ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell men's hockey team resumes ECAC Hockey play this weekend, when it returns to Lynah Rink to host a pair of 2018 playoff rematches against nationally ranked teams. Quinnipiac invades on Friday, followed by Ivy League foe Princeton on Saturday. 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 from Grady Whittenburg and color commentary by former Cornell captain and assistant coach Topher Scott '08. The games can also be heard on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM) with Jason Weinstein and Tony Eisenhut '88 on the call. Tickets are available at CornellBigRedTickets.com.

GAME INFORMATION

#14/14 Quinnipiac at #17 Cornell
TIME: 7 p.m.
DATE: Friday, Nov. 16, 2018
PLACE: Lynah Rink  •  Ithaca, N.Y.
RECORDS: Quinnipiac 7-2, 2-2 ECAC Hockey
                    Cornell 4-2, 2-0 ECAC Hockey
VIDEO: ESPN+ — United States | International
RADIO: WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM)
LIVE STATS: www.CornellBigRed.com
TICKETS: CornellBigRedTickets.com
GAME NOTES: Cornell | Quinnipiac | ECAC Hockey

#13/15 Princeton at #17 Cornell
TIME: 7 p.m.
DATE: Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018
PLACE: Lynah Rink  •  Ithaca, N.Y.
RECORDS: Princeton 3-1-1, 3-0-1 ECAC Hockey; 1-0-1 Ivy League
                    Cornell 4-2, 2-0 ECAC Hockey; 2-0 Ivy League
VIDEO: ESPN+ — United States | International
RADIO: WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM)
LIVE STATS: www.CornellBigRed.com
TICKETS: CornellBigRedTickets.com
GAME NOTES: Cornell | Princeton | ECAC Hockey
 

The Big Red Rewind:

•  Cornell is coming off a two-game road sweep of Northern Michigan last weekend, pushing its winning streak to four games. Furthermore, the Big Red has not trailed at all in that stretch, making it the only team in the nation to enter this weekend's play having not faced a deficit over its last four contests.
•  Michael Regush scored game-winning power-play goals in both games against the Wildcats, a performance that later garnered ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week honors. His goal Friday was followed by Beau Starrett's tap-in 75 seconds later in a 3-1 victory.


•  Special teams then took center stage in Saturday's rematch, with all scoring in Cornell's 3-2 victory coming on the man advantage. Alec McCrea's first of the year gave the Big Red an early lead, then Morgan Barron scored 12 seconds into a five-on-three for his team-leading fourth goal.

 

About The Big Red:

•  Senior forward and two-time captain Mitch Vanderlaan (0-7–7) took over the team lead in scoring with three assists last weekend. The Big Red's second-year captain has points in his last four games and is the team's active leading scorer over his collegiate career with 74 points in 102 games (Yanni Kaldis and Alec McCrea rank second at 39).
•  Junior defenseman Yanni Kaldis (3-3–6; 2 PPG), a two-time All-Ivy League first-team defenseman, and sophomore forward Morgan Barron (4-2–6) are tied for second in team scoring. Kaldis was also named to the All-ECAC Hockey third team last year, and Barron is a New York Rangers draft pick who leads the team with 32 shots on goal (average of 5.33 per game).
•  Sophomore forward Cam Donaldson (3-2–5) has already matched his goal total from last season. He had points in four straight until last Saturday.
•  Matt Nuttle (1-2–3), one of three senior pillars on defense, is off to a quick start with a plus-6 rating. He was second in the nation last year at plus-23.
•  Sophomore goaltender Matthew Galajda (4-2, 2.71, .880), a first-team All-American as a freshman last year, has rebounded from a rough season-opening series against Michigan State.
•  After accounting for four goals in the Northern Michigan series, the Big Red's power play is now converting at a 20% clip.
•  The Big Red is the first team to lead the nation to return its entire blue line corps and starting goaltender after leading the nation in team defense since Michigan State in 2001-02.
 

Wasting No Time:

•  Underclassmen have been at the forefront of Cornell's arsenal in the early going, scoring 12 of the team's 18 goals entering the weekend.
•  Michael Regush (3-1–4) enters the weekend having scored in three straight games, a first for a Cornell freshman since Brian Ferlin did so from Nov. 12-19, 2011.
•  Max Andreev (1-3–4) scored the Big Red's first goal Oct. 26 against Michigan State, making the program's first native of Russia also the first freshman to score the team's first goal of a season since Joe Devin '11 did so against RIT on Oct. 27, 2007.
 

The Offensive Defense:

•  The trend started last year of generating more offense from the blue line has continued for Cornell. The Big Red has six goals from defensemen through six games (Kaldis 3; Cairns, McCrea and Nuttle 1 each).
•  The Big Red had 21 goals from defensemen last year after receiving just 13 goals from blueliners in each of the previous two seasons.
 

