ITHACA, N.Y. – The men's hockey season kicks off in similar fashion to the 2013-14 campaign, with two games against Omaha of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. The one major difference is that this year's games will be held Friday and Saturday at Lynah Rink, where the Big Red will play eight of its first 11 games this season. Both games will be streamed live on subscription-based Big Red Digital, with Jason Weinstein handling play-by-play and Tony Eisenhut providing color commentary. The audio-only feed of their call will be available for free on Big Red Digital, and it can also be heard in the Ithaca area on WHCU-AM (870).
 
#18 CORNELL vs. OMAHA
TIME: 7 p.m.
DATE: Friday, October 31, 2014
PLACE: Lynah Rink · Ithaca, N.Y
RECORDS: Cornell 0-0, 0-0 ECAC Hockey · Omaha 3-1, 2-0 NCHC
LIVE VIDEO: Ivy League Digital Network
AUDIO: Ivy League Digital Network
RADIO: WHCU-AM (870)
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
 
#18 CORNELL vs. OMAHA
TIME: 7 p.m.
DATE: Saturday, November 1, 2014
PLACE: Lynah Rink · Ithaca, N.Y
RECORDS: Cornell 0-0, 0-0 ECAC Hockey · Omaha 3-1, 2-0 NCHC
LIVE VIDEO: Ivy League Digital Network
AUDIO: Ivy League Digital Network
RADIO: WHCU-AM (870)
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
 
Cornell game notes (PDF)
Omaha game notes (PDF)
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell is coming off a 17-10-5 record last season, when it narrowly missed an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament. The Big Red finished fourth in the ECAC Hockey regular season standings (11-7-4), then advanced to the league's championship weekend before bowing out in a semifinal loss to eventual national champion Union. Cornell returns 12 of its top 14 scorers from last season, led by a senior class of six. Included in that group are three players who were all tied for second in team scoring — linemates Joel Lowry (7-17–24) and John McCarron (7-17–24), and defenseman Joakim Ryan (8-16–24). Four of the team's top six defensemen have returned, and they will play in front of a new group of goalies who have a combined two games of collegiate experience heading into the season (all from sophomore Mitch Gillam). ... This is head coach Mike Schafer's 20th season at the helm of the Big Red. Associate Head Coach Ben Syer and Assistant Coach Topher Scott both return for their fourth seasons at Cornell, and Lyle Gregory has joined the staff as a volunteer assistant coach.
 
ABOUT OMAHA
The Mavericks have enjoyed a 3-1 start to the season, beginning with a home split against nationally-ranked Minnesota State before sweeping its league-opening series at Western Michigan. They were idle last weekend, when the Big Red was playing a pair of exhibitions. Omaha has enjoyed quick starts, scoring eight of its 15 goals on the young season in the first period. Sophomore winger Jake Guentzel is the leading scorer (4-5–9) and ranks first in the country in points per game (2.25). He is also one of six NHL draft picks on the team, with the Pittsburgh Penguins owning his rights. His linemates, sophomore Austin Ortega (2-5–7) on the opposite wing and senior center Dominic Zombo (3-2–5) are second and third in team scoring, respectively. ... Senior goaltender Ryan Massa (3-0, 1.67, .939, SO) has enjoyed a quick start to the season. He was named the Bauer Hockey, Inc. NCHC Goaltender of the Week on Oct. 20 after stopping 57 of 59 shots he saw in the two games at Western Michigan. Sophomore Kirk Thompson (0-1, 4.15, .882) is also in the crease equation. Massa and Thompson started one game apiece against the Big Red last season. ... Omaha was ranked sixth in the NCHC Preseason Poll.
 
THE SERIES WITH OMAHA
This will be just the second chapter in the programs' all-time series, with the Big Red winning the first two meetings last year at CenturyLink Center in Omaha. Cornell scored seven of its nine goals on the power play to earn victories by scores of 5-3 and 4-3. Joel Lowry and John McCarron has four points apiece, and Cole Bardreau, Jake Weidner and Patrick McCarron all had three points apiece to pace the Cornell offense.
 
EXHIBITIONS IN NAME ONLY
Cornell is 20-1-3 in exhibitions since 2000, including a pair of victories last weekend by identical 3-2 scores against the U.S. National Team Development Program's Under-18 Team and Carleton. Freshman forward Jared Fiegl and junior forward Teemu Tiitinen had a goal and an assist apiece against the NTDP, with senior forward Joel Lowry scoring the winner. Senior defensemen Jacob MacDonald and Joakim Ryan then scored power-play goals to erase deficits against Carleton before Fiegl netted the winner on a rebound of a shot from freshman defenseman Ryan Bliss. Sophomore Mitch Gillam made 26 saves for the victory against the NTDP, then freshman Hayden Stewart had 24 stops the next day to earn the win against Carleton.

LET'S GET IT STARTED
Cornell has an all-time record of 57-34-6 in season openers, claiming its third straight win in a season debut with a 5-3 victory last year at Omaha. The Big Red also went on to win the rematch the following night, 4-3, with seven of the weekend's nine goals scored on the power play. Under current head coach Mike Schafer, the Big Red is 12-6-1 in season openers.
 
