The men's hockey team will make a trek to New England this weekend for a pair of games against Ivy League rivals Dartmouth and Harvard. On Friday, the Big Red will take on a young Big Green team that is ranked 17th in the country in the most recent USCHO.com poll. On Saturday, Cornell and Harvard will square off in a battle of unlikely downtrodden teams. Both games will be televised by Fox College Sports Atlantic (Ch. 235 in the Ithaca area for sports-tier subscribers), with Greg Madden handling the play-by-play and Sonny Watrous doing the color analysis on Friday. Both of this weekend's games can be heard in the Ithaca area on WHCU-AM (870), with Jason Weinstein handling the play-by-play duties. His call can also be accessed worldwide on Cornell Athletics' subscription-based Redcast service.
 
GAME 24: CORNELL at #17 DARTMOUTH
DATE: Friday, Feb. 15, 2013
TIME: 7 p.m.
SITE: Thompson Arena — Hanover, N.H.
2012-13 RECORDS: Cornell 8-13-2, 4-10-2 ECAC Hockey; Dartmouth 11-8-4-, 7-6-3 ECAC Hockey
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 78-43-4
LAST MEETING: Tied, 1-1, on Nov. 17, 2012 in Ithaca, N.Y.
TV: Fox College Sports Atlantic (Greg Madden, Sonny Watrous)
RADIO: WHCU 870 AM (Jason Weinstein)
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.dartmouthsports.com/liveEvents/liveEvents.dbml?SPID=4728&db_oem_id=11600
LIVE STATS: http://www.dartmouthsports.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?SPID=4728&DB_OEM_ID=11600&LIST_SPORT_KEY=M_ICE_HOCKEY/
 
GAME 25: CORNELL at HARVARD
DATE: Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013
TIME: 7 p.m.
SITE: Bright Center — Cambridge, Mass.
2012-13 RECORDS: Cornell 8-13-2, 4-10-2 ECAC Hockey; Harvard 6-15-2, 3-12-1 ECAC Hockey
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 71-61-8
LAST MEETING: Harvard won, 4-1, on Nov. 16, 2012 in Ithaca, N.Y.
TV: Fox College Sports Atlantic
RADIO: WHCU 870 AM (Jason Weinstein)
LIVE VIDEO: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/harvard.portal#
LIVE STATS: http://livestats.prestosports.com/harvard/
 
Cornell game notes (PDF)
Dartmouth games notes (coming soon)
Harvard games notes (coming soon)
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell is enduring an uncharacteristically long stretch of futility, losing 10 games in a 11-game stretch for the first time under 18th-year head coach Mike Schafer.  The Big Red has lost seven in a row since winning Jan. 18 at Union. Most recently, Cornell couldn't recover from an early deficit against now No. 1-ranked Quinnipiac last Friday, then dominated Princeton territorily on Saturday only to come up empty on 39 shots with a 1-0 loss. ... Senior center Greg Miller (8-11–19) has 14 points over his last 15 games, surging to the team lead in scoring. He is attempting to become the Big Red's first three-time scoring champion since current NHLer Matt Moulson did it in 2006. ... Senior John Esposito (9-4–13) leads the team in goals by one over sophomore Joel Lowry (8-6–14). Esposito also leads the team with five power-play goals, just ahead of Lowry's four. ... Sophomore Joakim Ryan (1-12–13) has the team lead in scoring from defensemen. ... Junior goalie Andy Iles (8-13-2, 2.56, .906) is in line to start his 60th consecutive game for the Big Red on Friday.
 
