists. Scrivens has seen the vast majority of time in goal, posting a 2.03 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage. On the year, Cornell has one of the nation's top special teams units, converting on 26-of-119 power play chances (21.8 percent) while killing off 110-of-124 opponents' power plays (88.7 percent).

ABOUT HARVARD
Something about the month of February and games at Brigth Hockey Center agree with the Crimson, as Harvard has posted a 20-1 mark under head coach Ted Donato at home during the month of February. This season, Harvard has suffered its first February home loss under the sixth-year mentor when it dropped a 5-4 contest to Rensselaer last weekend. Harvard, which enters the weekend at 7-15-3 overall and 7-8-3 in league play, is in the thick of the chase for a first-round home series for the upcoming ECAC Hockey playoffs. Freshman Louis LeBlanc leads the Crimson offense with 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points, with Alex Killorn and Michael Biega just a point behind. The two-goaltender system of Kyle Richter and Ryan Carroll has split time this season, with Richter playing more time, but Carroll posting better numbers. Carroll has a 2.97 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage, while Richter has a 3.64 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage. Both goaltenders, though, have posted nearly identical numbers during league play, hovering around the .910 save percentage and 2.95 goals-against average marks. Harvard has converted on 20-of-109 power play chances (18.3 percent) and killed off 98-of-126 opponents' power plays (77.8 percent).

THE SERIES WITH HARVARD
Cornell claimed the first of two meetings between the two longtime rivals, 6-3, when they met at Lynah Rink on Nov. 7. Friday's game will mark the 132nd all-time meeting, with this season marking the 100th anniversary of the first contest between the two programs. Cornell holds a 66-58-7 lead in the all-time series, though the Big Red has had its share of struggles at Harvard's Bright Hockey Center. That facility is one of only three venues in ECAC Hockey that Cornell has an all-time losing record, posting a 12-19-1 mark since it opened in 1979-80, going 0-3 over the past three seasons. Cornell's last win at Harvard came on Nov. 11, 2005, a 4-3 win. Cornell head coach Mike Schafer has a 26-12-2 mark against Harvard.

ABOUT DARTMOUTH
Dartmouth is six points out of the final home playoff slot for the first round of the ECAC Hockey tournament and has gone 1-3-1 over its last five games. The Big Green enters the weekend 7-17-1 and 5-12-1 in league play. Dartmouth's offense is led by Adam Estoclet's 26 points on 10 goals and 16 assists, with Scott Fleming a point behind with 15 goals and 11 assists. Jody O'Neill has seen most of the time in between the pipes for the Big Green, posting a 3.77 goals-against average and a .890 save percentage, though James Mello has a 2.96 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. Despite Mello posting better numbers, it's O'Neill who has been in goal for six of Dartmouth's seven victories this season. Dartmouth's power play has scored 17 goals in 120 chances (14.2 percent) while the penalty killing unit has successfully ended 101-of-133 opponents' power play opportunities, a conversion rate of 75.9 percent.

THE SERIES WITH DARTMOUTH
Cornell holds a 72-42-2 lead in the all-time series against Dartmouth, a series that dates back to a Dartmouth win on Feb. 2, 1909, in Hanover, N.H. Cornell has won six of the last eight contests against the Big Green, though Dartmouth won the last meeting between the two teams when they met in Hanover, N.H., a 5-4 overtime victory on Feb. 13, 2009. That loss for Cornell made the Big Red 17-17 all-time in games played at Dartmouth's Thompson Arena. Cornell head coach Mike Schafer holds a 16-15-1 record in his coaching tenure against the Big Green.

500 GAMES BEHIND THE BENCH
Friday night's game at Harvard will mark the 500th career game behind the bench for Cornell head coach Mike Schafer. He is the longest tenured coach in Cornell history by games and is second in terms of years coached, trailing Nicky Bawlf's 27 seasons from 1920-47.

BACK IN A BIG WAY
If every player were to perform the way Riley Nash has after missing four games due to injury, perhaps every player should get two weeks off. Nash has been unstoppable since his return, posting seven points in three games, including recording a four-point game on Feb. 16 at Colgate. Nash has accounted for two goals and five assists, having a hand in seven of the 12 goals scored by the Big Red since his return. His recent hot streak has moved him back up to averaging a point per game this season with seven goals and 14 assists in 21 contests. Prior to missing the four games against Clarkson, St. Lawrence, Quinnipiac and Princeton, Nash had been held scoreless in four straight games, and had gone since Dec. 5 at Union without having a multi-point game.