BLANK YOU VERY MUCH
Cornell has recorded at least one shutout in each of the last 19 seasons – a streak that was kept alive with a 1-0 overtime victory against Clarkson in Game 3 of the ECAC Hockey Championship quarterfinals last March. The last time the Big Red went a full season 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.
 
SITTING ATOP THE IVY
Cornell won the Ivy League championship outright in 2014. It's the second time in the last three years the Big Red claimed the Ivy crown, the 17th time it's done so outright and the 21st time overall in program history. Cornell came up just short of even more history when a 1-0 loss to Dartmouth on Feb. 28 proved to be the squad's only loss against the Ancient Eight last season. Just three times in program history has the Big Red completed the Ivy League schedule undefeated. The last time Cornell was unbeaten in Ivy games was 1996, when it was 9-0-1 in Mike Schafer's first season as the Big Red's head coach. The other two occasions were in 1969 and 1970.
 
TRENDING
The Big Red welcomes two newcomers from the U.S. National Team Development Program this season in defenseman Ryan Bliss and forward Jared Fiegl. This marks the fifth consecutive season that at least one player from the U.S. Under-18s has joined the Big Red. The others were Clint Lewis (in 2013), Gavin Stoick (in 2012), Cole Bardreau (in 2011) and Andy Iles (in 2010).
 
POLLS PROSE
The Big Red was ranked 14th in both the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com polls in the preseason. But as the 53 non-Ivy League teams have started their schedules, Cornell has slipped down to 18th in the most recent USCHO.com poll and out of the top 15 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. It's the second straight week the Big Red has been on the outside of that poll, which only happened once last season (Nov. 11-18).
 
NOW THAT'S A STREAK
It has been 1,547 games since the Big Red has been shutout in back-to-back contests. The streak dates back to December 1963 with games vs. Clarkson and St. Lawrence.
 
NOT JUST A DEFENSEMAN
Senior blueliner Joakim Ryan ranked 11th in the nation in points per game for defensemen (0.75) last season. He was tied for second on the team in scoring with 24 points, and his eight goals ranked third on the team. Over the last two years, he has been on the ice for 88 of the team's 160 goals (55 percent). The production was nothing new for the San Jose Sharks draft pick, who set a program record for goals by a freshman defenseman in 2011-12 with seven. Ryan was named to both the media's and coaches' Preseason All-ECAC Hockey Teams.
 
FEEL THE DRAFT?
Cornell has seven players on the roster who have been selected in the NHL Entry Draft, including two picks from last June. Freshman forward Jared Fiegl was selected in the seventh round by the Arizona Coyotes, with the only other Big Red player selected by the organization being David LeNeveu in 2002. Freshman forward Dwyer Tschantz was then selected 11 picks later by the St. Louis Blues — the first time the organization has selected a Cornell product in 15 years. Other NHL draft picks on the team include defensemen Reece Willcox (Philadelphia Flyers) and Joakim Ryan (San Jose Sharks), forwards John McCarron (Edmonton Oilers), Joel Lowry (Los Angeles Kings) and Matt Buckles (Florida Panthers).
 
FIVE-ON-THREE PROWESS
There are few situations in hockey more dire than when a team is facing a two-man disadvantage, but the Big Red has made a habit of rising to the occasion in those scenarios. Cornell is a perfect 15-for-15 killing off a two-man disadvantage over the last two seasons, spanning a total of 13 minutes, 12 seconds. The last time Cornell surrendered a five-on-three goal was against Yale on Feb. 11, 2012.
 
THE 35th TO 350
Already the winningest coach in program history, Mike Schafer hit 350 victories for his career — all of which have come from behind the Big Red's bench — with a 4-2 win over Princeton on Nov. 1, 2013. He became the 35th coach all-time to rack up 350 victories across all NCAA divisions. Schafer is also just the third coach to pass 350 victories with Ivy League tenure, joining Ned Harkness (Cornell, Union and Rensselaer) and Tim Taylor (Yale).
 
GLOBAL INFLUENCE
The Big Red has 17 players on the roster born in the  United States. Cornell also now has players native to four 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 Denmark (Christian Hilbrich) and Finland (Teemu Tiitinen). Even within the United States, the Big Red has some untraditional hockey areas covered. Joel Lowry has lived in Florida, Tiitinen has lived in Georgia, John Knisley is native to South Carolina, and Cole Bardreau and Ryan Bliss were both born in North Carolina.
 
GOLDEN AGAIN
Senior 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 in Ufa, Russia. 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. Junior defenseman Joakim Ryan was also among the 45 players who started in camp for the United States before the roster was trimmed in advance of the World Junior championships.
 
UP NEXT
The Big Red plays its first two of 22 ECAC Hockey games next weekend with a road trip to Princeton on Friday and Quinnipiac on Saturday. Cornell then returns home for its next four games, all within the league, against Clarkson (Nov. 14), St. Lawrence (Nov. 15), Yale (Nov. 21) and Brown (Nov. 22)