ABOUT DARTMOUTH
The Big Green has tempered after a hot start that saw it sitting at 8-2-2 and as high as No. 8 in the national polls on Jan. 2. Dartmouth is 3-5-2 in its last 10 games, including a 1-1 tie on Sunday at Harvard. ... The Big Green has just two seniors playing regularly, though they are both noteworthy — winger Dustin Walsh (7-7–14 in 18gp) is the team's lone NHL draft pick, having been selected by the Montreal Canadiens, and defenseman Mike Keenan is a second-year captain. Dartmouth has 14 underclassmen that have played in at least half of its games. ... Sophomore center Tyler Sikura (9-17–26; 4ppg) leads the team in scoring by three points over junior linemate Matt Lindblad (9-14–23). Junior winger Eric Robinson (10-7–7; 4ppg) leads the team in goals. ... Junior Cab Morris (8-4-3, 1.97, .923) has taken the starting reins in goal after splitting time early on with freshman Charles Grant (3-4-1, 2.61, .908).
 
ABOUT HARVARD
As an ECAC Hockey finalist last season, the Crimson had high hopes to return to the upper portion of the league tables this season, especially after a 4-1 victory on Nov. 16 at Cornell that improved its record to 4-2. But Harvard has only won twice in 17 games since — though both were against crosstown rival Boston University, which has been ranked all season. The latest win over the Terriers came Monday in the Beanpot consolation with senior Luke Greiner (6-6–12) notching a hat trick in a 7-4 win. ... Freshman Jimmy Vesey (10-4–14) leads the team in scoring and is tied for the league lead in scoring among rookies. Classmate Brian Hart (4-9–13) is close behind. ... Junior Raphael Girard (5-14-2, 3.25, .905) is the incumbent starter in goal, but freshman Peter Traber (1-1, 3.52, .918) made 43 saves in Monday's win over BU. ... The Crimson has scored more than two goals just three times in its last 17 games.
 
THE SERIES WITH DARTMOUTH
Cornell holds a 78-43-4 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 12 of the last 17 contests against the Big Green, including a two-game sweep of an ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series March 9-10 at Lynah. The Big Red's double-overtime victory in Game 1 of that series is the longest game in men's hockey history at Lynah Rink (97 minutes, 40 seconds). Cornell also won both regular-season meetings between the two teams last year, including a 4-3 victory on Jan. 20, 2012. The teams then played to a 1-1 tie earlier this season, with Dartmouth scoring the tying goal with an extra attacker on the ice with 52 seconds remaining in the third period. Head coach Mike Schafer is 21-16-4 against the Big Green during his tenure behind the Cornell bench.
 
THE SERIES WITH HARVARD
One of the best rivalries in all of college hockey, Cornell holds a 71-61-8 lead in the all-time series with the Crimson. Harvard won the first meeting between the teams this season, securing a 4-1 victory on Nov. 16 at Lynah Rink in a game televised nationally on NBC Sports Network. The teams split last season's series, 1-1-1, after the Big Red won its third straight game at Harvard's Bright Center on Nov. 11, 2011 by a score of 4-2. The Crimson rallied for a 2-2 tie in last year's meeting at Lynah on Jan. 21, then Harvard secured a 6-1 victory in the ECAC Hockey semifinals on March 16 in Atlantic City, N.J. Cornell head coach Mike Schafer holds a 31-14-3 mark against his program's biggest rival.
 
IT'S TIMES LIKE THESE ...
Cornell's recent struggles are a rare bump in the road for one of the most decorated teams in ECAC Hockey. The Big Red lost 11 straight games from Dec. 23, 1992 to March 5, 1993. That marked the last time the program has lost seven straight, the last time it had dropped 10 games in an 11-game stretch, and the last it was at least six games under .500 in league play. If Cornell loses both games this at Dartmouth and at Harvard, it will be the first time the team has lost 12 of 13 since the 1959-60 season, when it lost 19 in a row.
 
WARMING UP
Sophomore forward John McCarron scored his first three goals of the season in three consecutive games from Dec. 28 to Jan. 4, then added his fourth Jan. 19 at Rensselaer. and fifth Feb. 1 at St. Lawrence. It's a similar trend to his freshman season, when all six of his goals game in January, February or Match. All 11 of his career goals have now come after the December break for final exams and the holidays — including three goals in the playoffs.
 