30 THE HARD WAY
Cornell's Ben Scrivens posted 33 saves on Feb. 16 against Colgate, the eighth time this season he has been called upon to make 30 or more stops, and just the second time he has made 30 or more saves in back-to-back games. He stopped 52 shots in his last time out on Feb. 13 against Yale, setting a career high. Previously, Scrivens made 31 saves against Colorado College and 36 stops against Princeton at the Florida College Classic, both games that the Big Red lost. When Scrivens sees that much rubber, it's not a good thing, as Cornell is 2-4-2 when Scrivens has to make 30 or more saves.

YOU'RE LATE
The Feb. 16 date for the second meeting of the season between the Big Red and the Raiders marked the latest date that Cornell and Colgate have met during the regular season since the 1983-84 season. That year, Cornell and Colgate met in the Big Red's season finale at Lynah Rink on Feb. 28, a 6-0 Raider win. Typically, the series with Colgate has been a home-and-home weekend series taking place in late January or early February, but that series was split up this year to accommodate the Big Red's visit from North Dakota on Jan. 22-23.

KEEPING BUSY
Cornell goaltender Ben Scrivens had the busiest night of his four-year career on Feb. 13 against Yale. The senior netminder stopped 52 of the 54 shots he faced on the night in the 2-1 overtime loss to the Bulldogs. The 52 saves easily surpassed his previous career-high of 45, set on Nov. 30, 2007, at Lynah Rink against Massachusetts. It also marked the first time a Cornell goaltender stopped 50 shots or more since David McKee stopped 59 in the legendary triple-overtime loss to Wisconsin in the 2006 NCAA Midwest Regional Final in Green Bay, Wis., a span of 126 games. The 52 saves also blew away Scrivens' previous season high of 36, set on Dec. 30 against Princeton.

RUBBER TO THE ROAD
Ben Scrivens had a busy period in the second period of the Big Red's 2-1 loss to Yale on Feb. 13. He stopped 19-of-20 shots faced during the period, one shy of his career high, set on Nov. 7, 2008, at Princeton.

BACK TO NORMAL
After snapping its 0-for-30 skid on the power play, the Cornell power-play unit was back to its normal ways, scoring at least one power-play goal in four straight games. That streak continued with a goal against Brown in a 1-for-5 effort on Feb. 12, but ended in an 0-for-2 performance against Yale on Feb. 13. Cornell's power play has converted on eight of its last 31 chances, or 25.8 percent, well ahead of the season average of 21.8 percent.

PACKING THEM IN
Cornell has sold out all but one of its home games this season, with only the Nov. 21 game against Quinnipiac falling short of the 4,267 capacity at Lynah Rink. Even still, in that game, Cornell still drew 4,227 fans to Lynah Rink, just 40 short of a sell-out. The Big Red is one of only 10 teams in the country to have averaged 99 percent capacity or higher this season and ranks 17th in average attendance. Cornell has had 51,156 fans view a game at Lynah Rink so far this season, ranking 20th in Division I, despite having the 26th-largest rink in the country and only 12 home dates. Cornell ranks even ahead of the nation's top team, Miami, which ranks 24th in total attendance, and is the highest-drawing team from ECAC Hockey.

A FRIENDLY ROAD ENVIRONMENT
While Lynah Rink is unquestionably the Big Red's favorite place to play, a close second might be Quinnipiac's TD Bank Sports Center, where the Big Red has never suffered a loss. Cornell is 2-0-1 all-time at the three-year-old facility, including a 2-0 victory over the Bobcats on Feb. 5. Included in those three games are a pair of shutouts from Ben Scrivens, who first blanked the Bobcats with 25 saves on Nov. 8, 2008, before stoning all 32 shots in his most recent appearance. In three career appearances at the arena, Scrivens has allowed only two goals.

SAVING THE DAY
With his save on a shot by St. Lawrence's Mike McKenzie in the second period on Jan. 29, Ben Scrivens became Cornell's all-time leader in career saves, surpassing the previous tally of 2,462 of Jason Elliott from 1994-97. Scrivens now has 2,642 career saves and ranks among the team's all-time leaders in every goaltending record. Scrivens also has the second and third highest single-season save totals in Cornell history in each of the past two seasons.

