ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell will take its strong start to the season into a regional rivalry weekend against Colgate. The ECAC Hockey foes start the weekend series at 7 p.m. Friday at Lynah Rink in the second annual Courage Classic and 150th all-time meeting between the programs. The game will be streamed live on subscription-based Ivy League Digital Network. Jason Weinstein will handle play-by-play with color commentary from Tony Eisenhut. Their call can also be heard in the Ithaca area on WHCU (870 AM, 95.9 FM).
 
COLGATE at CORNELL
TIME: 7 p.m.
DATE: Friday, November 13, 2015
PLACE: Lynah Rink  ·  Ithaca, N.Y
RECORDS: Cornell 3-1, 1-1 ECAC Hockey  ·  Colgate 4-5, 1-1 ECAC Hockey
LIVE VIDEO: Ivy League Digital Network
RADIO: WHCU (870 AM, 95.9 FM)
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
 
Cornell game notes (PDF)
Colgate game notes (coming soon)
 
About the Big Red:
Cornell won its first three games of the season, then had a pair of three-goal leads in Saturday's game vs. #4/5 Quinnipiac before fizzling to a 5-4 loss in overtime. The Big Red has scored at least four goals in three straight games for the first time since the beginning of the 2013-14 season. ... Junior forward Jeff Kubiak (3-3–6) and freshman forward Anthony Angello (3-3–6) are tied for the team lead in scoring and have points in each of the team's first four games while forming a formidable line with freshman Mitch Vanderlaan (2-1–3). Sophomore defenseman Ryan Bliss (0-4–4) leads the team in assists and is tied for third in scoring with senior defendseman Reece Willcox (1-3–4). ... Junior Mitch Gillam (3-1, 2.47, .901, SO) has been the Big Red's exclusive goaltender to date.
 
Courage Classic:
Tonight's event is dedicated to the children of Camp Good Days, which has assigned three honorary coaches for both Cornell and Colgate. The honorary coaches attended their respective teams' practice earlier this week and will take part in a ceremonial puck drop at center ice tonight.
 
About Colgate:
The Raiders halted a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory against Princeton on Saturday at Starr Rink in Hamilton. Senior forward Darcy Murphy scored the winner with five seconds left in the second period, and junior goaltender Charlie Finn made 30 saves for the victory. ... Colgate opened ECAC Hockey play with a 3-2 loss to Quinnipiac on Friday. After opening the season with a split at Mercyhurst, Colgate dropped a 2-1 decision at Northeastern, swept a home-and-home with RIT, then was swept at home by defending national champion Providence. ... Senior forward Tyson Spink (4-6–10) leads the team in scoring, and twin brother Tylor Spink (3-4–7) leads the squad with two power-play goals and is tied for second in scoring with senior forward Mike Borkowski (5-2–7) and Murphy (3-4–7). ... Finn (4-5, 3.20, .909) has started eight of nine games in goal after posting six shutouts last season.
 
The Series Against Colgate:
The first of the two games between the programs this weekend will mark the sesquicentennial edition of the rivalry between the two upstate foes. Cornell holds a 77-57-15 lead in the all-time series, which dates back to 1921, and the Big Red has lost only four times in the last 27 meetings. In last year's series, a Ryan Bliss overtime goal lifted the Big Red to a road triumph in Hamilton on Jan. 30, then the teams skated to a 2-2 tie during the following evening's affair back in Ithaca.
 
Freshman Force:
The jump to college hockey can be a big one for newcomers, but freshman forward Anthony Angello — a 2014 draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins — has felt right at home with Cornell. With six points so far, Angello is the Big Red's first player to have points in his first four collegiate games since Ryan Moynihan from Nov. 8-16, 1996 — which was Mike Schafer's second season as head coach of his alma mater. Angello also leads the country in points per game for freshmen (1.50).
 
