ESTERO, Fla. — Riding a four-game unbeaten streak, the Big Red will emerge from a four-week hiatus from game action this weekend with two games at the 13th annual Florida College Hockey Classic. Cornell will take on Ferris State in the first game of Friday's first round at 4:05 p.m. The game will be a rematch of the NCAA Midwest Regional final on March 24, which the Bulldogs won by a score of 2-1 to earn a berth in the Frozen Four. Cornell will then clash with Minnesota-Duluth or Maine — both NCAA tournament qualifiers in 2012 — on Saturday in either the consolation game at 4 p.m. or the championship at 7 p.m. Jason Weinstein will handle the play-by-play for both Cornell games on WHCU-AM (870) in the Ithaca area. His call can also be accessed worldwide through Cornell's Redcast subscription service.
 
GAME 12: #11/11 CORNELL vs. #19 FERRIS STATE
DATE: Friday, Dec. 28, 2012
TIME: 4:05 p.m.
SITE: Germain Arena — Estero, Fla.
2012-13 RECORDS: Cornell 6-3-2, 3-3-2 ECAC Hockey; Ferris St. 7-7-3, 6-6-1 CCHA
SERIES RECORD: Ferris State leads, 3-1
LAST MEETING: Ferris State won, 2-1, on March 24, 2012 in the NCAA Midwest Region final in Green Bay, Wis.
RADIO: WHCU 870 AM (Jason Weinstein)
LIVE STATS: http://sidearmstats.com/cornell/mhockey/scoreboard.aspx
 
GAME 13: #11/11 CORNELL vs. MAINE or MINN.-DULUTH
DATE: Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012
TIME: 4 or 7 p.m.
SITE: Germain Arena — Estero, Fla.
2012-13 RECORDS: Cornell 6-3-2, 3-3-2 ECAC Hockey; Ferris St. 7-7-3, 6-6-1 CCHA
SERIES RECORDS: Cornell leads Maine, 7-6-2, and Cornell leads Minn.-Duluth, 1-0-1.
LAST MEETING vs. MAINE: Maine won, 3-2 in OT, on Dec. 30, 2010 in Estero, Fla.
LAST MEETING vs. MINN.-DULUTH: Tied, 1-1, on Dec. 28, 2005 in Estero, Fla. Cornell won the subsequent shootout.
RADIO: WHCU 870 AM (Jason Weinstein)
LIVE STATS: TBA
 
Cornell game notes (PDF)
Ferris State game notes (PDF)
Maine game notes (PDF)
Minn.-Duluth game notes (coming soon)
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell is riding its second four-game unbeaten streak of the young season, having notched a pair of 3-1 victories over Clarkson and St. Lawrence on the heels of a thrilling 5-1 victory over Michigan in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden in The Frozen Apple on Nov. 24. Senior forward John Esposito was named the ECAC Hockey Player of the Week on Dec. 4 after scoring three goals against Clarkson and St. Lawrence. ... Miller is tied for the team scoring lead with five goals and four assists for nine points through 11 games. He is trying to become the first member of the Big Red to lead the team in scoring three times since Matt Moulson (2003-04 – 2005-06). ... Sophomore defehseman Joakim Ryan also has nine points, all on assists — six of which have come on the power play. ... Having surrendered just one goal in each of the last four games, junior goalie Andy Iles has lowered his goals-against average to 1.80 alongside a 6-3-2 record and .930 save percentage. He has made 47 consecutive starts.
 
ABOUT FERRIS STATE
The streaky Bulldogs are on a downtick, going winless in their last four games on the heels of a four-game winning streak. Ferris State was swept Dec. 7-8 at Western Michigan before hitting the midway point of its season with a 3-1 loss at Michigan State on Dec. 15. ... Senior winter Kyle Bonis (8g-5a–13p in 17 games) leads the team in scoring, including four power-play goals. He typically plays on a line centered by classmate Travis Ouellette (4-7–11 in 17 gp). Sophomore defenseman Jason Binkley (2-9–11 in 17 gp) leads the team in assists, while stalwart junior defenseman Scott Czarnowczan (0-3–3 in 8 gp) is back in the fold after missing a month with an injury suffered in the season opener against RPI on Oct. 12. ...  Sophomore C.J. Motte has started all 17 games in net for the Bulldogs, posting a 7-7-3 record to go with a 2.26 goals-against average and .927 save percentage. A junior teammate of Cornell defenseman Jacob MacDonald, Motte had a stellar freshman campaign with a 1.98 GAA. ... Head coach Bob Daniels has 341 career victories — three ahead of Cornell's Mike Schafer all-time. ... This is Ferris State's first appearance at the Florida College Hockey Classic.
 
