ITHACA, N.Y. — The men's hockey team's long wait for the start of the regular season finally comes to an end tonight with a non-league game against Alabama-Huntsville at Lynah Rink. The game will face off at 7 p.m. and be streamed on the Ivy League Network. Jason Weinstein (play-by-play) and Tony Eisenhut '88 (color commentary) will have the call, which can also be heard in the Ithaca area on WHCU (870 AM, 95.9 FM) and around the world via the station's website here.

Game 1: ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE at (RV/RV) CORNELL
TIME: 7 p.m.
DATE: Friday, Oct. 27, 2017
PLACE: Lynah Rink • Ithaca, N.Y.
RECORDS: Cornell 0-0, 0-0 ECAC Hockey; Alabama-Huntsville 1-3, 1-1 WCHA
TV: None
RADIO : WHCU (870 AM, 95.9 FM)
VIDEO: Ivy League Network
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com

Cornell game notes (PDF)
UAH game notes (PDF)

Exhibitions In Name Only:
•  Cornell is 25-1-4 in exhibitions since 2000, including a 7-1 victory over Guelph on Oct. 14 and a 2-2 tie with Ottawa the following night in Ithaca.
•  Freshman forward Tristan Mullin led Cornell in scoring on the weekend with two goals and an assist for three points. Junior defenseman Matt Nuttle had a pair of goals against Guelph. The penalty kill was a perfect 9-for-9.
•  All three netminders saw time in the crease, with senior Hayden Stewart being the goalie of record in each contest.

Highlights From The 7-1 Win vs. Guelph:


Highlights From The 2-2 Tie vs. Ottawa:


Big Red Rewind:
•  Cornell returned to the national stage last year by earning an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, where its season ended with a 21-9-5 record. The Big Red advanced all the way to the ECAC Hockey championship game after finishing third in the league's regular-season standings.
•  Cornell was particularly hot down the stretch, where it went unbeaten in its final nine regular-season games.

On Offense:
•  Junior co-captain and All-Ivy League selection Mitch Vanderlaan returns after leading the team in goals (15) and points (28) last year. His 47 career points are the most for a Cornellian after his first two seasons since current Boston Bruins forward Riley Nash in 2009.
•  Senior Trevor Yates scored eight of his 12 goals last year on the power play, and junior Anthony Angello tied Yates for second-most goals on the team after scoring seven times in the season's final 14 games.
•  Senior co-captain Alex Rauter returns to full-time duty at forward after filling in on the blue line late last season. He broke out for 17 points last year after posting just six in his first two seasons with the Big Red.
•  Junior Beau Starrett played top-six minutes during the second half of last season and posted 14 points on four goals and 10 assists. Sophomore Jeff Malott led the team's newcomers with six goals.
•  Five of Cornell's six NHL draft picks are forwards.

On Defense:
•  Three of the team's top four blueliners return from a team that ranked 10th in the nation defensively last year, despite being ravaged by injuries.
•  Junior Alec McCrea led the team's defensemen with a plus-11 rating last year, despite frequently matching up against the opposition's top forwards.
•  Sophomore Yanni Kaldis was selected to the All-Ivy first team and ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team last year. His 14 points in league play were the most for a Cornell freshman blueliner in 20 years.
•  Senior Ryan Bliss should return after missing all of last year due to injury.
•  Three freshmen join the defensive corps, including Edmonton Oilers draft pick Matt Cairns.

In Goal:
•  Senior Hayden Stewart is the lone incumbent in the crease, having posted a 2.27 goals against average and .918 save percentage with two shutouts in eight starts and 15 career appearances.
•  Freshmen Matthew Galajda and Austin McGrath join the squad via Canadian Junior A leagues. Galajda is a former BCHL All-Star, and McGrath was a finalist for AJHL Rookie of the Year.