Exhibitions In Name Only:
Cornell is 22-1-3 in exhibitions since 2000, including an Oct. 24-25 sweep of OUA's Ryerson and Laurentian at Lynah Rink. The Big Red blitzed Ryerson with five goals in the first period, eventually winning by a 5-2 margin. Junior forward Jeff Kubiak had a goal and three assists, and junior forward Matt Buckles scored goals a little more than two minutes apart. Cornell then got all of its goals in a 6-1 win from freshmen — including four from forward Anthony Angello. Defenseman Alec McCrea and forward Mitch Vanderlaan scored the other two goals, and junior goaltender Hayden Stewart only needed to make seven saves to earn the victory.
 
Blank You Very Much:
Cornell has recorded at least one shutout in each of the last 21 seasons – a streak that was continued with a 4-0 blanking of Niagara on Oct. 31. Goaltender Mitch Gillam made 10 of his 19 saves in the third period while the Big Red nursed a big lead. It was the second career shutout for Gillam, who was an All-Ivy League second team selection last season. 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 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).
 
Class of Captains:
On the day of its season opener at Niagara, Cornell announced that its entire senior class — Christian Hilbrich, John Knisley, Teemu Tiitinen and Reece Willcox — would serve as captains during its final season on East Hill. It marks the first time in program history the Big Red has shared the captaincy among four players, though it's worth noting that only two players will wear the 'C' at any given time. Hilbrich and Willcox will serve as on-ice captains for the team's away games, while Knisley and Tiitinen will do so in home games.
 
Special Threads:
The Big Red wore special jerseys for its home opener Oct. 31 which will be auctioned off at a later date with proceeds going to a mission and service trip to the Dominican Republic this summer, led by head coach Mike Schafer and current players. In addition to the special design the red jerseys with a thick horizontal white stripe across the midsection, the jerseys featured name plates of the greatest Cornell hockey player to have ever donner that particular number according to the player that currently wears it.
 
Feel The Draft?:
Cornell has six players on the roster who have been selected in the NHL Entry Draft, including four from 2014. Freshman forward Beau Starrett (Chicago Blackhawks) was selected earliest in the group, having been taken in the third round with the 88th overall pick. Fellow newcomer Anthony Angello, also a forward, was selected in the fifth round by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sophomore forward Jared Fiegl (Arizona Coyotes) and Dwyer Tschantz (St. Louis Blues) were then picked in the seventh round. Junior forward Matt Buckles was taken by the Florida Panthers in the fourth round of the 2013 draft, and senior defenseman Reece Willcox was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the fifth round of 2012's event.
 
Goalie University:
Cornell has produced nine First-Team All-American goaltenders in its history and 21st-year Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Hockey Mike Schafer is widely regarded as one of the top defensive minds in the game, so it should come as no surprise that the Big Red ranked seventh in the nation in goals against average last season (2.19). Junior goalie Mitch Gillam (9-9-5, 1.99 GAA, .927 SV%, SO) entered the last weekend of the regular season leading the nation in both goals against average and save percentage, and freshman goalie Hayden Stewart (2-5-1, 2.13, .923, 2 SO) was named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week after each of his shutouts. Gillam was named to the Mike Richter Award Watch List, with the annual honor being presented to the most outstanding goaltender in Division I men's hockey.
 
With A Win Friday ...
• Cornell would have its best start through five games since it was also 4-1 to start the 2009-10 season. The Big Red went on to win the ECAC Hockey Championship that year.
• Cornell would defeat Colgate on home ice for the first time since a 5-2 victory over the Raiders on Jan. 22, 2011. The teams have played to 2-2 ties in each of the last three seasons at Lynah Rink.
 
Global Influence:
The Big Red has 16 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).
 
Killin' It:
The Big Red was ranked third in the nation with an 89.2 percent success rate on the penalty kill last season, trailing just Yale (90.1) and Bowling Green (89.8). Cornell has good early returns on that front this season, too, having killed off 13 of its opponents' 15 power plays to date (86.7 percent).
 
Up Next:
Cornell's weekend with Colgate shifts to the Raiders' Starr Rink for a 7 p.m. game tomorrow in Hamilton. The Big Red then makes its first true ECAC Hockey road trip Nov. 20-21 at Yale and Brown before the fifth edition of Red Hot Hockey on Saturday, Nov. 28 against Boston University at Madison Square Garden in New York.