ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell wraps up its lengthy stretch of road games to start the season with ECAC Hockey and Ivy League clashes at 7 p.m. Friday against Brown and 7 p.m. Saturday against Yale. Both games will be broadcast by the  subscription-based Ivy League Digital Network, with Friday's game against the Bears also simulcast on ESPN3. Additionally, play-by-play from Jason Weinstein can be heard in the Ithaca area on WHCU-AM (870 AM, 95.9 FM) and around the world via the station's website.
 
GAME #4: CORNELL at BROWN
TIME: 7 p.m.
DATES: Friday, Nov. 11, 2016
PLACE: Meehan Auditorium   ·  Providence, R.I.
RECORDS: Cornell 0-2-1, 0-1-1 ECAC Hockey, 0-1-1 Ivy League  ·  Brown 0-4, 0-2 ECAC Hockey, 0-0 Ivy League
TV: ESPN3
WEBCAST: Ivy League Digital Network
RADIO: WHCU (870 AM, 95.9 FM)
LIVE STATS: BrownBears.com
 
GAME #5: CORNELL at #19 YALE
TIME: 7 p.m.
DATES: Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016
PLACE: Ingalls Rink   ·  New Haven, Conn.
RECORDS: Cornell 0-2-1, 0-1-1 ECAC Hockey, 0-1-1 Ivy League  ·  Yale 2-1, 1-1 ECAC Hockey, 0-0 Ivy League
WEBCAST: Ivy League Digital Network
RADIO: WHCU (870 AM, 95.9 FM)
LIVE STATS: YaleBulldogs.com

Cornell game notes (PDF)
Brown game notes (PDF)
Yale game notes (PDF)

About the Big Red:
Cornell earned a point in its ECAC Hockey and Ivy League opener last Friday at Dartmouth with a 1-1 tie. Mitch Vanderlaan opened the scoring with the team's first shorthanded goal since the 2014-15 season early in the third period, but the Big Green answered on the rush two minutes later. Mitch Gillam stopped Dartmouth's other 28 shots on goal, including six in overtime, to preserve the deadlock. ... Yanni Kaldis set up three power-play goals Saturday at nationally ranked Harvard, but the Big Red couldn't dig itself out of two- and three-goal holes in a 4-3 loss. Trevor Yates, Anthony Angello and Jake Weidner scored the goals.
 
Big Red Rewind:
Cornell is coming off a 16-11-7 season in which it fell on the wrong side of the bubble for the NCAA tournament after an ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series loss to eventual league champion and national runner-up Quinnipiac. The Big Red returns its top five scorers, eight of its nine defensemen and all three of its goaltenders.

Highlights From Last Friday's 1-1 Tie at Dartmouth:


Highlights From Last Saturday's 4-2 Loss at Harvard:


Road Warriors:
The history of Cornell hockey dates all the way back to 1900-01, but this year marks the first time the Big Red has ever started its season with five consecutive road games — and all three of the trips over that stretch are lengthy. The Big Red is traversing more than 2,400 miles, amounting to about 42 hours on the bus over this 17-day span. Some of the places within 2,400 miles of Cornell's campus as the crow flies include Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (2,060 miles), the Atlantic Ocean's entrance to the Panama Canal (2,293 miles) and sophomore defensman Alec McCrea's hometown of El Cajon, Calif. (2,290 miles).
 
Apple Harvest:
Freshman Yanni Kaldis pulled off some rare feats in last Saturday's game at Harvard. His passes set up the shots resulting in all three of the Big Red's  power-play goals — first on Trevor Yates' redirection of Anthony Angello's shot, then on one-timers by Angello and Weidner. Kaldis became the first Big Red player to record three power-play assists in a single game since Byron Bitz on Jan. 7, 2006 (in a 3-1 win vs. RIT). Kaldis was also the last Cornell player to record three assists of any sort in a game since John McCarron on Nov. 29, 2014 against Penn State.
 
Better Than Perfect:
Not only did Cornell successfully kill off six Dartmouth power plays on Friday, Mitch Vanderlaan also scored a shorthanded goal early in the third period. The goal was the Big Red's first shorthanded goal in a span of 40 games, dating back to John Knisley's tally on the kill Feb. 21, 2015. Cornell has now killed off 26-of-27 Dartmouth power plays over its last seven games at the Big Green's home of Thompson Arena.
 
Binational Interests:
Cornell has the unique distinction of having exactly 14 players hailing from both the U.S. and Canada. The Big Red joins just two other teams — Robert Morris and Michigan Tech — with an even split on their respective rosters.
 
Gillam's Groove:
Senior goaltender Mitch Gillam posted the third-longest shutout streak in program history last season, spanning 213 minutes, 17 seconds over four games in November — including consecutive shutouts in the Big Red's last trip to this weekend's opponents, 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 eight career shutouts is that he's only won six of them — Dec. 28, 2014 against Lake Superior State and Nov. 20, 2015 against Yale were both scoreless ties.
 
Freshman Force:
The jump to college hockey can be a big one for newcomers, but forward Anthony Angello — a 2014 draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins — clearly felt right at home as a freshman last season. Angello was 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 then scored the overtime winner Nov. 14 at Colgate and was been named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week twice (Jan. 12 and March 1) on his way to posting a team-high 11 goals. Angello scored a power-play goal and added an assist last Saturday at Harvard.
 