SATURDAY NIGHT'S NOT ALRIGHT
Cornell has had its share of struggles on the back end of a two-game series this season, posting a 3-5-2 on the second night of a back-to-back. The Big Red has gone 9-1 on Friday this season, only to go 3-4-3 on Saturday, with those figures including single games for the season opener against Niagara (a 3-2 overtime win) on Oct. 30 and the 3-3 tie against Boston University at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 28. When the two games at the Florida College Classic are factored into the back-to-back night totals, Cornell is 8-2 on the first night and 3-5-2 in game two.

WHAT A RELIEF
A day after posting his third shutout of the season, Ben Scrivens had what could only be considered an “off-day” on Feb. 6 at Princeton, allowing four goals in 26 minutes. Enter sophomore Mike Garman, making his first appearance of the season and just the third of his career in relief. Garman, a seldom-used backup who would probably start for most other teams around the nation and in ECAC Hockey, made 21 saves on the game and kept the Tigers off the board, allowing Cornell to climb back into the game, 4-3, at the end of two periods.

FOUR-SQUARE
Cornell's offense scored four goals in first 10 minutes of the second period against Clarkson on Jan. 30, just the third time this season that the Big Red has scored four times in one period. The last time that happened came on Nov. 14 at Brown, when Cornell scored four times in the third period in a 6-0 victory. Cornell also scored four goals in the third period against Harvard on Nov. 7 in a 6-3 win at Lynah Rink.

THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Three seems to be the key number for the Cornell offense in getting a victory this season, as the Big Red is 11-1-1 on the year when scoring three or more goals. The lone tie came when Cornell drew with Boston University, 3-3, on Nov. 28 at Madison Square Garden, while Cornell lost for just the first time this season when scoring three goals at Princeton on Feb. 6. When scoring fewer than three goals, the Big Red is just 4-6-2, with wins over Rensselaer, North Dakota, St. Lawrence and Quinnipiac.

LAST MAN STANDING
When Riley Nash missed four games due to injury earlier this season, the number of Cornell players who have never missed a game shrunk to just two in senior Colin Greening and freshman Greg Miller. That number dropped to just one, as Miller was out of the lineup for the Big Red's 6-2 win at Colgate on Feb. 16. Greening has appeared in all 128 since stepping on campus four years ago.

MORE ON THE POWER PLAY
Cornell's three power-play goal outburst against Clarkson on Jan. 30 marked the first time that the Big Red had scored at least two power-play goals since Nov. 28 against Boston University, and the first time scoring three with the man advantage since Nov. 6 against Dartmouth. The Big Red backed that outburst up with one power-play goal at Quinnipiac on Feb. 5 and another two the following night at Princeton. Cornell has scored a power play goal in 14 of the 25 games this season and has scored more than once with the man advantage seven times.

YOU CAN'T SPELL “BIG RED” WITHOUT “D”
While the Big Red offense has cooled off from its hot start, the Big Red still holds one of the nation's top records due in large part to one of the nation's stingiest defenses. Cornell is ranked second in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 2.12 goals per game. Cornell also ranks seventh in the nation in scoring margin.

SPECIAL TEAMS SUCCESS
Championship teams usually have strong special teams units, and this year's edition of the Big Red is no exception to that. Cornell's power play is ranked sixth in the nation, converting on 21.8 percent of its chances, while the penalty killing unit is ranked third in the country, having killed off 88.1 percent of opponents' power plays.

LEADING THE WAY
Further establishing his place among Cornell hockey history, senior Colin Greening is vying to become the first player in program history to lead the team in goals in four straight seasons. He joins Matt Moulson (2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06) and Roy Kerling (1977-78, 1979-80, 1981-82) as the only two players who have ever led the team in goals in three seasons, with Moulson being the only other player to lead the team in goals in three consecutive seasons. Currently, Greening is second on the team in goals with 12, trailing classmate Blake Gallagher by four for the team lead in that category.

A RARE OCCASION
The visit from North Dakota on Jan. 22-23 marked just the second time a current member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association has ever visited the nearly 53-year-old Lynah Rink. The only other current WCHA member to have visited Lynah Rink is Denver, which played two games at Lynah on Dec. 29-30, 1979. Both of those games went in favor of the Big Red, which won 5-4 and 4-3 on its way to a berth in the national semifinals. That same season also saw Notre Dame, which at the time was a member of the WCHA but is now a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, visit Lynah Rink on Nov. 23, 1979, and come away with a 5-4 overtime victory.

