ITHACA, N.Y. —  The Cornell men's hockey team takes a nine-game winning streak into the final weekend of play in its fall semester, shifting its focus back to ECAC Hockey and Ivy League play with visits to Harvard on Friday and Dartmouth on Saturday. Faceoff for both games is set for shortly after 7 p.m., and both games will be broadcast by the host schools on ESPN+ in the U.S. There is also an option for international viewers also available through Stretch Internet. Featuring the call of Jason Weinstein, the games can also be heard on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM) and worldwide via the station's website.

Game Information:

#2 Cornell at #12 Harvard
7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6, 2019
PLACE: Bright-Landry Hockey Center  •  Cambridge, Mass.
RECORDS: Cornell 9-0, 6-0 ECAC Hockey, 3-0 Ivy League;
                    Harvard 6-2, 6-0 ECAC Hockey, 4-0 Ivy League
BROADCAST: ESPN+
RADIO: WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM)
LIVE STATS: GoCrimson.com
TICKETS: GoCrimson.com
GAME NOTES (PDF): Cornell | Harvard

#2 Cornell at Dartmouth
7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019
PLACE: Thompson Arena  •  Hanover, N.H.
RECORDS: Cornell 9-0, 6-0 ECAC Hockey, 3-0 Ivy League;
                    Dartmouth 3-2-1, 3-1-1 ECAC Hockey, 3-1 Ivy League
BROADCAST: ESPN+
RADIO: WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM)
LIVE STATS: DartmouthSports.com
TICKETS: DartmouthSports.com
GAME NOTES (PDF): Cornell | Dartmouth

The Big Red Rewind:

•  Cornell is 9-0 and the last remaining undefeated team in the nation for the second time in the last three years. This marks the program's best start in 50 years — a memorable 1969-70 campaign that ended with an unprecedented 29-0 record and the program's second national title. 
•  The Big Red's latest victory came on one of the world's biggest stages when it topped Boston University, 2-0, last Saturday in front of 15,142 fans at the biennial Red Hot Hockey game at Madison Square Garden in New York.
•  Junior goaltender Matthew Galajda made 28 saves to earn his first shutout of the season and the 15th of his collegiate career in just 65 starts. 
•  All of the game's offensive production came in a 20-second span during the second period, starting when sophomore forward Michael Regush opened the scoring with a goal on a rebound of a shot from senior defenseman Yanni Kaldis that was saved. Junior forward Brenden Locke doubled the lead on the next shift on a one-timer set up by freshman forward Ben Berard.

By The Numbers:

•  The Big Red ranks second in the country in team defense (1.33 goals against per game) and third in offense (4.22 goals per game). That leads to a standing of second in the nation in margin of victory (+2.89) behind just Friday's opponent, Harvard (+3.00).
•  Cornell has scored at least four goals in six of its nine games to date, and it has yet to surrender more than two in a game.
•  The Big Red's power play was the nation's best for two consecutive weeks before cooling off to a 1-for-13 performance over the last three games. That still leaves Cornell with an impressive 30.8% conversion rate on the man advantage, which ranks third in the nation behind Penn State (32.8%) and Minnesota State (30.9%).
•  Cornell has not only scored first in each of its last eight games, it hasn't trailed in any of those games either. The Big Red has trailed for just a total of 16 minutes, 5 seconds this season, and it has played a streak of 509:15 since it last trailed.
•  The Big Red has scored 22 of its 38 goals in second periods this year. That's an average of 2.44 goals per middle stanza, which by a wide margin leads the country for any period. The next closest is Harvard's average of 1.86 goals per first period.

The Red's Barron:

•  Junior forward Morgan Barron (6-7–13) not only leads the team in scoring, he ranks eighth in the nation with an average of 1.44 points per game. He became the first Cornell men's hockey player with at least 12 points through six games since Matt Moulson '06 and Ryan Vesce '04 both did so in the 2003-04 campaign. Barron, a sixth-round draft pick of the New York Rangers, was named to the All-ECAC Hockey first team last season and was tabbed a Preseason All-ECAC Hockey selection in September.

Forward Thinking:

•  Junior forward Brenden Locke (3-6–9) ranks second in team scoring with a team-best plus-12 rating that ranks tied for ninth in the nation. Since being reunited on a line with junior forward Cam Donaldson (2-7–9), both players have a plus-10 rating over seven games.
•  Sophomore forward Michael Regush (5-2–7) ranks second on the team in goal-scoring after netting 12 goals in his collegiate debut season. His two power-play goals are tied for the team lead with Barron and sophomore forward Max Andreev (2-6–8), all of whom play on the same power-play unit.
•  Scoring depth has powered the Big Red in the early going. Eight forwards already have multiple goals for Cornell through nine games compared to 12 for all of last season.

