ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell has won eight consecutive contests this year and will be looking to make it 10 when it travels to St. Lawrence and Clarkson to conclude its five-game road trip. Five of the team's seven remaining regular-season games will be at home after this weekend.

GAME INFORMATION
GAME #21: No. 2 Cornell at St. Lawrence
GAME TIME: Friday, Jan. 27, 7 p.m.
GAME SITE: Appleton Arena (Potsdam, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: St. Lawrence leads 31-23-4
LAST MEETING: Cornell won 2-1 on Feb. 5, 2011
2011-12 RECORDS: Cornell (18-2, 13-1 ECAC Hockey); St. Lawrence (14-7-4, 8-4-2 ECAC Hockey)
LIVE STATS: St. Lawrence Athletics
LIVE AUDIO: Redcast
LIVE VIDEO:  St. Lawrence Video (subscription required)

GAME #22: No.2 Cornell at Clarkson
GAME TIME: Saturday, Jan. 28, 4 p.m.
GAME SITE: Cheel Arena (Canton, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads 17-9-2
LAST MEETING: Teams tied, 3-3 (OT) on Feb. 4, 2011
2011-12 RECORDS: Cornell (18-2, 13-1 ECAC Hockey); Clarkson (14-7-5, 8-4-2 ECAC Hockey)*
LIVE STATS: Clarkson Stats
LIVE AUDIO: Redcast
LIVE VIDEO:  Clarkson Video (subscription required)
*Records before games on Jan. 20

ABOUT THE BIG RED
The No. 2 team in the country is on a hot streak entering the end of January, going 8-0 this calendar year and not having lost a game since Dec. 3 at Mercyhurst. The Big Red has given up just five goals in those eight games and has earned four shutouts against league competition. The team is currently on a five-game road trip and has lost just once on the road all season. Cornell will look to solidify its position atop the ECAC Hockey standings and make a third consecutive league title a reality in the coming weeks.

HEAD COACH DOUG DERRAUGH
Now in his seventh season directing the Cornell women's hockey program, Doug Derraugh has quickly brought the Big Red women to their place among the nation's elite. Taking a program that won just four games in the season prior to his arrival, Derraugh guided the Big Red to the national title game in his fifth season and back-to-back NCAA Frozen Four appearances in 2010 and 2011, completely turning around the culture of the women's hockey program at Cornell. Derraugh, a 1991 graduate of Cornell, was the last Big Red men's hockey player to score 30 goals in a season. He earned the 100th win in his career at Union on Jan. 6.

ABOUT ST. LAWRENCE
The Saints, based in Potsdam, N.Y., are coming into this weekend on the hottest streak in the country. St. Lawrence has not lost in its last nine contest, winning eight and tying one while rocketing up to fifth in the ECAC Hockey standings. Last weekend, the Saints split a series with rival Clarkson, winning 3-2 at home and tying 1-1 on the road. Rylee Smith – the reigning ECAC Hockey Player of the Week – leads her school with 27 points on 11 goals and 16 assists. Kelly Sabatine isn't far behind with 11 goals and 15 assists. Goalkeeper Carmen McDonald has a 2.08 goals against average in 19 games.
The Saints are coached by Chris Wells, who is in his fourth year leading his alma mater.

THE SERIES WITH ST. LAWRENCE
Cornell and St. Lawrence have met 58 times, with the Saints holding a 31-23-4 advantage. But the last two meetings – both in the 2010-11 season – went to Cornell. St. Lawrence's last victory against Cornell came on Nov. 14, 2009. The teams were also supposed to play an exhibition on Jan. 2, but that game was cancelled.

A WIN AGAINST ST. LAWRENCE WOULD…
…snap the longest unbeaten streak in the country, capping the Saints' run at nine unbeaten…give Cornell the nation's longest unbeaten streak…extend Cornell's winning run against the Saints to three games…give the Big Red its ninth straight win…be Cornell's 18th consecutive victory in the month of January dating back to Jan. 7, 2011…bring Cornell's lead in the ECAC Hockey standings to six points.

BATTLE OF THE UNBEATENS
Cornell and St. Lawrence have the nation's top two unbeaten streaks, with the Saints not losing in nine matches and Cornell unblemished in its last eight. The winner on Friday will take over the current spot on that list.

ABOUT CLARKSON
The Knights, based in Canton, N.Y., currently sit just behind St. Lawrence in sixth place in the ECAC Hockey standings. Clarkson is coming off a weekend series with St. Lawrence which it lost one game and tied the second 1-1 at home. Before this weekend, though, the Knights had won seven of its last nine games. Carly Mercer is the team's top scorer, notching 30 points on 12 goals and 18 assists. Jamie Lee Rattray is a close second with 27 points, and goaltender Erica Howe has a goals against average of 1.79 in 26 games. Clarkson has the nation's best penalty kill.
The Knights have co-head coaches Shannon and Matt Desrosiers leading the way for the fourth year.

THE SERIES WITH CLARKSON
Cornell has a nearly two-to-one margin of victory in its series with Clarkson, beating the Knights 17 times in 28 meetings with three ties. Most recently, Cornell and Clarkson fought to a 3-3 tie last year. The Big Red won the previous two meetings including a 4-3 overtime victory in the ECAC Hockey Championship game on March 7, 2010. 

