SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — The Cornell men's hockey team will look to rebound from its first loss since November when it takes on 18th-ranked Union at 7 p.m. Friday at Messa Rink. The game 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. Both games can also be heard on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM) and worldwide via the station's website with 15th-year play-by-play man Jason Weinstein on the call.

GAME INFORMATION

#11/13 Cornell at #18 Union
TIME: 7 p.m.
DATE: Friday, Feb. 1, 2019
PLACE: Messa Rink  •  Schenectady, N.Y.
RECORDS: Cornell 12-6-1, 8-3-1 ECAC Hockey
                    Union 12-7-5, 5-6-1 ECAC Hockey
VIDEO: ESPN+ — United States | International
RADIO: WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM)
LIVE STATS: UnionAthletics.com
TICKETS: UnionAthleticsTickets.com
GAME NOTES (PDF): Cornell | Union
 

Big Red Rewind:

•  Cornell had the nation's longest unbeaten streak at eight games before visiting Colgate stunned the Big Red with a 3-2 victory in overtime last Saturday.
•  Morgan Barron scored 2 minutes into the game before Colgate stormed to the lead with goals within 15 seconds of either side of the first intermission. Cam Donaldson sent the game to overtime with his team-leading 11th goal.
•  Cornell remains in first place in the ECAC Hockey standings, now tied with Yale at 17 points (though with one game in hand).


•  The loss resulted in a weekend split between the teams, with Cornell winning the first game by an identical score the night prior in Hamilton.
•  Michael Regush broke a 2-all tie midway through the third period with his first goal since Nov. 10, steering in a puck from close range after pretty passes by Brenden Locke and Jeff Malott.
•  Mitch Vanderlaan scored just 71 seconds into the game, then helped set up Tristan Mullin's strike to give Cornell a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission. Colgate clawed its way back to tie the game before Regush's winner.

 

Pairwise Power Move:

•  Cornell sits at No. 9 in the Pairwise rankings, which is an improvement of 23 spots since a Nov. 30 loss at Dartmouth.
 

Forward Thinking:

•  Sophomore forward Morgan Barron (9-12–21; 4 PPG) continues to lead the team in points and power-play goals. He had 13 points over eight games in January, which was fourth-most in the nation and the most in ECAC Hockey.
•  Barron also remains one of the most prominent shooters in the country, with his average of 4.63 shots on goal per game tied for second-most.
•  Sophomore Cam Donaldson (11-6–17; 4 PPG) leads the team in goals, is second in rating (plus-12) and tied for second in overall scoring. His average of 0.58 goals per game is second-best among ECAC Hockey players.
•  Barron and Donaldson were placed on a line pivoted by Brenden Locke (4-3–7) following the semester break, with all four of Locke's goals coming in that eight-game span. The sophomore trio scored 14 of the team's 26 goals during January.
•  Senior forward Mitch Vanderlaan (4-13–17) leads the team in assists and is tied for second in scoring with six points in his last six games. The Big Red's second-year captain is also the team's active leading scorer with 84 points in 115 collegiate games.
•  Cornell hasn't averaged more than 30 shots on goal per game in a season since the 2005-06 campaign, but it currently has an average of 31.11.
•  The Big Red has scored first in 16 of its 19 games so far and is outscoring the opposition in first periods, 21-6.
 

More Than Just Defense:

•  A two-time All-Ivy League first-team selection, junior defenseman Yanni Kaldis (4-9–13; 2 PPG) leads the team's blueliners in scoring with assists in three of his last four games.
•  Matt Nuttle (1-10–11), one of three senior pillars on defense, has a lofty plus-17 rating and is now a staggering plus-40 over the last two seasons.
•  Senior Brendan Smith (1-2–3) celebrated his return to the lineup Jan. 4 with a goal, but he's also started off as one of the country's best shot-blockers at 2.31 per game — which would rank sixth in the nation if he had enough games under his belt to qualify.
•  Senior Alec McCrea (2-2–4) is the reigning ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman, and he also scored the game-winner Jan. 4 at Princeton.
 

Goaltending, Inc.:

•  Sophomore Matthew Galajda (8-5, 2.21, .903, SO) a first-team All-American last year, continues to round into form after an early-season injury led to a five-game absence. He was named men's ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week on Jan. 18 after a 25-save shutout of Harvard the Friday prior.
•  But since returning, Galajda has been splitting starts because of the strong play of sophomore Austin McGrath (4-1-1, 1.92, .927). He's unbeaten in his last five decisions, was named the ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week on Jan. 7 ranks, and he ranks sevnth in the country in goals against average. 
 

January Juggernaut:

•  Cornell's loss to Colgate last Saturday broke the program's 17-game unbeaten streak in the month of January. The Big Red wrapped up the calendar's first month with a 15-1-2 record over the last two seasons.
 

