ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell men's hockey team's long wait for the start of the regular season finally comes to an end with a two-game non-league series against Michigan State on Friday and Saturday nights at Lynah Rink. The games will be streamed on ESPN+ in the U.S. The same production can be viewed by international viewers through a different platform via Stretch Internet. The broadcasts will feature play-by-play by Grady Whittenburg and additional color commentary from former Cornell captain and assistant coach Topher Scott '08 on Friday, then Tony Eisenhut '88 on Saturday. The games can also be heard on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM) with Jason Weinstein on the call.

SERIES INFORMATION

Michigan State at #8/8 Cornell
GAME 1: 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, 2018
GAME 2: 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018
PLACE: Lynah Rink  •  Ithaca, N.Y.
RECORDS: Michigan State 1-1, 0-0 Big Ten;
                    Cornell 0-0, 0-0 ECAC Hockey, 0-0 Ivy League
VIDEO (Friday): ESPN+ — United States | International
VIDEO (Saturday): ESPN+ — United States | International
RADIO: WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM)
LIVE STATS: www.CornellBigRed.com
TICKETS: available online HERE

Cornell game notes (PDF)
Michigan State game notes (PDF)
ECAC Hockey weekend notes
 

About The Big Red:

•  After turning in the program's first 25-win season in 13 years, Cornell enters this season as the media and coaches favorite in ECAC Hockey and ranked eighth in the nation in both national preseason polls.
•  The Big Red earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament for a second straight year and the 21st time in program history. Cornell also won the 
Cleary Cup (ECAC Hockey regular season championship) for the ninth time.
•  Cornell led the nation in winning percentage (.788) and team defense (1.58) during the 2017-18 season.
•  Mike Schafer returns for his 24th season behind the bench, having been named the ECAC Hockey Tim Taylor Coach of the Year for a fourth time in his career. His 437 career victories are the most in Cornell hockey history and currently ranks sixth among active head coaches in the Division I ranks.
 

The Big Red Rewind:

•  Cornell sailed to victories in both of its exhibitions against Canadian universities, earning a 6-1 victory over Laurention on Oct. 13 and a 7-0 triumph against Guelph last Sunday.
•  Against Laurentian, the Big Red had six different players score unanswered goals, thanks in large part to a 5-for-11 performance on the power play. Twenty-six of Cornell's 54 shots on goal came on the man advantage, and all five freshman forwards that played had points.
•  The whitewash of Guelph started with three goals on the rush, then Connor Murphy converted rebound to give Cornell a 4-0 lead after the first period. Not only was the penalty kill a perfect 6-for-6, it produced a pair of shorthanded goals. Noah Bauld set up Beau Starrett's goal on a two-on-one, then scored his own shorthanded goal 84 seconds later.
•  Each of the Big Red's three goaltenders played one period in both games. Freshman Nate McDonald stopped all seven shots he saw in the third period in each contest, Austin McGrath made 14 saves over his 40 minutes of action, and Matthew Galajda had seven stops of his own.


 
 

Exhibitions In Name Only:

•  Cornell is 26-1-4 in exhibitions since 2000, including a 6-1 victory against Laurentian last Friday, featuring five power-play goals for the Big Red.
•  Guelph visited Cornell last year, with the Big Red emerging with a 7-1 win.
•  The one loss since 2000 came against the U.S. National Team Development Program's Under-18 team, when future Cornellian Andy Iles '14 made 39 saves to backstop the visitors to a 3-2 victory on Oct. 24, 2009. 
•  The average margin of victory for Cornell's exhibition wins since 2000 is 4.35 goals.
 

On Offense:

•  Cornell returns 10 of its 15 forwards from a season ago, adding five freshmen to the mix to help fill a variety of roles.
•  For a second straight year, Mitch Vanderlaan is the team's leading scorer among incumbents, having accrued 20 points on seven goals and 13 assists despite missing six games in February.
•  Vanderlaan, now in his second season as a team captain, was also named a finalist for the 2018 ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Forward Award.
•  This year's sophomores had the most goals of any class of returners last year with 19 (incumbent juniors had 11; seniors 15). Morgan Barron and Kyle Betts had five goals apiece last year, and Brenden Locke was tied for the team lead with 15 assists.
•  Senior Beau Starrett (Chicago Blackhawks) and Morgan Barron (N.Y. Rangers) are the team's two NHL draft picks among forwards.
 

On Defense:

•  Cornell is the first team to lead the nation in team defense and return its entire blue line corps the following year since Michigan State in 2001-02. 
•  Reigning ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman Alec McCrea is one of three seniors in the group, joining Brendan Smith and Matt Nuttle. That trio alone was a cumulative plus-60 last year.
•  Junior Yanni Kaldis was the leading scorer last year among returning blueliners, having posted 19 points on four goals and 15 assists. He was named to the All-Ivy League first team for a second straight year, also garnering All-ECAC Hockey third team honors.
•  Three of the Big Red's 10 defensemen are NHL draft picks — sophomores Matt Cairns (Edmonton Oilers) and Alex Green (Tampa Bay Lightning), and freshman Misha Song (N.Y. Islanders).
•  Cornell had 21 goals from its blue line last season, including 11 in just the first 10 games.
 

