ITHACA, N.Y. – For the first time in seven weeks, the Cornell men's hockey team will return home to play at Lynah Rink with a pair of Ivy Leauge rivals in town. The Big Red kicks off the stretch of five games at home over the next six when it plays host to Harvard at 7 p.m. Friday before wrapping up the weekend at 7 p.m. Saturday against Dartmouth. Both games will be streamed live on the subscription-based Ivy League Digital Network, with Jason Weinstein handling the play-by-play and Tony Eisenhut providing color commentary. Their call can also be heard for free on the Ivy League Digital Network and in the Ithaca area on WHCU-AM (870).
 
#4/4 HARVARD at CORNELL
TIME: 7 p.m.
DATE: Friday, January 23, 2015
PLACE: Lynah Rink · Ithaca, N.Y.
RECORDS: Cornell 7-8-1, 5-5 ECAC Hockey, 2-1 Ivy League · Harvard 11-3-2, 7-2-2 ECAC Hockey, 3-1-1 Ivy League
LIVE VIDEO($): Big Red Digital
AUDIO: Big Red Digital
RADIO: WHCU-AM (870)
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
 
DARTMOUTH at CORNELL
TIME: 7 p.m.
DATE: Saturday, January 24, 2015
PLACE: Lynah Rink · Ithaca, N.Y.
RECORDS*: Cornell 7-8-1, 5-5 ECAC Hockey, 2-1 Ivy League · Dartmouth 6-8-3, 3-6-1 ECAC Hockey, 2-2-1 Ivy League
LIVE VIDEO($): Big Red Digital
AUDIO: Big Red Digital
RADIO: WHCU-AM (870)
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
 (*—records do not include Friday's results)
 
Cornell game notes (PDF)
Harvard game notes (PDF)
Dartmouth game notes (PDF)
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell has split its last two weekends on the road in ECAC Hockey play, most recently routing Union last Friday, 5-1, before being shut out the following night at Rensselaer, 3-0. The results leave the Big Red in eighth place in the league standings, though it has upward of three games in hand on five of the seven teams ahead of it. ... The Big Red enters the weekend surrendering the second-fewest goals per game in the nation (1.65), anchored by a pair of highly effective goaltenders. Sophomore Mitch Gillam (5-5-2, 1.47 GAA, .948 SV%, SO) leads the nation in goals-against average and save percentage, and freshman Hayden Stewart (2-3-0, 1.48,  .952, 2 SO) — already a two-time ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week — has comparable numbers through his five starts. ... Senior forward Cole Bardreau (1-8–9) had three assists in the win at Union, vaulting him to the team lead in scoring. Cornell had five different goal-scorers in the game, including junior forward Christian Hilbrich (5-3–8) and sophomore forward Matt Buckles (5-1–6; 4 PPG). The duo is tied for the team lead in goals. ... Sophomore forward Jake Weidner (2-6–8) is in a three-way tie for second on the team's scoring list. He had power-play goals in each of the Big Red's last two victories. ... Offense has been generally hard to come by for the Big Red this season, with the squad's average of 1.76 goals per game tied for third-fewest in the nation. Injuries have played a role, with senior defenseman Joakim Ryan — an All-ECAC Hockey Preseason selection by both the coaches and media — missing eight games due to injury in November and senior forward Joel Lowry (4-4–8) now expected to miss the remainder of the season. ... Mike Schafer is in his 20th season as the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Hockey. Associate head coach Ben Syer and assistant coach Topher Scott return for their fourth seasons with the Big Red. Lyle Gregory has joined the team as a volunteer assistant coach.
 
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.
 
ABOUT HARVARD
Picked to finish ninth by the coaches and 10th by the media in ECAC Hockey preseason polls, the Crimson has far exceeded those expectations in the early going by currently sitting second in the league standings after an 11-3-2 start. Offense has been the main factor. Harvard ranks fourth in the country with an average of 3.69 goals per game — markedly better than the 2.23 per game it posted last season. Most of that can be attributed to maturation from young talent, including junior left wing Jimmy Vesey (14-12–26; 4 PPGs). He ranks second in the country in points per game (1.62). Sophomore center Tyler Moy (7-8–15; 3 PPGs) and junior right wing Kyle Criscuolo (8-13–21) are Vesey's linemates. ... Senior Patrick McNally (4-12–16; team-best plus-14 rating) is the league's leading scorer among defenseman. ... Senior goaltender Steve Michalek (11-3-2, 2.14, .932, 2 SO) is off to a strong start, though he was pulled for the first time in last Saturday's 5-1 loss to St. Lawrence. ... Harvard's power play ranks fourth in the nation with a 24.6 percent success rate.
 