A WIN AGAINST CLARKSON WOULD…
…be the Big Red's third win against Clarkson in the teams' last four meetings.

TOURNAMENT BERTH
With its win on Saturday at Dartmouth and with other league results going its way, the Big Red has already clinched a berth in the ECAC Hockey Tournament. While seeding is still up in the air, Cornell has now officially made the tournament. The Big Red can also win the Ivy League in its next game at Brown on Feb. 10 but can clinch the title earlier if Dartmouth AND Princeton lose one Ivy League game each.

OVERTIME THRILLER
Cornell's last game – a 1-0 overtime victory at Dartmouth on Saturday – was the team's first overtime road win since Feb. 1, 2003 at Maine.

WINNING WAYS
With that win against Dartmouth on Saturday, Amanda Mazzotta earned her 48th career victory, putting her atop the team's all-time list. Mazzotta passed the previous record of 47 career wins, previously held by Sarah Mott, who played from 1978-81. Mazzotta also won ECAC Hockey's Goaltender of the Week award for the second time this season based on last week's performances.

PROFESSIONAL KILLERS
The Big Red went into its game against Syracuse on a streak of having killed 22 consecutive penalties. Cornell increased that number to 26 before the Orange scored a power play goal. Since Jan. 6, the Big Red has moved its penalty killing from 82.8 percent and 22nd in the country to 88.3 percent and fifth in the country.

MAKING A POINT
Six current members of the Cornell roster are averaging more than a point per game over their career. Freshman Jillian Saulnier, with the smallest sample size, has a points-per-game average of 1.78. Brianne Jenner (1.65), Rebecca Johnston (1.56), Catherine White (1.34), Laura Fortino (1.14) and Chelsea Karpenko (1.04) are also on that list.

AWARD WINNERS
Since the beginning of this season, Cornell's players have been awarded with ECAC Hockey weekly honors nine times, more than any other team in the league.

Most recently, goalie Amanda Mazzotta was named ECAC Hockey's Goaltender of the week for the second time this season. Freshman Jillian Saulnier won Rookie of the Week twice, while freshmen Emily Fulton and Monika Leck each won that honor once. Senior Kendice Ogilvie and sophomore Brianne Jenner have earned Player of the Week honors, while Slebodnick also took home Goaltender of the Week once.

OUTRANKING THE COMPETITION
In its last 17 games against ranked opponents from the start of the 2009-10 season until now, the Big Red holds a 12-5 record. This weekend's victories against No. 9 Harvard and No. 10 Dartmouth helped add to that impressive record. Cornell won two games against then-No. 5 Boston University in November and took one of two from then-No. 6 Mercyhurst in December. The Big Red also topped then-No. 10 Harvard in November. Friday's opponent, St. Lawrence, is receiving votes in the  USCHO.com national poll.

NATIONAL PRIDE
Cornell saw six players participate in the Meco Cup in Germany in the first week of the year, playing for Canada's under-22 national team. All five Cornell skaters scored at least one point in the five-game tournament. Jillian Saulnier led the way with two goals and four assists, while Catherine White and Jessica Campbell notched three points each. Chelsea Karpenko had a goal and an assist, Hayleigh Cudmore earned an assist, and goalie Amanda Mazzotta got two wins and a shutout. Canada won the bronze.

NATIONAL POLLS
Though it lost two first-place votes, Cornell shot up to No. 2 in this week's USCHO.com national poll. Wisconsin remains atop the list with 13 first-place votes but Minnesota dropped down to No. 3.

LOFTY NUMBERS
Forwards Brianne Jenner and Rebecca Johnston currently sit at seventh in the nation in points per game (1.89), with Jillian Saulnier not far behind in 10th (1.78). Saulnier is best in points per game among freshmen. Jenner is third in the nation at assists per game (1.39), while Laura Fortino is No. 1 points per game for defensemen (1.17). Goalkeeper Lauren Slebodnick's 1.10 goals against average puts her atop the country, she is fifth in save percentage (.942) and her 8-0 record has her leading in winning percentage.

As a team, Cornell has the country's second-best offense (4.90 goals per game) and best scoring margin (3.40 goals) to go along with the second-best power play (27.0 percent). Since Jan. 10 against Colgate, the team has jumped from eighth in country to a tie for second in scoring defense (1.50 goals per game).

LAST TIME OUT
The Big Red swept through an Ivy League road weekend against No. 9 Harvard and No. 10 Dartmouth, getting two shutouts and an overtime victory. Cornell jumped atop  the Ivy League standings with the wins.

CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Against Harvard and Dartmouth:
• Laura Fortino notched her 70th career assist.
• Amanda Mazzotta earned the 20th shutout of her career.
• Kendice Ogilvie got her 40th point.
• Lauriane Rougeau crossed the 80-point barrier.

Approaching career numbers:
• Chelsea Karpenko's next point will be her 120th.
• Hayleigh Cudmore needs just one assist to get to 20.
• Alyssa Gagliardi needs one point for her 30th.
• Amanda Young needs one assist for 40.

UP NEXT
The Big Red return to the friendly confines of Lynah Rink for the first time in three weeks on Feb. 3 against Rensselaer and Feb. 4 against Union. Cornell follows that up by hosting No. 7 Mercyhurst on Feb. 7.