More Than Just Defense:

•  Though junior defenseman Alex Green (3-6–9, plus-8) had six-game scoring streak halted last Saturday, he has already more than doubled his point production from an injury-riddled sophomore campaign.
•  Sam Malinski (2-7–9, plus-8) leads the nation in scoring for freshman defenseman with an average of 1.0 points per game. His 22 shots on goal are tied for second-most on the team and is tops among all blueliners.
•  Senior defenseman Yanni Kaldis (2-7–9) is the team's leading active scorer with 70 collegiate points. The three-time selection to the All-Ivy League first team was also a Preseason All-ECAC Hockey selection in September.

Goaltending, Inc.:

•  Junior goaltender Matthew Galajda (9-0, 1.34, .944) ranks second in the nation in goals against average, having surrendered just five even-strength goals through nine games. His save percentage also ranks fifth nationally.
•  Galajda has returned to form after sophomore season was cut short by multiple injuries. As a freshman, he was a Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist, a Mike Richter Award finalist, a first-team All-American, the ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Year and Ivy League Player of the Year.
•  The Big Red has the rare claim of two all-league goaltenders from a season ago in Galajda and classmate Austin McGrath. Though McGrath hasn't appeared yet this season, he was an All-Ivy League first-team selection last year.

Honor Roll:

•  Cornell laid claim to five of ECAC Hockey's weekly awards over its first five weeks of the season.
•  Three of those honors were rookies of the week. Freshman defenseman Sam Malinski earned the accolade after each of his first two weekends in the collegiate ranks (Nov. 4, Nov. 11), then freshman forward Ben Berard claimed it Nov. 25 after scoring his first collegiate goal two days earlier against Princeton.
•  Junior Matthew Galajda is the reigning ECAC Hockey MAC Goaltending Goalie of the Week after his 28-save shutout of Boston University last Saturday in Red Hot Hockey at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was eighth career league weekly award (five times goalie of the week; three times rookie of the week).
•  Junior forward Morgan Barron was named ECAC Hockey Player of the Week on Nov. 11 after leading the circuit with six points the previous weekend.

Rare Territory:

•  Freshman forward Jack Malone is doing something that no Cornell men's hockey player has done in more than 50 years — wear #13. The perceived unluckiest of numbers has only been donned by five previous members of the Big Red, all in the first nine years of the program's resurrection in 1957. The last to wear 13 was James Wallace during the 1965-66 season.

The Twin Tradition:

•  The arrival of freshmen Ben and Zach Tupker give the Big Red its fourth pair of twins in Mike Schafer's 25-year tenure as the program's head coach. The others were the Devins (Joe and Mike, 2007-11), the Abbotts (Chris and Cam, 2001-06), and the McRaes (Mark and Matt, 1999-2003). Zach Tupker (1-0–1) scored his first collegiate Nov. 9 vs. Yale.

Feel The Draft?:

•  Cornell has six players on the roster who have been selected in the NHL Entry Draft — at least one in each of the last five drafts. Freshman forward Matt Stienburg (Colorado Avalanche) was selected earliest in that group, having been taken in the third round with the 63rd overall pick in June.
•  Junior defenseman Matt Cairns (Edmonton Oilers) was also taken in the third round with the 84th overall pick in the 2016 draft. Classmate Alex Green was taken with an overaged selection by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2018 draft, and Misha Song (2015 sixth round, New York Islanders) gives the Big Red blue line three NHL picks.
•  Two sixth-round picks also give Cornell three NHL picks when joined by Stienburg. Junior Morgan Barron, a fellow St. Andrew's graduate, was snagged in the sixth round by the N.Y. Rangers in 2017. Freshman Jack Malone was taken by the Vancouver Canucks in the sixth round last summer.