CORNELL VS. THE WCHA
The Big Red's split against North Dakota marked the second straight season that the Big Red went 1-1 against the Fighting Sioux. Cornell is now 3-5 all-time against North Dakota and 17-18-1 against WCHA teams. Of those 36 games against current WCHA members, Cornell has only played four at Lynah Rink, going 3-1. This season, the Big Red is 1-2 against WCHA foes after dropping a 4-2 decision to Colorado College on Dec. 29 at the Florida College Classic. Cornell head coach Mike Schafer holds a 7-7-1 all-time in his 15 games behind the bench against WCHA opponents.

HOME AT LAST
Cornell's game on Jan. 22 against North Dakota marked the first time the Big Red had played at Lynah Rink in nearly two full months. The Big Red had played eight straight games away from home, including three neutral site games, in between appearances at Lynah Rink. The eight-game road trip was Cornell's longest since the 1990-91 season that saw the Big Red also play eight consecutive games away from home. Cornell went 3-2-3 on this most recent eight-game road swing, with wins over Rensselaer, New Hampshire and Clarkson, and ties against Boston University, Union and St. Lawrence. Cornell's two losses both came in Estero, Fla., in the Florida College Classic on Dec. 29-30, 2009.

CLOSE CALL
With Blake Gallagher's goal with just under 10 seconds remaining on Jan. 23 against North Dakota, the Big Red avoided being shut out for the first time this season. Cornell was last shut out on March 21, 2009, against Yale in the ECAC Hockey championship game. With the Big Red at 25 games played this season, Cornell has yet to be shut out. The last time Cornell went this long without being blanked by an opponent to open the year came during the 2006-07 season, when Cornell was shut out by Quinnipiac in the ECAC Hockey quarterfinal round, 1-0, in the 30th game of the season.

ONE IS THE LONLIEST NUMBER
The Big Red's 1-1 tie at St. Lawrence on Jan. 16 marked the first time this season that the Big Red scored fewer than two goals in a game.

THE ONLY ONE
Cornell's 1-0 win over North Dakota marked the first and only time this season that the Fighting Sioux lost a non-conference contest. North Dakota went 5-1-2 in its non-league games this year including the split with the Big Red. Other victims of the Fighting Sioux include Merrimack twice, Niagara and Ohio State, with the two ties coming against Miami and Notre Dame.

NORTH COUNTRY OF NIGHTMARES
All teams have their share of troubles when heading to New York's North Country, and Cornell has been no exception to that rule in recent seasons. Cornell's win on Jan. 15 at Clarkson snapped an eight-game losing streak in the North Country. The Big Red last won at either venue during the 2004-05 season when it pulled off the rare sweep of Clarkson and St. Lawrence. Since then, the Big Red has tallied just six of a possible 20 points, with three of those points coming this season. Clarkson's Cheel Arena and St. Lawrence's Appleton Arena are two of the three ECAC Hockey venues that the Big Red has a losing record at, with Harvard's Bright Hockey Center the third. After this season's results, Cornell is now 6-11-3 at Cheel Arena and 17-19-5 at Appleton Arena.

ANOTHER MILESTONE REACHED
Cornell's game at New Hampshire on Jan. 3 marked the 1,700th contest all-time in Cornell history. It was also the 972nd all-time victory for the Big Red.
 
DRAWING EVEN
Cornell's 5-2 win at New Hampshire on Jan. 3 brought the Big Red back to the .500 mark on the season in non-league games. With the split against North Dakota, Cornell finished the non-league slate at 3-3-1.

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. Cornell reached the 100-tie mark a week later with the Big Red's 2-2 tie at Union on Dec. 5.

OVER THE CENTURY MARK
It didn't take long for Cornell senior Colin Greening to blow past the 100-point mark. Greening reached 99 career points with a goal and an assist at Rensselaer on Dec. 4 and was held scoreless the following night, but reached the century mark with a goal against Colorado College in the Florida College Classic. Greening wasn't satisfied with standing on 100, however, as he tallied an assist the following night against Princeton to reach 101. Greening, who now has 110 career points, is the 45th player in Cornell history to reach the 100-point barrier, with the last being Topher Scott, who recorded 107 career points in 137 games from 2004-08. Greening passed Scott and Peter Shier on the all-time scoring list on the weekend of Feb. 12-13, and now has the career total of 112 by Bill Hanson (1970-73) and current associate head coach Casey Jones (1986-1990) next in his sights.