Feel The Draft?:
•  Cornell has six players on the roster who have been selected in the NHL Entry Draft, including four from 2014. Junior forward Beau Starrett (Chicago Blackhawks) was selected earliest in that 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.
•  Two newcomers are also NHL draft picks — forward Morgan Barron (N.Y. Rangers in 2017) and defenseman Matt Cairns (Edmonton Oilers in 2016).

Turning The Trick:
•  After having no hat tricks since 2011, the Big Red had two last year. Mitch Vanderlaan's hat trick Nov. 12 at Yale earned him ECAC Hockey Player of the Week on Nov. 15. He potted a couple more goals Nov. 19 against Princeton to become the first player from Cornell with seven goals in the first seven games of the season since Blake Gallagher did so in 2009-10.
•  Jeff Malott then scored his first three collegiate goals in a span of 8 minutes, 44 seconds during the first period to power the Big Red past Princeton on Jan. 13. He was subsequently named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week after becoming the first Cornell freshman with a hat trick since current NHLer Matt Moulson on Feb. 7, 2003.

What, Me Worry?:
•  Eight of Cornell's 21 victories last season came in games in which the Big Red surrendered the first goal, with the team maintaining a winning record even when it conceded first.
•  The Big Red's resilience from an early deficit has become somewhat of a trend, with the team sporting a very respectable 21-20-8 record when yielding the game's first strike over the last two years. That's a stark turnaround from the team's 14-34-5 record when yielding the game's first goal from the previous three seasons (2012-15).

First Ivy League Coach To 400:
•  Already the winningest coach in program history and in Ivy League history, Mike Schafer eclipsed another milestone in his career with his 400th victory last January.
•  Schafer ranks 10th in victories among active Division I coaches and is Cornell's fifth-winningest coach across all sports — second among current coaches, behind just Dave Eldredge (men's and women's polo).

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 in the summer of 2016. 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, Alex Rauter, Hayden Stewart, Trent Shore, Jared Fiegl and Dwyer Tschantz were among current team members on the trip, as well as Mike Schafer, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Hockey.
  

About Alabama-Huntsville:
•  The Chargers raised some eyebrows last weekend with five special-teams goals in a road split against nationally-ranked Michigan Tech. UAH hung on for a 4-2 victory on Saturday with a shorthanded breakaway goal from defenseman Josh Teets serving as the winner. UAH also had the lead with 10 minutes to play the night before, but Michigan Tech pulled away for a 5-4 win.
•  UAH was swept by Notre Dame in its first two games of the season in South Bend., Ind The Chargers scored three second-period goals and held the lead in the opener, but ultimately suffered a 5-3 loss. UAH then outshot Notre Dame the follow night, but the Fighting Irish secured a 4-0 victory.
•  Senior forward Josh Kestner leads the team in scoring (3-2–5) and is tied for the goal-scoring lead with junior forward Tyler Poulsen (3-1–4).
•  Senior Jordan Uhelski (1-2, 3.69, .908) is in his second season as the Chargers' primary goaltender.

The Series Against Alabama-Huntsville:
•  The Big Red is 3-0-1 against the Chargers, with all four prior meetings coming at Lynah Rink in the form of two-game series in 2001 and 2010.
•  In UAH's first trip to Ithaca, Cornell recorded dominating wins of 6-1 and 5-2 to kick off a season that resulted in 25 victories and a trip to the NCAA quarterfinals.
•  The Big Red then secured a 3-1 victory and 2-2 tie against the Chargers in the weekend following Thanksgiving during the 2010-11 season.

Up Next:
•  The Big Red and the Chargers will face off in a rematch at 7 p.m. Saturday at Lynah Rink.
•  Cornell opens ECAC Hockey play on the road next weekend, starting off with a 7 p.m. Friday contest against nationally-ranked Quinnipiac. The Big Red kicks off of the Ivy League subset of games at 7 p.m. Saturday at Princeton.
•  The Big Red then returns to Ithaca for a five-game home stand, starting with a Friday, Nov. 10 contest against Dartmouth at Lynah Rink.