Feel The Draft?:
Cornell has five players on the roster who have been selected in the NHL Entry Draft, including four from 2014. Sophomore forward Beau Starrett (Chicago Blackhawks) was selected earliest in the group, having been taken in the third round with the 88th overall pick. Classmate Anthony Angello, also a forward, was selected in the fifth round by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Junior forwards Jared Fiegl (Arizona Coyotes) and Dwyer Tschantz (St. Louis Blues) were then picked in the seventh round. Senior forward Matt Buckles was taken by the Florida Panthers in the fourth round of the 2013 draft.
 
Never Too Close For Comfort:
The Big Red had four 1-0 victories last season for the first time in program history — including its last visit to Brown. Cornell also set a team record by going to overtime in 14 of its 34 games last year. The previous record was 12, set in 1985-86, then matched in 2010-11 and 2011-12. Cornell went to overtime in seven of its final 15 games, with a 4-3-7 record in those games.
 
About Brown:
The Bears are off to a 0-4 start after a 3-1 loss Friday at Rensselaer and 6-4 setback Saturday at Union in their ECAC Hockey openers. Brown was shut out twice in its season-opening games against Holy Cross and Providence. ... Junior Sam Lafferty (0-4–4) has the early lead in team scoring. Junior Charlie Corcoran (2-1–3) scored twice in the third period against the Dutchmen to give Brown a lead with five minutes left, but Union rallied to win. ... Forward Tommy Marchin (0-0–0) leads the team in career goals with 14. He and defenseman Max Gottlieb were named to the ECAC Hockey All-Rookie team last year. ... Freshman Gavin Nieto (0-4, 4.07, .881) has started all four games in goal. ... Brendan Whittet is in his eighth year as head coach of his alma mater. ... Brown was predicted to finish 10th in ECAC Hockey this year by the coaches and 11th by the media association.
 
The Series Against Brown:
The Big Red has a commanding lead in the all-time series, 74-43-7, and Mike Schafer is a dominating 32-7-5 against the Bears during his first 21 seasons as the Big Red's head coach. Cornell took three of four points against Brown last season, including a 1-0 victory last November at Meehan Auditorium. Mitch Gillam made 27 saves for the shutout, and Trevor Yates scored the game's only goal on a feed from Jake Weidner. The teams played to a 3-3 draw in the Bears' visit to Lynah Rink on Feb. 12, with Cornell scoring the tying goal with 9.4 seconds left in regulation.
 
About Yale:
The Bulldogs rallied from two goals down with three minutes left in the third period Saturday, scoring three power-play goals for a 3-2 overtime victory at Rensselaer. Senior forward John Hayden (3-1–4) scored on a six-on-four with 19.6 seconds left to force OT, then potted the winner 23 seconds into the extra frame. All three of his goals so far are on the power play, which is 6-for-18 in the early going for Yale. ... The Bulldogs started the season with a 4-1 win over Sacred Heart, then kicked off ECAC Hockey play with a 5-3 loss Friday at Union. Junior defenseman Adam Larkin (2-2–4) scored twice on the power play against the Dutchmen. ... Junior forward Ryan Hitchcock (0-4–4) is tied with Hayden and Larkin for the early team lead in scoring. ... Senior Patrick Spano (2-1, 2.35, .916) is in his first season as the team's starting goaltender, replacing all-league first team selection Alex Lyon after his early defection in favor of an NHL contract. Four of the Bulldogs' top seven defensemen from last year are also gone. ... Yale was predicted to finish fourth in ECAC Hockey this year by the media association and fifth by the coaches. ... Keith Allain is in his 12th season as the head coach of his alma mater.
 
The Series Against Yale:
Saturday's meeting will mark the 149th all-time matchup since the series started in 1902, with the Big Red holding a 82-60-6 advantage. Cornell mustered one point against the Bulldogs last season, coming in the form of a scoreless tie Nov. 20, 2015 at Ingalls Rink. Mitch Gillam mades 30 saves for Cornell. Yale then led from start to finish in its Feb. 13 visit to Lynah Rink, winning 4-2 despite Alex Rauter's first collegiate goal for Cornell.
 
Helping Out:
Members and friends of the Cornell men's hockey program embarked on another mission trip to the Dominican Republic through the Portal de Belén Foundation over the summer. It was the fourth time the program has participated, following trips in 2009, 2012 and 2014. Current members of the team Ryan Bliss, Alec McCrea, Anthony Angello, Dan Wedman, Alex Rauter, Hayden Stewart, Trent Shore, Jared Fiegl and Dwyer Tschantz were on this year's trip, as well as Mike Schafer, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Hockey.
  

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 and he is now just nine wins away from 400. 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).
 
Anniversary Season:
There are some significant milestones in Cornell hockey history that have happened in years ending with a '7', so this season will feature a couple noteworthy anniversaries. This is the 60th year of hockey in Lynah Rink, since the facility was dedicated April 6, 1957. This season also marks the 50th anniversary of Cornell's first national championship team in 1967. There will be a special ceremony to honor that team Jan. 27-28 during home games against Dartmouth and Harvard.
 
Up Next:
Cornell will become the last Division I team in the country to play its first home game when it makes its Lynah Rink debut at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18 against defending ECAC Hockey champion Quinnipiac. The Big Red hosts Ivy League rival Princeton at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, then attention turns to the Big Apple the following weekend for the biennial Frozen Apple game Saturday, Nov. 26 against New Hampshire at famed Madison Square Garden.