Special Teams Resurgence:

•  The Big Red's recent unbeaten streak has a strong correlation to improved special teams. The team's combined special teams percentage was ranked 56th of 60 teams in Division I as of Dec. 1, but it has risen 20 spots since and now rests at 49.3% just nine games later. 
•  Since Dec. 1, Cornell's penalty kill is fourth-best in the nation with a 91.3% success rate, and the power play ranks fifth at a 34.1% clip.
 

#OneIvy Update:

•  Even though it isn't playing an Ancient Eight opponent this weekend, Cornell can clinch the program's 23rd Ivy League championship on Saturday. Entering the weekned with a six-point lead, Cornell can repeat as the Ivy League titlist if Brown ties or defeats Yale.
•  Having won the Ancient Eight crown with a sterling 9-0-1 record last season, Cornell is 17-1-2 in its last 20 Ivy League contests (the one loss was Nov. 30 at Dartmouth).
 

Wasting No Time:

•  Underclassmen have been at the forefront of Cornell's arsenal, scoring 35 of the team's 56 goals (62.5 percent).
•  The Big Red's sophomore class averages 1.47 goals per game, which is highest in ECAC Hockey and fourth-highest in the nation.
 

Hobey Hopefuls:

•  Junior defenseman Yanni Kaldis and sophomore forwards Morgan Barron and Cam Donaldson were announced among the 81 initial nominees for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award earlier this month.
•  The process for selecting college hockey's most outstanding player is in the fan voting phase, with Cornell looking to place someone in the round of 10 finalists for a second straight year. Matthew Galajda was in that elite group last year, becoming the first freshman goaltender to ever be selected among the final 10.
 

Next Man Up:

•  Cornell has already lost 24 man-games to injury from its top six defensemen, having played six straight games without two of its top four before Brendan Smith's return on Jan. 4 (Alex Green has remained out).
•  The Big Red's injury woes on defense are in stark contrast to last season, when Cornell led the country in team defense. For the entirety of the 
2017-18 season, the Big Red lost just 10 man-games to injury from its top seven defensemen.
 

Best Behavior:

•  The opposition has had more power plays than the Big Red just three times in 19 games this year. Cornell has been on the penalty kill just 62 times so far, which is third-fewest in the nation.
•  Cornell and Princeton played a rare penalty-free game on Jan. 4. It was a first in the Division I men's ranks since AIC and Bentley met Dec. 1, 2015. 
•  It was Cornell's first outing without any penalties since a 4-1 victory over Brown on Feb. 19, 1999 — a span of 660 games.
 

Circle Time:

•  Cornell is tied for fourth in the nation in team faceoff percentage (54.4%). Senior Beau Starrett leads the Big Red in draws taken with a 57.2% success rate.
•  Max Andreev (60.5%) ranks second among the nation's active freshmen in faceoff percentage and ranks 12th overall.
 

Understudy Extraordinaire:

•  With Mike Schafer not in attendance for the Jan. 4-5 games due to illness, Associate Head Coach Ben Syer continued his unbeaten streak as an acting head coach. Now in his eighth season with the program, Syer is 7-0-4 all-time when at the helm. All but one of those games has been at Cornell.
 

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.
•  Senior 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 Union:

•  The Dutchmen are 12-7-5 overall, but have generally found more success in non-league play (7-1-3) so far. Union's 5-6-1 mark in ECAC Hockey play is good for 11 points and eighth place in the standings.
•  Union played Rensselaer to a scoreless tie on Tuesday night in the Mayor's Cup, a non-league game in Albany's Times Union Center. Darion Hanson made 20 saves for his first shutout of the season and second of his career.
•  The Dutchmen split their league games last weekend, rallying from two down with less than 12 minutes to play against Yale on Friday for a 4-3 overtime win on a goal by junior forward Anthony Rinaldi (8-4–12).
•  On Saturday, Brown earned a 3-2 win at Messa Rink despite goals from sophomore forwards Liam Morgan (6-8–14) and Jack Adams (7-6–13).
•  The Dutchmen's top four scorers are all senior forwards, led by second-year captain and center Cole Maier (6-14–20). Wingers Sebastian Vidmar (8-10–18) and Ryan Walker (8-9–17) are part of three-way tie for the team lead in goals, and they join Brett Supinski (6-11–17) as the squad's alternate captains. 
•  Goaltending duties are typically split between senior Jake Kupsky (6-4-1, 2.71) and Hanson (6-3-4, 2.36, .923, SO).
•  Rick Bennett is in his eighth season as head coach at Union.
 

The Series Against Union:

•  Cornell holds a 39-21-9 lead in the all-time series and had a six-game unbeaten streak against Union snapped in a 4-3 loss at Messa Rink to close out last year's regular season. 
•  Yanni Kaldis scored on the power play, Matt Cairns scored his first collegiate goal later in the first period, and Tristan Mullin capped the Big Red's scoring with an unassisted tally in the third.
•  In the teams' nine meetings spanning the last three seasons, Cornell's power play is 11-for-27 (40.7%) against Union and Union's power play is 13-for-37 (35.2%) against Cornell.