ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell men's hockey team's postseason tonight, when it hosts Quinnipiac in Game 1 of a best-of-three ECAC Hockey Championship quarterfinal series at Lynah Rink. The entire series will be broadcast through the platforms of Eleven Sports USA, with Grady Whittenburg handling play-by-play with color commentary from Will LeBlond. Additionally, Jason Weinstein will provide play-by-play with color commentary from Tony Eisenhut '88 for WHCU (870 AM, 95.9 FM) in the Ithaca area and worldwide via the station's here.

ECAC HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Quarterfinals (best of three)
PLACE: Lynah Rink  •  Ithaca, N.Y.
RECORDS: Cornell 23-4-2, 17-3-2 ECAC Hockey;
                    Quinnipiac 16-16-4, 9-11-2 ECAC Hockey
GAME 1: 7 p.m. Friday, March 9, 2018
TV (tape delay): Eleven Sports Network
VIDEO (free, live): Eleven Prime
RADIO: WHCU (870 AM, 95.9 FM)
LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com

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

How To Watch Through Eleven Sports:
•  Each of this weekend's games will be streamed live through Eleven Prime and Facebook Live. The games will also air on tape delay on Eleven Sports Network.

The Regular Season, In Brief:
•  Cornell won sole possession of the program's ninth Cleary Cup — awarded annually to ECAC Hockey's regular-season champion. It's the Big Red first Cleary Cup since 2004-05, and the fourth during the tenure of 23rd-year head coach Mike Schafer.
•  Since Dec. 9, the Big Red has led the nation in winning percentage. Currently at .828, it's Cornell's best regular-season mark since it went 24-4-1 during the 2002-03 season before a postseason run into the Frozen Four.
•  While Cornell is on pace to have its highest goal total for a season (3.07 per game) since the 2009-10 campaign, it's once against the program's vaunted defense in the spotlight this year. 
•  The Big Red enters the weekend leading the nation in team defense at 1.52 goals against per game, which would rank as the sixth-stingiest Division I season on record. The numbers have actually been even been better since Jan. 1, with Cornell yielding 1.25 goals per games over the last 16 games.

Another Crown Down ...
•  Cornell clinched its 22nd Ivy League championship in program history 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.

Awards Season:
•  While ECAC Hockey's postseason honors are gradually being revealed, Cornell swept the major Ivy League awards while placing fives players on the All-Ivy League squads.
•  Freshman goaltender Matthew Galajda was named both the 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.
•  Mike Schafer was named the Ivy League Coach of the Year for the first time since the circuit added the honor in 2015.
•  Sophomore defenseman Yanni Kaldis earned a spot on the All-Ivy first team for a second straight year, and junior forward Anthony Angello and junior defenseman Alec McCrea garnered spots on the second team. Junior forward Mitch Vanderlaan received All-Ivy honorable mention.

Need-To-Know Numbers:
•  Cornell has been particularly dominant at even strength, ranking second in the country with a team rating of plus-43. The Big Red has surrendered just a paltry 26 even-strength goals so far. For perspective, the next two lowest totals in the nation are Clarkson at 44, and Northeastern and Minnesota State at 50.
•  Cornell has three players in the top 12 nationally in rating, all junior defensemen. Brendan Smith and Alec McCrea lead that group (plus-20; tied for 7th), followed by Matt Nuttle (plus-19; tied for 12th).
•  The Big Red has yielded seven power-play goals since Jan. 6, though five of those have been in two games against Union.

Polls Prose:
•  Cornell remains at second in both the USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls for a third straight week. The Big Red remains the highest-ranked team in ECAC Hockey and is in the national top five in both polls for a 11th consecutive week.

The Goaltending Factory Continues:
•  Freshman Matthew Galajda (19-3-2, 1.49, .941, 8 SO) has taken the college hockey world by storm, leading the nation in goals against average, shutouts and ranking third in save percentage. 
•  While his numbers for the season are spectacular, they're even better since he regained the starting job Jan. 6. Including that night's 1-0 blanking of Quinnipiac, Galajda is 11-1-2 with a 1.06 goals against average and .960 save percentage in 2018.
•  Galajda was named the Hockey Commissioners' Association National Division I Rookie of the Month for January after he surrendered just five goals over eight starts with four shutouts.
•  Galajda has also set a program record for shutouts by a freshman goaltender, and he has solo possession for third place on the program's list for clean sheets in a single season. His two longest shutout streaks this year both rank in the top 10 in program history.

More Than Just Defense:
•  One of the keys to Cornell's success this season has been an increase in offensive production from its defensemen. After receiving 13 goals from blueliners in each of the last two seasons, the Big Red already has 19 goals from defensemen this year.
•  Sophomore Yanni Kaldis (4-11–15) has four points over his current three-game point-scoring streak, taking over the team lead in points by defensemen. Kaldis is also tied for the team lead with eight power-play points.
•  Junior defensemen Matt Nuttle (2-9–11) has already more than doubled his point total from his first two collegiate seasons. 
•  Often paired together, Alec McCrea (4-6–10; 4 PPGs) and Brendan Smith (5-5–10) are among the nation's leaders in rating with a combined plus-40.
•  Three of Cornell's top seven defensemen are freshmen. Alex Green (2-8–10) has logged top-four minutes all year, and Cody Haiskanen (1-1–2) and Matt Cairns (1-0–1) both scored their first collegiate goals in the final weekend of the regular season.

Forward Thinking:
•  The key to Cornell's attack this season has been depth. To wit, six of the 12 players who had multiple points in February have 10 or fewer points for the entire season.
•  Junior forward Anthony Angello (13-12–25) was the nation's leading goal-scorer in January with nine. The ECAC Hockey Player of the Month for January has 16 points in the 16 games since Jan. 1.
•  Senior forward Trevor Yates (11-13–24; 4 PPGs) ranks second in team scoring. He has five assists over the last five games to join junior Mitch Vanderlaan (4-13–17) for the team lead in helpers.
•  Vanderlaan has 10 points over his last 10 games, but he missed the final six games of the regular season due to injury.

