ITHACA, N.Y. – Coming off a polarizing second-place finish at the Florida College Hockey Classic, the Cornell men's hockey team will close out the regular season portion of its non-conference schedule with a two-game set against Merrimack on Friday and Saturday nights at Lynah Rink. Cornell's first home games in five weeks will be broadcast on subscription-based  Ivy League Digital Network, with Jason Weinstein handling play-by-play and Tony Eisenhut offering color commentary. Their call can also be heard in the Ithaca area on WHCU (870 AM, 95.9 FM).
 
GAMES 14-15: MERRMIACK at #9/9 CORNELL
TIME: 7 p.m.
DATES: Friday and Saturday, Jan. 8-9, 2016
PLACE: Lynah Rink  ·  Ithaca, N.Y.
RECORDS: Cornell 9-2-2, 6-1-1 ECAC Hockey  ·  Merrimack 7-7-5, 2-3-5 Hockey East
VIDEO: Ivy League Digital Network
RADIO: WHCU (870 AM, 95.9 FM)
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com
 
Cornell game notes (PDF)
Merrimack game notes (PDF)
 
The Big Red, In Brief:
Cornell made waves in Division I's first college hockey game out of the holiday break when Jeff Kubiak scored in overtime to send the Big Red to a 2-1 win over top-ranked Providence, ending the defending national champion's 19-game unbeaten streak. The Friars scored just 27 seconds into the game, but Jared Fiegl's first goal of the season pulled the Big Red even when he finished off an Eric Freschi pass on a two-on-one in the second period. The win pushed Cornell's unbeaten streak to eight games (6-0-2) before an 8-0 loss to Ohio State in the tournament's championship game. The results leave the Big Red in ninth in both major national polls after receiving no votes when it started its season. ... Junior goaltender Mitch Gillam (9-2-2, 1.89, .931, 3 SO) has started all 13 of the Big Red's games to date and logged the program's third-longest shutout streak (213:17) during November. ... Junior forward Jeff Kubiak (4-8–12) leads the team in scoring and rating (plus-11). Freshman forward Anthony Angello (6-4–10) leads the team in goals, and classmate and linemate Mitch Vanderlaan (4-3–7) is tied for second on the team in goals.
 
About Merrimack:
The Warriors started the season 6-1-4 and climbed to 13th in both major polls, but they have been 1-6-1 after Thanksgiving including a pair of losses to both resurgent Union and then-undefeated Providence. The second loss against the Dutchmen came via 3-2 margin last Saturday at Dartmouth's Ledyard Bank Classic, then the host team secured a 3-0 victory the following night. Senior forward Brian Christie (4-10–14) leads the team in scoring, just ahead of senior forward Ben Bahe (6-7–13) and junior forward Hampus Gustafsson (4-9–13). Junior defenseman Jonathan Lashyn (0-4–4) leads the squad with a plus-12 rating. ... Sophomore forward Brett Seney (3-8–11 in 13 games) returned to the lineup last weekend after missing time with an injury. Primary starting goaltender sophomore Collin Delia (6-4-5, 2.14, .917) was also out last weekend, with freshman Drew Vogler (1-3, 2.55, .897) in his stead. ... Merrimack's power play is clicking at just a 11.7% conversion rate with different skaters accounting for all of the team's seven goals on the man advantage.
 
The Series Against Merrimack:
The Big Red and Warriors have only met on two previous occasions, with both instances coming during the defunct Syracuse Invitation Tournament. Cornell won the first matchup, 4-1, on Dec. 28, 1996, then Merrimack took a 3-2 decision on Nov. 28, 1999.
 
Gillam's Groove:
Junior goaltender Mitch Gillam was named ECAC Goalie of the Week on Nov. 17, then earned Player of the Week and NCAA First Star honors on Nov. 24 followed by a 40-save effort Nov. 28 against Boston University. In that span, he posted the third-longest shutout streak in program history, spanning 213 minutes, 17 seconds over four games — including consecutive shutouts at Yale and Brown. That marked the Big Red's first back-to-back shutouts since Andy Iles did so Dec. 2-3, 2011 against St. Lawrence and Clarkson, and it was the Big Red's first consecutive road shutouts since Ben Scrivens blanked Princeton and Quinnipiac from Nov. 7-8, 2008. An odd twist on Gillam's four career shutouts is that he's only won two of them — Dec. 28, 2014 against Lake Superior State and Nov. 20, 2015 against Yale were both scoreless ties.
 
