ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell men's hockey team wrap up its regular season this weekend on the prowl for its second straight Cleary Cup, starting with a 7 p.m. Friday contest at St. Lawrence before the finale at 7 p.m. Saturday at Clarkson. The games will be broadcast by the host schools and can be seen 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 Cornell at St. Lawrence
TIME: 7 p.m.
DATE: Friday, March 1, 2019
PLACE: Appleton Arena  •  Canton, N.Y.
RECORDS: Cornell 16-8-3, 12-5-3 ECAC Hockey
                    St. Lawrence 4-26-2, 2-16-2 ECAC Hockey
VIDEO: ESPN+ — United States | International
RADIO: WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM)
LIVE STATS: SaintsAthletics.com
TICKETS: SaintsAthletics.com
GAME NOTES (PDF): Cornell | St. Lawrence

#11 Cornell at #13 Clarkson
TIME: 7 p.m.
DATE: Saturday, March 2, 2019
PLACE: Cheel Arena  •  Potsdam, N.Y.
RECORDS: Cornell 16-8-3, 12-5-3 ECAC Hockey
                    Clarkson 21-10-1, 12-7-1 ECAC Hockey
VIDEO: ESPN+ — United States | International
RADIO: WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM)
LIVE STATS: ClarksonAthletics.com
TICKETS: Not available
GAME NOTES (PDF): Cornell | Clarkson
 

Big Red Rewind:

•  Cornell reclaimed first place in ECAC Hockey heading into the final weekend of the regular season thanks to a 3-1 victory over Union last Saturday at Lynah Rink.
•  Befitting of it being Senior Night, the game's winning goal came on a connection from two of the team's elder statesmen, with captain Mitch Vanderlaan redirecting an Alec McCrea point shot late in the second period.
•  Michael Regush started the scoring with his fifth power-play goal of the season, then Morgan Barron sealed the game with an empty-netter. Matthew Galajda made 30 saves to earn the victory.


•  The win washed away a sour taste left by Friday night's 3-2 overtime loss to Rensselaer. The loss left Cornell winless in three straight games (0-2-1) for the first time since it started the 2016-17 season with that same record.
•  Jeff Malott scored both Cornell goals, the first coming just 30 seconds after RPI had taken a 2-0 lead.
•  The Big Red dominated once it got on the board, posting a 34-7 advantage in shots on goal after RPI's second goal (37-16 overall). Todd Burgess' winner in overtime deflected in off a defender.

 

Scenario Central:

•  Cornell can clinch a first-round bye through the first round of the ECAC Hockey Championship playoffs with any combination of a tie or victory Friday at St. Lawrence or a Yale loss or tie against Princeton.
•  The Big Red can clinch the program's second straight Cleary Cup on Friday, though it would need to defeat St. Lawrence and receive significant help elsewhere. In addition to securing two points itself, the Cornell would need Brown to defeat Quinnipiac, Rensselaer to defeat or tie Harvard, and Colgate to defeat or tie Clarkson.
 

Pairwise Moment:

•  While only securing one win over its last four games hasn't knocked Cornell out of first place in ECAC Hockey, the speed bump has affected the team's standing nationally. The Big Red has slipped five spots of the last two weeks to 13th in the Pairwise rankings, which are used to determine and seed the NCAA tournament field.
•  Even with the recent slip, the team's current placement is an improvement of 20 spots since a Nov. 30 loss at Dartmouth.
 