Fresh Faces:
•  The Big Red is the youngest team in ECAC Hockey and boasts one of the largest freshman classes in the country, with seven of the team's 10 newcomers appearing in the season opener — a first at Cornell since 1997.
•  Freshman forward Morgan Barron (5-11–16) became the first freshman in program history to record a point in each of his first seven collegiate games.
•  Forward Tristan Mullin (4-0–4) has three goals over the last three games, including the winner inside the final two minutes of the Feb. 17 game vs. Yale. His first goal of the season was also a game-winner, when Cornell beat Boston University at Madison Square Garden in New York.
•  Forward Kyle Betts (5-5–10) is tied with Barron for the team's goal-scoring lead among freshmen, netting the final goal Jan. 20 at Colgate. He also won a team-best 63.1 percent of his faceoffs in February.
•  Both goals from forward Brenden Locke (2-10–12) have been game-winners, coming in the latter stages of third periods vs. Princeton (Nov. 4) and Union (Feb. 2). His plus-14 rating is tied for fifth in the nation among freshmen.

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).

What, Me Worry?:
•  Cornell trailed in just nine of its 29 games during the regular season, including deficits of at least two goals in six of those contests. Remarkably, the Big Red has a 3-2-1 record in those games featuring a multiple-goal deficit.
•  The Big Red's resilience from an early deficit has become somewhat of a trend, with the team sporting a very respectable 16-16-7 record when yielding the game's first strike over the last three seasons. 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 ranks sixth among active coaches with 435 victories at the Division I level. He ranks second among current coaches at Cornell, behind just Dave Eldredge (men's and women's polo).

Scouting Quinnipiac:
•  The Bobcats finished ninth in the ECAC Hockey regular-season standings, then swept a first-round playoff series at eighth-seeded Yale with victories of 5-1 on Friday and 4-1 on Saturday at Ingalls Rink in New Haven, Conn. That evens Quinnipiac's record at 16-16-4 and gives them eight wins in its last 12.
•  Freshman left winger Odeen Tufto (9-32–41; plus-11) leads the team in scoring and has the most points among the nation's freshmen. He typically plays on his off wing, with senior Tanner MacMaster (12-20–32; plus-16) at center and sophomore Nick Jermain (5-9–14) on the opposite wing.
•  Sophomore right wing Alex Whelan (16-3–19) leads the team in goals with the national lead in shots on goal (168). 
•  Junior defenseman Chase Priskie (11-14–25; 8 PPGs) leads the team in power-play goals and is third in overall scoring. The captain and Washington Capitals draft pick has goals in each of the last four games — three on the PP.
•  Though sophomore Andrew Shortridge (11-12-2, 2.36, .906, 5 SO) has started twice as many games, including both regular-season contests against Cornell, freshman Keith Petruzzelli (5-4-2, 2.65, .903) is the hot hand in goal. He backstopped both Quinnipiac victories last weekend and had a 4-1 record, 1.72 goals against average and .930 save percentage in February.
•  Rand Pecknold is in his 24th season as the head coach at Quinnipiac.

The Series Against Quinnipiac:
•  Cornell leads the all-time series against Quinnipiac, 20-16-3, after sweeping the regular-season meetings with a pair of one-goal victories.
•  Quinnipiac's last trip to Lynah came on Jan. 6, with Trevor Yates scoring the lone goal in the second period. Making an impromptu start, Matthew Galajda made 28 for a shutout and a 1-0 Cornell victory.
•  Before that game, Cornell had lost each of the last five games against Quinnipiac at Lynah Rink — including two in overtime. The Big Red's next most recent home victory over the Bobcats on Nov. 19, 2011 (4-0; Andy Iles made 32 saves for the shutout).
•  In the Big Red's Nov. 3 visit to Hamden, Conn., Brendan Smith opened the scoring on the rush and Morgan Barron netted the eventual game-winner on the power play midway through the third in a 2-1 victory.

The Postseason History vs. Quinnipiac:
•  The Bobcats own a 7-4 advantage on the Big Red in the playoffs, with this weekend marking the fifth time in the last 12 seasons that the teams have met in the ECAC Hockey Championship quarterfinals. 
•  Quinnipiac has won three of four postseason series against Cornell, with each of the last three going the maximum three games. The Bobcats won in two games in 2007 at Lynah, then in three games in 2013 and 2016 at  TD Bank Sports Center. The Big Red won in three in 2011 at Lynah Rink.
•  The teams' first postseason meeting came in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 2002. Cornell cruised to a 6-1 victory.

The First Program to 100 ECAC Hockey Championship Wins:
•  The Big Red enters this weekend with 109 all-time ECAC Hockey Championship playoff victories, which leads the league. 
•  Cornell has won eight games in the first round, 59 in the quarterfinals, one in the preliminary round of championship weekend, 22 in the semifinals, seven consolation games and 12 championships. 
•  Of note: Preliminaries and consolation games are no longer part of the ECAC Hockey playoff format.

Up Next:
•  The winner of this weekend's series will advance to the first ECAC Hockey Championship semifinal at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 16 at 1980 Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid. The championship game is then scheduled for 7:30 p.m. the following night.
•  Regardless of its outcome in the ECAC Hockey playoffs, Cornell is aligned to receive one of the 16 berths for the NCAA tournament. The selection show is scheduled for noon Sunday, March 18, with regional play March 23-25 at sites in Allentown, Pa.; Bridgeport, Conn.; Sioux Falls, S.D. and Worcester, Mass.