Is Mending Trending?:

•  A helpful factor in Cornell's national-leading team defense last year was its relative health. For the entirety of the 2017-18 season, the Big Red lost just 10 man-games to injury.
•  Unfortunately for Cornell, that trend hasn't continued early this year. The Big Red has already lost six man-games to injury from the same group, having played last Saturday's game at Northern Michigan without two of its top-four blueliners.
 

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 selection by the Tampa Bay Lightning last summer.
•  Defenseman Misha Song (N.Y. Islanders in 2015) is the only newcomer to have his NHL rights already owned.
 

Scouting Quinnipiac:

•  The Bobcats jumped out to a 6-0 start before dropping two of their last three. A 3-0 home shutout of Rensselaer on last Friday was bookended with 5-1 losses to Dartmouth on Nov. 3 and Union last Saturday.
•  Quinnipiac has 12 freshmen on its roster, which is tied for the most in the country with UConn, UMass Lowell and Niagara.
•  Senior defenseman Chase Priskie (7-4–11; 4 PPG) leads the team in scoring. The two-time captain and Washington Capitals draft pick now has 18 power-play goals in his collegiate career.
•  Sophomore Odeen Tufto (6-4–10) has transitioned to center after leading the team in scoring and leading the nation in freshman scoring last year.
•  In addition to Priskie, senior Brandon Fortunato (2-8–10) and junior Brogan Rafferty (2-6–8) put three defensemen among the team's four leading scorers. All three of them play on the same power-play unit.
•  Sophomore Keith Petruzzelli (5-2, 2.58, .890, SO) has seemingly taken over the starting goaltending role, though junior Andrew Shortridge (2-0, 0.50, .971, SO) has fared well in his two starts.
•  Rand Pecknold is in his 25th season as the head coach at Quinnipiac.
 

The Series Against Quinnipiac:

•  Cornell leads the all-time series against Quinnipiac, 22-16-3, after winning all four games between the programs last season.
•  The Big Red swept the Bobcats in an ECAC Hockey Championship quarterfinal series from March 9-10 in memorable fashion. Cornell used six second-period goals to roll to a 9-1 victory in Game 1 before Matthew Galajda made 22 saves for a 2-0 shutout win in Game 2 to end Quinnipiac's season.
•  Cornell also swept the regular-season series via two one-goal victories.Trevor Yates '18 scored and Matthew Galajda made 28 for a shutout in a 1-0 victory on Jan. 6 at Lynah. In the Big Red's Nov. 3 visit to Connecticut, Brendan Smith opened the scoring on the rush and Morgan Barron netted the eventual game-winner in a 2-1 decision.
 

Scouting Princeton:

•  Like the Big Red, the Tigers enter the weekend unbeaten in four straight after a home sweep last weekend. Derek Topatigh scored in overtime for a 4-3 win over Union on Friday, then Ryan Kuffner had two goals and two assist in Saturday's 4-1 victory over Rensselaer.
•  The Tigers brandish three preseason All-ECAC Hockey Team picks in senior forwards Ryan Kuffner (7-5–12; 3 PPG) and Max Véronneau (1-8–9), and senior defenseman Josh Teves (1-6–7). Kuffner and Véronneau typically play on opposite wings pivoted by classmate Alex Riche (3-5–8; 3 PPG).
•  Princeton leads the country with a 42.1% success rate on the power play. The Tigers ended last season leading the country at 27.7% conversion rate.
•  Sophomore Ryan Ferland (3-1-1, 2.50, .923), who catches with his right hand, returns as the starting goaltender.
•  Ron Fogarty is in his fifth season as the head coach at Princeton.
 

The Series Against Princeton:

•  Cornell has been dominant against the Tigers, holding a 92-52-8 lead all-time with wins in seven of the teams' last eight meetings. 
•  The one Princeton victory over that stretch was also the most recent meeting, with the Tigers securing a 4-1 victory over the top-seeded Big Red in the ECAC Hockey Championship semifinals on March 16 in Lake Placid.
•  Cornell swept the regular-season series last year, including a 7-1 rout in the teams' last meeting at Lynah Rink on Jan. 5. Brenden Locke had three assists, and Mitch Vanderlaan and Jeff Malott each scored in the third period on goals assisted by Brendan Smith.
•  In last season's first meeting, the Big Red rallied for a 5-4 victory on Nov. 4 at Hobey Baker Rink. Cornell trailed 4-2 before second-period goals by Yanni Kaldis and Trevor Yates knotted the score, setting the stage for Brenden Locke's unassisted game-winner and first collegiate goal with 6:41 to play. 
 

Up Next:

•  Cornell takes its show to The World's Most Famous arena next weekend, when it plays Harvard in a non-conference game at The Frozen Apple on Saturday, Nov. 24 at Madison Square Garden in New York.