THE SERIES WITH FERRIS STATE
The Bulldogs hold a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series with the Big Red, including last season's 2-1 victory in the NCAA Midwest Regional on March 24 at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis. That was the only other neutral-site meeting between the two programs, and the first overall more than 14 years. Cornell made its only visit to Ferris State on Jan. 24, 1998, dropping a 5-3 affair at Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. The Bulldogs made the trip to Ithaca, N.Y. the previous season, which was Mike Schafer's second behind the Cornell bench. Cornell won the first game, 4-3, but then faltered the following night, 6-4.
 
ABOUT MINN.-DULUTH
The Bulldogs lost a lot to graduation following a 2011-12 season that ended in the NCAA Northeast Regional final, but they have also rebounded by going 4-1-1 in their last six games before the holiday break. Three of the wins and the tie came on the road at Michigan Tech and Alaska-Anchorage, sandwiched around a home split with Bemidji State. ... Senior winger Mike Seidel (11g-8a–19p in 18 gp) and freshman center Tony Cameranesi (8-11–19 in 18 gp) are tied for the team lead in scoring an account for a combined 10 of the team's 20 power-play goals. Junior Joe Basaraba (5-2–7 in 18 gp) typically fills out the line. ... Freshman Matt McNeely (5-4-1, 2.47 goals-against average, .899 save pct.) has won four straight starts, splitting time in goal with junior Aaron Crandall (2-4-2, 3.10, .884). ... UMD hasn't played against a regular-season game against an ECAC Hockey team since Jan. 3-4, 2011 at Clarkson.
 
ABOUT MAINE
The Black Bears have struggled this season to a 2-11-2 start after the graduation of dynamic forwards Spencer Abbott and Brian Flynn, and the early departure of Matt Mangene. Maine's two wins have come against Army (Oct. 13 at the IceBreaker in Kansas City, Mo.) and at UMass-Lowell (Nov. 10). The Black Bears are on a four-game winless skid, including ties against Massachusetts and Vermont and one-goal losses to Vermont and Boston University. ... Maine is 0-3 against ECAC Hockey this season, including a season-opening 2-1 loss to Quinnipiac and a pair of blowout losses to St. Lawrence — all at home. ... Dallas Stars draft pick Devin Shore leads the team in scoring with one goal and six assists for seven points in 15 games. He can play center, but has more recently been appearing on a line opposite senior Joey Diamond (3g-3a–6p). ... Junior Martin Ouellette has started the last six games, posting a 1-5-2 record, 2.23 goals-against average and .915 save percentage over his eight appearances.
 
THE SERIES WITH MINN.-DULUTH
The Big Red and Bulldogs have met just twice in their programs' history, with Cornell holding a 1-0-1 advantage. Both meetings came on neutral ice, with the first resulting in a 2-1 victory for the Big Red on Dec. 27, 1968 at the Syracuse Invitational Tournament (Cornell advanced to the national championship game that season). The second meeting was the championship game of the Florida College Hockey Classic on Dec. 28, 2005. Cam Abbott scored an unassisted shorthanded goal for Cornell in the 1-1 tie, then the Big Red went on to win the five-round shootout, 3-2.
 
THE SERIES WITH MAINE
Cornell has always led the all-time series against the Black Bears, but Maine has won the last three meetings to cut the Big Red lead to 7-6-2. Cornell has particularly struggled against Maine at the Florida College Classic, with the Black Bears posting a 4-1 record against the Big Red at Germain Arena — which also marks the last five meetings between the teams. The most recent clash came on Dec. 30, 2010, when Maine fought off a third-period deficit to secure a 3-2 overtime victory in the consolation game.
 
MAKING THE ROUNDS
In a strange coincidence, the three other teams in the 2012 NCAA Midwest Regional have all reappeared on Cornell's schedule this season. The Big Red defeated Michigan on Nov. 24 for the second time in a seven-month span, and Friday's game against Ferris State is a rematch from the regional final. Cornell will then take on Denver in a pair of games next weekend. The teams were in opposite semifinals in the regional.

MAKING THE CUT
Sophomore forward Cole Bardreau is competing with USA Hockey's entry in the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championships, serving as one of four alternate captains for the tournament in Ufa, Russia. He was a member of the U.S. team that captured the gold medal at the IIHF Under-18 World Championship in April 2011. Bardreau wasn't the only Cornellian at the team's summer evaluation camp in Lake Placid, N.Y. — sophomore defenseman Joakim Ryan was also among the 45 players who started the camp before the roster was trimmed. Because Bardreau will be in Russia through early January, he will miss this weekend's Florida College Hockey Classic and may also miss Cornell's two games at Denver the following weekend.
 