Special Order:
The Big Red led the nation in combined special teams for a few weeks, thanks in large part to a streak of 22 straight penalty kills over seven games — but that streak came to an end with a pair of Ohio State power-play goals Dec. 29. Cornell has also now gone scoreless on its last 16 opportunities on the man advantage.
 
The Little Things Aren't So Little:
While junior forward Jake Weidner is tied for third on the team in scoring (2-6–8), his contributions go way deeper than those numbers — especially with increased ice time as a result of the early-season absence of John Knisley. Entering today's game, Weidner has been relied on to take 331 of the Big Red's 756 faceoffs (43.8%), and he ranks sixth in the country for shot blocks per game among forwards (1.54).
 
What, Me Worry?:
Four of Cornell's nine victories have come in games in which it has surrendered the first goal. The Big Red had a combined record of 14-34-5 over the previous three seasons when it faced a 1-0 deficit. Cornell was a remarkable 4-0 when yielding the first goal until its Dec. 29 loss to Ohio State.
 
Wasting No Time:
Junior forward Jeff Kubiak entered the season with 17 career points through his first two seasons, but he followed that up with nine points in the first six games this year. He had the Big Red's six-game point streak since Brian Ferlin's seven-game stretch from Dec. 28, 2013 to Jan. 31, 2014. Kubiak had an assist Dec. 5 against Clarkson, giving him at least one point in each of the eight games this season in which Cornell has scored at least three goals.
 
Working Overtime:
The Big Red has gone to overtime six times before Jan. 1 for the first time in program history. Cornell still has a ways to go to match the program record for overtime games in a season, though — the Big Red played 12 in each of the 1985-86, 2010-11 and 2011-12 campaigns. Cornell is 3-1-2 in its six overtime games to date, with its three OT winners tied for the national lead with Michigan Tech.
 
Special Threads:
The Big Red wore special jerseys for its home opener which were recently auctioned off to bids totaling $10,400. Proceeds from the auction will go 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 donned that number according to the player that currently wears it.
 
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. 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. He then scored the overtime winner Nov. 14 at Colgate. His six goals lead the team, and he ranks seventh in the country in goals per game among freshmen (0.46).
 
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.
 
Blank You Very Much:
Cornell has recorded at least one shutout in each of the last 21 seasons – a streak that has easily been continued behind junior goaltender Mitch Gillam's three shutouts in just the first five weeks of this season. The last time the Big Red went a full season without posting a shutout came during the 1994-95 season.
 
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).
 
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.
 
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).
 
Little Apples:
•  The Big Red is the only team in the country that has neither scored nor surrender an empty-net goal yet this season. Merrimack is also among the 12 teams that hasn't yet yielded an empty-netter.
•  Cornell went 13 games before it faced its first two-goal deficit of the season (Dec. 29 vs. Ohio State).
•  Merrimack has scored 22 third-period goals this season, while Cornell has scored just four — the lowest total in the country.
•  Out of 60 Division I teams across the country, Merrimack (54th, 3.16) and Cornell (55th, 3.08) are among the teams awarded the fewest amount of power plays per game.
•  The Big Red is 11-2-3 in its first home game following the semester break since 1999.
•  Peter Feola, who is scheduled to be one of the referee's in Friday's game, worked as a linesman the last time Cornell and Merrimack played each other on Nov. 28, 1999 in Syracuse.
 
Up Next:
Cornell returns to ECAC Hockey competition for the rest of the regular season, starting with a road trip to New York's Capital District. The Big Red will take on Rensselaer on Friday, Jan. 15, then trek a short drive west to face Union on Saturday, Jan. 16. Cornell then hosts an exciting weekend with a Jan. 22 game against Dartmouth (simulcast on ESPN3) and the annual rivalry game Jan. 23 against Harvard.