THE WINNER
Ben Scrivens is not only standing atop the Cornell career saves list, but he is also approaching the top of several other categories. Scrivens is now third in school history in career wins with 59, 17 behind Ken Dryden's 76 and six behind David McKee's 65. He is also second in career ties with 11, two behind McKee, and fourth in both goals-against average (1.97) and save percentage (.928). He also has 15 career shutouts, moving him past Ken Dryden for second-most in school history. Scrivens now trails the career leader, David McKee, by just three in that category.

VOTE FOR HOBEY
The first phase of voting for the 2010 Hobey Baker Award is now open, with three Cornellians on the ballot. Seniors Ben Scrivens, Blake Gallagher and Colin Greening are the Big Red's three candidates for the award. Fans can vote now through March 7, with the 10 finalists announced on March 18. The fan vote accounts for one percent of a player's voting tally. Fans can vote online at http://www.hobeybaker.com/voting.

LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS
Colin Greening is also one of 10 finalists for the 2010 Lowe's Senior Class Award, an award presented to the top student-athlete in the country. The award was designed to reward those student-athletes for staying in school all four years and their contributions to the classroom, community and in competition. Fans can vote online at www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/hockey_2009_10.  The winner will be announced at the Frozen Four in Detroit, Mich.

ABOUT THE FLORIDA COLLEGE CLASSIC
For the third time in the 10-year history of the Florida College Classic, the Cornell men's hockey team dropped both of its games at the tournament. Cornell lost both games of the tournament in both 2001-02 and again in 2002-03. Hopefully for the Big Red, history has been kind to Cornell when losing twice in Florida, as both times, Cornell advanced to the NCAA tournament. The most recent time saw Cornell advance to the Frozen Four. Maine won the 2009 edition of the tournament with a 3-2 come-from-behind win against Colorado College.

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 of a college hockey game at Madison Square Garden came during the 2007-08 season in the first incarnation of Red Hot Hockey between Cornell and Boston University.

OFFENSIVE DEFENSEMEN
Cornell's seven defenseman rotation has provided additional offense for the Big Red, as the seven players who have seen ice time this season have combined to score 10 goals and 49 assists for 59 points this season, or 27.1 percent of the team's offensive production. Senior Brendon Nash leads the way with two goals and 13 assists for 15 points, followed closely by freshman Nick D'Agostino's 13 points on two goals and 11 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. He has since added another multi-point game with a pair of assists on Jan. 3 at New Hampshire, and duplicated that feat again on Jan. 15 at Clarkson.

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 had 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.

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.

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. Most recently, freshman Chris Moulson made his Cornell debut on Jan. 16 at St. Lawrence. The remaining three members of the freshman class – goaltender Omar Kanji, forward Vince Mihalik and defenseman Jarred Seymour –have yet to see game action this season.

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. Should he start every game this season, he would break David McKee's NCAA record of consecutive starts by a goaltender of 102. Scrivens has started in 95straight games for the Big Red, the second-highest total in NCAA history.

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 291 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 five, with St. Lawrence's Joe Marsh well ahead with 451 career victories in his 24 seasons behind the Saints bench.

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 128 career games played after appearing in all 25 games so far this season.

TRIPLE DIGITS
Five 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 128 career games played, while Justin Krueger has appeared in 126 contests for the Big Red. Joining the pair in triple digits are Blake Gallagher, who played in his 100th career game in the season opener against Niagara and now stands at 124, and Brendon Nash, who reached the 100-game mark on Jan. 3 at New Hampshire and now has played in 111 career games. The most recent players to reach 100 were Ben Scrivens, who played in his 100th career game on Jan. 22 against North Dakota and has appeared in 108 career contests, and Joe Scali, who played in his 100th career game on Feb. 13 against Yale. Next up on the list is junior Riley Nash, who has played in 93 contests.

EVEN MORE TRIPLE DIGITS
With Colin Greening becoming the 45th player to record 100 career points, another two players are racing to becomethe 46th and 47th players to reach the century mark. Hot on his heels on the race to 100 is senior Blake Gallagher, who has 94 points in 124 career games, and junior Riley Nash,  who has tallied 88 points in 93 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 regular season with a visit from Union and Rensselaer next weekend. Cornell and Union will open up the weekend with a 7 p.m. contest on Friday before Saturday's game featuring Cornell against Rensselaer. Saturday's game will be Senior Day as the six Cornell seniors will be honored on the ice after the contest.