COMING THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH
The Big Red has scored 15 of its 27 goals (55.6 pct.) this season in the third period of its 11 games. Cornell is the only team among the country's 59 Division I programs to have scored more than half of its goals in the third period.
 
ILES FILES
Junior Andy Iles has already twice been named the ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week. The first time was on Oct. 30 after the Big Red's two victories against Colorado College, including a season-opening shutout. Iles then stopped 26 shots in the Big Red's 5-1 victory over Michigan on Nov. 24 in The Frozen Apple to earn the league's weekly goaltending honor on Nov. 27. Iles was an All-Ivy League First Team and All-ECAC Hockey Second Team selection last season after earning all-league rookie team honors as a freshman.
 
REST OPTIONAL
Andy Iles is the only goalie in Division I this season who was used exclusively by his team last season, having now made 47 consecutive starts in the Cornell net. By playing all of the Big Red's games in 2011-12, Iles became the first goalie at Cornell to accomplish that feat since Darren Eliot in 1982-83, and the first Cornell sophomore to do so since Laing Kennedy in 1960-61 — when the season was just 19 games long.
 
POLLS PROSE
Cornell moved up one spot to 11th in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine college hockey polls on Dec. 17. The Big Red has been as high as fourth in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine on Nov. 5 and low as 13th in both polls on Nov. 19. Cornell is 3-1-1 in games against teams in the USCHO.com poll heading into the contest with Ferris State.
 
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 18th season, Schafer has 338 career victories, ranking him second in ECAC Hockey. Schafer trails only Quinnipiac's Rand Pecknold by 11 games. He is also tops among Ivy League coaches, with Dartmouth's Bob Gaudet up to 319 career victories in his 25th season as a head coach.
 
FIVE-ON-THREE PROWESS
There are few situations in hockey more dire than when your team is facing a two-man disadvantage, but the Big Red has been impregnable in those scenarios so far this season. Cornell is a perfect 4-for-4 on the two-man disadvantage through the opening eight games, spanning a total of 3 minutes, 47 seconds. Conversely, the Big Red offense has scored in one of its four five-on-three advantages this season — John Esposito's season-opening goal on Oct. 26 against Colorado College.
 
CLASS-Y GUY
Tri-captain Nick D'Agostino is one of 20 national candidates for the Senior CLASS Award, which is presented annually to an NCAA Division I senior that has notable achievements in four areas of excellence — community, classroom, character and competition. D'Agostino has emerged as one of the nation's top point-producing defensemen, leading the Big Red with six power-play goals en route to All-Ivy League Second Team and All-ECAC Hockey Second Team selections last season. He posted career-highs in goals (8) and points (20) last season, producing a whopping five game-winning goals. Outside of the rink, he has been involved in a service trip with the Portal De Belen Foundation to Don Juan, Dominican Republic, Feed My Starving Children, the United Way Day of Care and the Ithaca Youth Hockey Association. He is also a three-time member of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations' Dean's List in 2011 and 2012.
 
COME ONE, COME ALL
The Big Red is used to playing in front of sold-out crowds at Lynah Rink, but Cornell hockey has been a commodity this season no matter the location. All of the Big Red's games away from home have been sold out so far this season — Colgate, Princeton, Quinnipiac and the 18,200 seats at Madison Square Garden for The Frozen Apple against Michigan. Cornell has played in front of 10 consecutive capacity crowds heading into this weekend.
 
WHO NEEDS EVEN-STRENGTH GOALS?
Senior forward John Esposito leads the team with six goals — the first four of which came on the man advantage, giving him the national lead in power-play goals per game (0.44). All five of the Big Red's goals in its two victories Oct. 26-27 over Colorado College came on the man advantage, including one strike on a five-on-three. It was the first time since 2000 that Cornell opened the season without scoring a five-on-five goal. The last time the team scored as many as five power-play goals in its first two games actually wasn't that long ago — 2009, when it racked up six against Niagara and Dartmouth.
 
