HAMDEN, Conn. — The first full weekend of ECAC Hockey play sends the men's hockey team on its first road trip, where it will visit fellow anticipated contender Quinnipiac tonight in a matchup of nationally-ranked teams. The game will face off at 7 p.m. and be streamed by the host school on ESPN3. Jason Weinstein will provide Cornell play-by-play that can be heard in the Ithaca area on WHCU (870 AM, 95.9 FM) and around the world via the station's website.

Game 3: #18 CORNELL at #11/12 QUINNIPIAC
TIME: 7 p.m.
DATE: Friday, Nov. 3, 2017
PLACE: High Point Solutions Arena • Hamden, Conn.
RECORDS: Cornell 2-0, 0-0 ECAC Hockey; Quinnipiac 3-1-1, 0-0 ECAC Hockey
VIDEO: ESPN3
RADIO : WHCU (870 AM, 95.9 FM)
LIVE STATS: QuinnipiacBobcats.com

Cornell game notes (PDF)
Quinnipiac game notes (PDF)

About the Big Red:
•  Cornell started its season with a bang last weekend, convincingly sweeping a two-game non-league series against Alabama-Huntsville at Lynah Rink. This marks the fourth time in the last six years the Big Red has started 2-0.
•  The Big Red never trailed and actually held the lead for 112:16 of the weekend's 120 minutes to breeze to victories of 5-1 on Friday and 3-0 on Saturday.
•  UAH came into the weekend with hot special teams play, but Cornell scored four power-play goals and was a perfect 12-for-12 on the penalty kill.
•  Freshman goaltender Matthew Galajda played a big role in the weekend, stopping 16 of 16 shots in his first collegiate period en route to a 28-save victory in Game 1, then an 11-save shutout on Saturday.
•  Senior forward Trevor Yates has taken the early lead in team scoring with four points on three goals — all on the power play — and one assist. He was named the ECAC Hockey Player of the Week on Tuesday. Sophomore forward Jeff Malott scored twice in the opener.

Highlights From Saturday's 3-0 Win vs. UAH:


Highlights From Friday's 5-1 Win vs. UAH:


Power Play Ace:
•  Senior forward Trevor Yates' power-play prowess has picked up right where it left off last year. After leading the team with eight goals on the man advantage last year, Yates potted three power-play goals last weekend against Alabama-Huntsville. Despite having only played two games this year, he's still tied for fifth in the country in power-play goals.

A New 'Tender's Turn:
•  The Big Red graduated three-year starting goaltender Mitch Gillam '17 after last season, but the team hasn't yet missed a beat with freshman Matthew Galajda taking the reins in the early going this year. Galajda (2-0, 0.50, .975, SO) is the first Big Red freshman goalie to record a shutout within his first two starts since Ben Scrivens '10 did so during the 2006-07 season.

Fresh Faces:
•  Eight freshmen made their collegiate debuts during the Big Red's first two games last weekend, including seven on Friday. It marked the first time Cornell had seven freshmen skate in its season opener since 1997.

The Offensive Defense:
•  Cornell scored quickly in each of last weekend's games, and both goals came from seemingly unlikely sources — a pair of everyday defensemen that scored a combined three goals last season, juniors Alec McCrea and Matt Nuttle. The last time the Big Red had the first goal scored by a blueliner in each of its first two games was 1995 — Mike Schafer's first year as head coach.

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).

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).

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).

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 Quinnipiac:
•  The Bobcats are on a three-game winning streak after a two-game sweep Oct. 20-21 at Northeastern. Quinnipiac won the opener, 6-4, despite being outshot by whopping 41-15 margin. Alex Whelan scored in the final minute of overtime the next to give the Bobcats a 3-2 win. It was the fourth time in just five games that Quinnipiac has played into overtime.
•  Freshman forward Odeen Tufto (3-5–8, +8) leads the team in scoring and is one of the nation's highest-scoring newcomers. Sophomore forward Alex Whelan (4-1–5) leads the team in goals and shots on goal (25).
•  Sophomore Andrew Shortridge (2-0-1, 1.57, .934) and freshman Keith Petruzzelli (1-1, 3.38, .907) have split starts in goal over the Bobcats' last four games. Petruzzelli was a 2017 third-round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings.

The Series Against Quinnipiac:
•  Cornell leads the all-time series against Quinnipiac, 18-16-3, after a 2-1 victory on the road against the Bobcats on Jan. 14. Alex Rauter scored the winning goal at the end of a power play in the second period.
•  That victory gave the Big Red a season-series split with the Bobcats, after they secured a 3-1 victory on Nov. 18, 2016 at Lynah Rink. Anthony Angello scored the Big Red's goal in that game.

Up Next:
•  Cornell opens its slate of 10 Ivy League games at 7 p.m. Saturday, when it visits Hobey Baker Rink to take on upstart Princeton.
•  The Big Red then returns to Ithaca for a five-game home stand, starting with an exciting Ivy League weekend Friday, Nov. 10 against Dartmouth and Saturday, Nov. 11 versus Harvard.