ABOUT DARTMOUTH
The Big Green is winless over its last six, failing to score more than two goals in any game over that stretch. Dartmouth was selected by both media and coaches to finish sixth in ECAC Hockey standings this season, and it got off to a solid start with a tie at Harvard, overtime win at Union and shutout of Boston University in November. ... Senior center Tyler Sikura (6-8–14) leads the team in scoring and is tied with senior right winger Eric Neiley (6-7–13) for the team's goal-scoring lead. Sikura generally plays with senior right wing Eric Robinson (4-8–12), who has a team-best plus-9 rating. ... Junior James Kruger (5-7-3, 2.17, .920, 2 SO) has emerged as the primary goaltender. ... Dartmouth's power play has struggled, converting just 10.8 percent of its opportunities.
 
THE SERIES WITH HARVARD
One of the best rivalries in all of college hockey, Cornell holds a 73-61-9 lead in the all-time series with the Crimson after a thrilling Senior Night victory in overtime on March 1, 2014. The Big Red erased a two-goal deficit with goals by John McCarron and Matt Buckles, then Joel Lowry jammed in the winner with 36 seconds left in overtime after an end-to-end rush by Cole Bardreau. The Big Red has been particularly successful in the series of late, sweeping the series last season and boasting a 9-4-2 advantage in the teams' 15 meetings since the 2008-09 season began. Cornell head coach Mike Schafer holds a 33-14-4 career mark against Harvard.
 
THE SERIES WITH DARTMOUTH
Cornell holds a 79-44-5 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 is 13-4-3 against Dartmouth over the last eight seasons and had a 10-game unbeaten streak ended in the teams' last meeting — a Feb. 28, 2014 clash at Lynah Rink that the Big Green won, 1-0, behind a 36-save shutout from Charles Grant. The teams tied, 1-1, in their first meeting of last season in Hanover, N.H. Head coach Mike Schafer is 22-17-5 against the Big Green during his tenure behind the Cornell bench.
 
SURGES AND OUTAGES
The Big Red power play sits in the middle of the pack nationally, mainly due to inconsistently. As of Nov. 9, the Big Red power play was converting at a clip of just 5.3 percent, mired in an 0-for-17 slump and scoring just four goals in its last 80 opportunities dating back to Dec. 28, 2013. The Big Red was then 7-for-18 on the power play over its next four games before going on another 0-for-17 slide. The power play has scored three goals in the three games since, including two by sophomore forward Jake Weidner.
 
KILLIN' IT
The Big Red is ranks third in the nation with a 90.6 percent success rate on the penalty kill. Within that number is an impressive streak against two-man disadvantages. Cornell is a perfect 20-for-20 killing off three-on-five scenarios over the last three seasons, spanning a total of 18 minutes, 25 seconds. The last time Cornell surrendered a five-on-three goal was against Yale on Feb. 11, 2012.
 
BLANK YOU VERY MUCH
Cornell has recorded at least one shutout in each of the last 20 seasons – a streak that has been continued this year with a 4-0 blanking of Brown on Nov. 22. Freshman Hayden Stewart made 26 saves for his first career shutout and subsequent ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week honors. In the process, he became the first Cornell freshman to keep a clean sheet since Ben Scrivens '10 manned the crease in a 6-0 rout of Union on Dec. 2, 2006. Like Scrivens, an All-American his senior season, Stewart's first shutout came in his ECAC Hockey debut. 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. The following year marked the first season for current head coach Mike Schafer.
 
WIN, NOT LOSE, ON DRAWS
Sophomore forward Jake Weidner has emerged as a terrific faceoff man this season. After spending most of his freshman year on the wing, he's split time on the wing and at center this year. One of the results is his 59.8 percent success rate on faceoffs entering the weekend, which ranks first among ECAC Hockey players who have appeared in at least 10 games this season. Sophomore forward Jeff Kubiak has also been solid on draws with a 56.3 percent success rate.
 
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. During his sophomore and junior seasons, he was 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, but he missed eight of the first nine games this season due to injury. Ryan was able to return Dec. 5-6 vs. Denver, notching his first assist of the season in the second game.
 
TRENDING
The Big Red has welcomed 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).
 
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). His current total of 371 victories in Division I play are tops among current ECAC Hockey coaches.
 
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).
 
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. Freshman forward Jared Fiegl also won gold in the same event in April 2014.
 
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 has lived in South Carolina, Cole Bardreau and Ryan Bliss were both born in North Carolina, and Dwyer Tschantz is the first-ever NHL draft pick born in Delaware.
 
UP NEXT
The Big Red plays regional rival Colgate in a home-and-home series next weekend, starting in Hamilton on Friday, Jan. 30 before the series shifts to Lynah Rink on Saturday, Jan. 31. Cornell then plays host to Quinnipiac and Princeton the following weekend, Feb. 6-7.