FOR THE RECORD
With three consecutive shutouts in November 2011, Andy Iles recorded the second-longest shutout streak in program history, spanning 213 minutes, 35 seconds over a five-game span. The only Cornell shutout streak that went longer was posted by Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Ben Scrivens, who held the opposition scoreless for 267:11 during the 2010 playoffs. But Iles wasn't done there — he posted back-to-back shutouts against St. Lawrence and Clarkson on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3, respectively, spurring another lengthy shutout streak of 152:36 that ranks ninth all-time in Big Red history. His success has stretched into the postseason, as evidenced by a career-high 46 saves in a March 9 double-overtime victory against Dartmouth. Iles was third in the nation with six shutouts and 10th in goal-against average (2.12). He also set a record for longest streak in ECAC Hockey play of 286:54 from November 2011 to January 2012.
 
BLANK YOU VERY MUCH
With its season-opening 2-0 victory over Colorado College, Cornell has recorded at least one shutout in each of the last 18 seasons. The last time the Big Red went a full schedule without posting a shutout came during the 1994-95 season under former coach Brian McCutcheon, as Cornell finished that year 11-15-4. The following year marked the first season for current head coach Mike Schafer, and his clubs have never gone a full year without recording a shutout.
 
COLLECTING HARDWARE
Andy Iles became the first Cornell hockey player to earn a medal for the United States at the IIHF World Junior Championships when he was part of Team USA that claimed bronze at the 2011 tournament in Buffalo, N.Y. Iles is just the second Cornell player to be a member of the United States team, joining Jean-Marc Pelletier in 1998. The last Cornell player to earn a medal for any nation at the IIHF World Junior Championships was Sasha Pokulok, who claimed gold with Canada in 2006.
 
FEEL THE DRAFT?
Cornell has eight players on the roster who have been selected in the NHL Entry Draft, including three picks from last June. Freshman defenseman Reece Willcox was selected in the fifth round by the Philadelphia Flyers, then sophomore forward John McCarron was snagged in the sixth round by the Edmonton Oilers. The San Jose Sharks then selected sophomore defenseman Joakim Ryan in the seventh round, giving the Big Red its most NHL draft picks entering a season since it had eight in the 2006-07 campaign. Other NHL draft picks on this year's team include sophomore forwards Brian Ferlin (Boston Bruins) and Joel Lowry (Los Angeles Kings), senior defensemen Braden Birch (Chicago Blackhawks) and Nick D'Agostino (Pittsburgh Penguins), and junior defenseman Kirill Gotovets (Tampa Bay Lightning).
 
INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE
Junior Kirill Gotovets got a taste of the big time 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) — 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.
 
FIRST 1,000 DOWN
The Big Red's 2-1 win over Quinnipiac in game one of the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals last season marked the 1,000th victory all-time for the Cornell men's hockey program. Cornell became the 17th program to reach that milestone.
 
CLOSER TO HOME
Hometown fans of the Big Red got a rare treat when goalie Andy Iles became the first Ithaca native to play for the team since Mike Tallman in 1988-89. Sophomore forward Kevin Cole then made his collegiate debut last season, marking the first time in at least 50 years — and perhaps the first time in program history — that two Ithaca natives have played for the Big Red in the same season. Cole was born in Ithaca and raised in nearby Lansing before heading off to junior programs in Syracuse and Cornwall, Ontario. His father, Dave, lettered for the Big Red in the 1981-82 season. Yet another Ithaca area connection came on board this season when the Big Red added junior defenseman Craig Esposito, who is also from Lansing and serves as one of the tri-captains on Cornell's men's golf team. Freshman forward John Knisley, who calls Pittsford, N.Y. home, also joins the Big Red this season to give
Cornell five players that call Upstate New York home for the first time since 1963-64.
 
GLOBAL INFLUENCE
The Big Red has 11 players on the roster born in the United States, the second-highest total for a Mike Schafer-coached team at Cornell (trailing only the 12 it had last season). The Big Red also now has players native to seven different countries on its squad. Aside from the bulk of its roster hailing from the United States and Canada, Cornell also has a player from Belarus (Kirill Gotovets), Denmark (Christian Hilbrich), Finland (Teemu Tiitinen), Singapore (Dustin Mowrey) and South Africa (Armand de Swardt).
 
UP NEXT
The Big Red will continue its stretch of eight weeks between home games with its only regular-season trip outside of the Eastern Time Zone next weekend. Cornell will play two games Jan. 4-5 at Denver, marking its second trip to the Centennial State in as many years and the end of its demanding non-league schedule. The Big Red will then enjoy a week off before resuming ECAC Hockey play Jan. 18-19 at Union and Rensselaer, respectively. Cornell's next home game is against Yale and will be broadcast by NBC Sports Network on Friday, Jan. 25.