Scouting Harvard:

•  The Crimson started its season with six straight victories, but it enters Friday's game on consecutive losses against crosstown Hockey East rivals. Boston College handed Harvard its first loss, 4-2, last Friday before Boston University secured a 5-2 victory over the Crimson on Tuesday.
•  Sophomore right wing Casey Dornbach (5-7–12) leads the team in scoring and ranks tied for third in the nation with an average of 1.50 points per game. He's played every game this season on a line centered by sophomore Jack Drury (4-5–9) and freshman Nick Abruzzese (2-8–10) on the opposite wing.
•  Drury leads the team in power-play goals after scoring his third of the season on Tuesday. Junior defenseman Reilly Walsh (3-7–10), who scored the other Crimson goal, has a pair of power-play markers. The Crimson's power play is clicking to the tune of 21.2% so far this season.
•  Freshman Mitchell Gibson (3-0, 1.49, .955, SO) leads the nation in save percentage and ranks third in goals against average, but he was removed from the team's Nov. 22 game at Rensselaer due to injury and did not play in either the Crimson's recent losses. Like Gibson, senior Cameron Gornet (3-2, 2.81, .924) has now made four starts.
•  Harvard has outscored its opponents 14-4 in first periods this season. The average of 1.75 goals per game in the opening 20 minutes lead the nation, far ahead of the 1.33 posted by second-place North Dakota. Furthermore, the Crimson has scored first in seven of its eight games to date.
•  Ted Donato is in his 16th season as the head coach of his alma mater.

The Series Against Harvard:

•  Cornell has been battling with ancient rival Harvard since 1910, matching up 155 times with the Big Red holding a 78-66-11 lead.
•  Cornell won both ECAC Hockey meetings last year, concluding with a 2-0 victory on Jan. 18 at Lynah Rink. Brenden Locke and Morgan Barron scored second-period goals, and Matthew Galajda made 25 saves for his 10th career shutout.
•  In its last visit to Cambridge on Dec. 1, 2018, power-play goals by Cam Donaldson and Tristan Mullin in the second period led the Big Red to a 2-1 victory that essentially turned around the team's season. Austin McGrath made 23 saves for his first collegiate victory.
•  Just one week earlier, Harvard defeated Cornell, 4-1, at The Frozen Apple at Madison Square Garden in New York. Liam Motley opened the scoring with his first collegiate goal for Cornell.
•  Cornell head coach Mike Schafer is 38-19-6 in 63 games against Harvard.

Scouting Dartmouth:

•  The Big Green enters Friday's game against Colgate on a four-game unbeaten streak, though idle for the last two weeks while the college had an exam break.
•  In its most recent action, Dartmouth recorded road victories against Yale (4-3 on Nov. 15) and Brown (4-1 on Nov. 16). The wins pulled the team above .500 to 3-2-1 overall and 3-1-1 in ECAC Hockey play.
•  Sophomore forward Drew O'Connor (3-6–9) leads the team in scoring after leading the team with 17 goals during his freshman season. He typically plays on the left wing of a line with senior Will Graber (4-2–6) at center and junior Quin Foreman (2-4–6) on the opposite wing. The trio ranked 1-2-3 in team scoring last year.
•  Senior Adrian Clark (3-1-1, 2.32, .914) has started five of the team's six games in goal after starting 32 of 34 with six shutouts last year.
•  Few statistical trends have emerged, but Dartmouth has drawn just 14 power plays through just six games for a nation-low average of 2.33 per game.
•  Bob Gaudet is in his 23rd season as the head coach at his alma mater after a stint at Brown's helm.

The Series Against Dartmouth:

•  Cornell and Dartmouth have met on 138 occasions since 1909, with the Big Red holding a wide margin in the series with a 83-49-6 advantage.
•  The Big Green won, 3-2, the last time the teams met in Hanover on Nov. 30, 2018. Jeff Malott celebrated his return to the lineup by helping set up Cornell's first strike before scoring the game-tying goal with a tip-in. Joe Leahy's first two collegiate points were primary assists on the goals.
•  Cornell got its revenge in the rematch at Lynah Rink seven weeks later, scoring four unanswered goals in the final 30 minutes for a 5-1 victory. Cam Donaldson had a goal and an assist, and Austin McGrath made 22 saves to earn the win.

First Ivy Coach To 400:

•  Already the winningest coach in program history and in Ivy League history, Mike Schafer ranks fifth among active coaches with 460 victories at the Division I level. He also leads all actives coaches of Cornell's 37 varsity teams in career victories.

Two Crowns Down:

•  Cornell won the program's 23rd Ivy League championship last year, marking the Big Red's second straight Ivy crown and its 19th outright title. Cornell is 20-2-3 in its last 25 Ivy League contests after defeating Princeton on Nov. 25.\
•  In winning the Cleary Cup for a second straight year (though shared this time around), the Big Red has won the ECAC Hockey's regular-season title in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2002 and 2003.

Up Next:

•  Cornell breaks from game action for four weeks, first for the university's final exam period and then for the holidays. The team reconvenes in advance of its participation in the Fortress Invitational, which starts with a Jan. 3 game against Ohio State at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.