In Goal:

•  Sophomore Matthew Galajda returns after a historic collegiate debut last year, when he led the nation in goals against average (1.51), shutouts (nine) and winning percentage (.786). For a list of his accolades, see the next page.
•  Sophomore Austin McGrath and freshman Nate McDonald will be competing to see collegiate game action in the regular season for the first time.
 

About Michigan State:

•  The Spartans are in their second year of Danton Cole's tenure as head coach, having posted a 12-22-2 record and a seventh-place finish in the Big Ten last year — the same position in which its predicted to finish this year, via the Big Ten preseason coaches poll.
•  Michigan State lost just three players to graduation over the offseason and returns its top four scorers. The top three typically play on the same line — center Patrick Khodorenko (1-1–2) and wingers Taro Hirose (2-1–3) and Mitchell Lewandowski (1-2–3). They scored 45 of the team's 91 goals last year, and all of them were named to the Big Ten Preseason Watch List.
•  Michigan State started off this year with a non-league home split against Northern Michigan. The Spartans won the opener on Oct. 12, 4-2, before falling the next night, 4-3. 
•  Junior John Lethemon (1-0, 2.00, .913) was the primary goaltender last season, but he split starts against Northern Michigan with freshman Drew DeRidder (0-1, 4.11, .852).
 

The Series Against Michigan State:

•  The Spartans own a 4-2-1 edge in the all-time series between the programs after a two-game split against the Big Red in their only trip to Lynah Rink on Oct. 28-29, 2005.
•  Michigan State's visit will be the first from a current Big Ten program since its last trip to Ithaca in that 2005 series.
•  Mike Schafer's first game as head coach at Cornell came at Michigan State, with the hosts emerging with a 6-2 victory on Nov. 3, 1995 in East Lansing.
 

Awards Season:

•  After posting a 25-6-2 record, Cornell understandably cleaned up in postseason awards after the 2017-18 campaign.
•  Matthew Galajda became the first freshman goaltender to ever be selected as a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, and he is also one of five finalists for the 2018 Mike Richter Award. It's the latest in a long line of postseason accolades — he is Ivy League Player of the Year and the Rookie of the Year while also being unanimously selected as the lone goalie on the All-Ivy League first team. Galajda is also the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year and Goaltender of the Year, as well as the first freshman All-ECAC Hockey first-team goalie since 1991-92 (Christian Soucy, Vermont).
•  Mike Schafer was named the ECAC Hockey Tim Taylor Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career. He was also named the Ivy League Coach of the Year for the first time since the circuit added the honor in 2015.
•  Yanni Kaldis earned a spot on the All-Ivy first team for a second straight year, and is also an All-ECAC Hockey third-teamer. 
•  Alec McCrea was on the All-Ivy League second team and was named the ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman.
•  Mitch Vanderlaan received All-Ivy honorable mention.
 

Another Crown Down:

•  Cornell won its 22nd Ivy League championship in program history last year, clinching on Jan. 27 with a 3-1 win at Dartmouth. It's the 18th outright title for the Big Red, and the third its won in the last eight years. 
•  A Feb. 16-17 home sweep of Brown and Yale gave the Big Red a 9-0-1 record in Ivy League play, marking the first time Cornell went undefeated through the Ancient Eight since 1995-96 — Mike Schafer's first season as head coach.
 

Need-To-Know Numbers:

•  Cornell was particularly dominant at even strength last year, leading the nation with a team rating of plus-47. The Big Red surrendered just a paltry 
33 even-strength goals in 33 games. For perspective, the next two lowest totals in the nation were Clarkson at 50, and Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota State at 59.
•  The Big Red ranked first in ECAC Hockey for freshman points per game (2.42) by a fairly wide margin (Clarkson second at 2.02) last year.
•  Cornell's blue line was the least-penalized in the country last year, having been whistled for just 43 penalties and 89 minutes in 33 games.
 

The First Ivy League Coach to 400:

•  Already the winningest coach in program history and in Ivy League history, Mike Schafer ranks sixth among active coaches with 437 victories at the Division I level. He ranks second among current coaches at Cornell, behind just Dave Eldredge (men's and women's polo).
 

Feel The Draft?:

•  Cornell has five players on the roster who have been selected in the NHL Entry Draft — one in each of the last five drafts. Sophomore defenseman Matt Cairns (Edmonton Oilers) was selected earliest in that group, having been taken in the third round with the 84th overall pick in 2016.
•  Junior forward Beau Starrett (Chicago Blackhawks) was also taken in the third round during the 2014 draft. One other forward is a draft pick in Morgan Barron, who was snagged in the sixth round by the N.Y. Rangers in 2017. He then became the first freshman in program history to have at least one point in each of his first seven games. 
•  Three underclassmen represent the Big Red's three NHL Draft picks along the blue line. Alex Green leads that group after his outstanding collegiate debut led to a fourth-round overaged selection by the Tampa Bay Lightning in last year's draft.
•  Defenseman Misha Song (N.Y. Islanders in 2015) is the only newcomer to have his NHL rights already owned.
 

Up Next:

•  Cornell starts ECAC Hockey and Ivy League play with visits from Yale on Friday, Nov. 2 and Brown on Saturday, Nov. 3.