POLLS PROSE
The Big Red is out of both the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com polls for the just the third week this season. Cornell has been in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine a league-high 14 weeks this season. Despite being outside of the USCHO.com poll, Cornell holds a 5-5-1 mark in games against teams in the Top 20 at the time of the games.
 
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 league'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.
 
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 to be used exclusively by his team this season, having now made 59 consecutive starts in the Cornell net. He was one of just two goalies to pull off a similar feat last season, with Minnesota's Kent Patterson being the other. By starting and finishing 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.
 
NOW THAT'S A STREAK
It has been 1,504 games since the Big Red has been shutout in back-to-back contests — a streak that could come to an end Friday if the Big Green can hold the visitors off the scoresheet. The last time Cornell was blanked twice in a row was vs. Clarkson and St. Lawrence in December 1963.
 
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 340 career victories, ranking him second in ECAC Hockey. Schafer trails only Quinnipiac's Rand Pecknold by 18 games. He is also tops among Ivy League coaches, with Dartmouth's Bob Gaudet up to 323 career victories in his 25th season as a head coach. Last Saturday's game was Schafer's 600th at the helm.
 
POWERFUL START
Senior forward John Esposito leads the team with nine goals — the first four of which came on the man advantage. 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.
 
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 6-for-6 on the two-man disadvantage this season, spanning a total of 4 minutes, 58 seconds. Conversely, the Big Red offense has scored in two of its five five-on-three advantages this season — John Esposito on Oct. 26 against Colorado College and Nick D'Agostino on Feb. 2 at Clarkson.
 
HOBEY WATCH
The same three members of the Big Red who were nominated for the Hobey Baker Award in 2012 are back on the ballot in 2013. Senior defenseman Nick D'Agostino is one of the squad's tri-captains and is one point off the team lead in scoring among blueliners, senior forward Greg Miller is on pace to lead the team in scoring for a third consecutive season, and junior Andy Iles is the team's exclusive goaltender and a reigning All-Ivy League First Team selection.
 
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.
 
FIRST 1,000 DOWN ...
The Big Red's 2-1 win over Quinnipiac in game one of the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals in 2011 marked the 1,000th victory all-time for the Cornell men's hockey program. Cornell became the 17th program to reach that milestone.
 
GOLDEN AGAIN
Sophomore forward Cole Bardreau won a gold medal while serving as an assistant captain for the United States at the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship earlier this month in Ufa, Russia. He then scored a goal and added an assist in his first game back with the Big Red last weekend against Union. It wasn't the first time Bardreau's earned gold with the U.S. either — he also wore an “A” while capturing gold at the IIHF Under-18 World Championship in April 2011. Sophomore defenseman Joakim Ryan was also among the 45 players who started the camp for this year's World Juniors before the roster was trimmed.
 
COLLECTING HARDWARE
While sophomore forward Cole Bardreau became the first Cornell player to earn gold with the U.S. at the IIHF World Junior Championships, junior goalie Andy Iles was the first to earn a medal with Team USA. Iles claimed bronze at the 2011 tournament in Buffalo, N.Y., with the only player before to compete with the United States being goaltender Jean-Marc Pelletier in 1998.
 
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.
 
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).
 
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).
 
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.
 
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.
 
UP NEXT
The Big Red will play exclusively within ECAC Hockey for the remainder of the season, attempting to chase down the program's 13th league title. Cornell will return home next weekend for its final games of the regular season at the friendly confines of Lynah Rink. After taking on Rensselaer on Friday, Feb. 22, the Big Red will play host to defending ECAC Hockey champion Union on Saturday, Feb. 23. The game against the Dutchmen will also serve as Senior Night, when the Big Red will honor the eight seniors on its roster. Cornell will then wrap up the regular season with an Ivy League road trip to Brown on March 1 and Yale on March 2.