Forward Thinking:

•  Sophomore forward Morgan Barron (13-16–29; 6 PPG) leads the team in goals, points and power-play goals. He has 21 points over 16 games since Jan. 1, which is most in the league and tied for sixth-most in the nation.
•  Barron also remains one of the most prominent shooters in the country, with his average of 4.74 shots on goal per game ranking tie for second-most behind just Arizona State's Johnny Walker (4.94).
•  Sophomore Cam Donaldson (11-10–21; 4 PPG) ranks second on the team in goals and rating (plus-14). He returned to the lineup last weekend after missing the previous weekend's games.
•  Barron and Donaldson were placed on a line pivoted by Brenden Locke (5-7–12) following the semester break, with all but two of Locke's points coming in that span.
•  Senior forward Mitch Vanderlaan (8-16–24) ranks second on the team in overall scoring and assists. The Big Red's second-year captain is also the team's active leading scorer with 91 points in 123 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 30.67.
•  The Big Red has scored first in 22 of its 27 games so far and is outscoring the opposition in first periods, 32-10.
 

More Than Just Defense:

•  A two-time All-Ivy League first-team selection, junior defenseman Yanni Kaldis (4-18–22; 2 PPG) leads the team in assists and all the team's blueliners in overall scoring. He is currently on a career-high scoring streak of six straight games and has 13 assists in his last 13 games.
•  Matt Nuttle (2-13–15), one of three senior pillars on defense, has a lofty plus-17 rating is fifth in ECAC Hockey. He is a staggering plus-40 over the last two seasons.
 

Goaltending, Inc.:

•  Sophomore Matthew Galajda (12-7-2, 1.97, .913, 3 SO) a first-team All-American last year, has rounded into form after an early-season injury led to a five-game absence. Since Jan. 1, his 1.53 goals against average is tops in ECAC Hockey and third in the country, and his .933 save percentage ranks second in the league.
•  When Galajda hasn't played, sophomore Austin McGrath (4-1-1, 2.02, .924) has made the most of his first collegiate starts. He's unbeaten in his last five decisions, and was named the ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week on Jan. 7.
 

Special Teams Resurgence:

•  Cornell enters tonight with 39 consecutive successful penalty kills. It's the longest such streak in program history since at the least the turn of the century. The last power-play goal conceded by the Big Red was Jan. 5 at Quinnipiac.
•  The Big Red's special teams have steadily improved as the season has progressed. The team's combined special teams percentage was ranked 56th as of Dec. 1, but it has risen 36 spots to 21st at 51.9% just 18 games later.
•  Since Dec. 1, Cornell's penalty kill (95.5%) leads the nation, and its power play (29.1%) ranks third.
 

One Crown Down:

•  Cornell clinched the program's 23rd Ivy League championship two weeks ago, marking the Big Red's second straight Ivy crown and its 19th outright title. Having won the Ancient Eight championship with a sterling 9-0-1 record last season, Cornell is 17-2-3 in its last 22 Ivy League contests.
•  The Big Red is also attempting this weekend to clinch the Cleary Cup, which is awarded annually to ECAC Hockey's regular-season champion. Cornell won the Clearly Cup last year, making the ninth in program history and the fourth in the head coaching tenure of Mike Schafer '86.
 

Circle Time:

•  Cornell is tied for third in the nation in team faceoff percentage (54.8%). Sophomore Morgan Barron ranks 15th in the country with a 59.7% success rate, and senior Beau Starrett once again leads the Big Red in draws taken with a 56% success rate.
 

Wasting No Time:

•  Underclassmen have been at the forefront of Cornell's arsenal, scoring 48 of the team's 77 goals (62.3%).
•  The Big Red's sophomore class averages 1.37 goals per game, which is highest in ECAC Hockey and fifth-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 on Jan. 16.
•  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:

•  Through 27 games this season, Cornell has used 19 different combinations of skaters in its lineup due to injuries. The Big Red has had its most preferred lineup for less than one period all season (Nov. 2 vs. Yale, before an injury about 10 minutes in).
•  Cornell has already lost 32 man-games to injury from its top six defensemen. All of them have been in the same lineup just twice this season (Nov. 2 vs. Yale; Feb. 1 at Union).
•  The Big Red's injury woes on defense are in stark contrast to last season, when Cornell lost just 10 man-games to injury from its top seven defensemen all year.
 

Best Behavior:

•  The opposition has had more power plays than the Big Red just five times in 27 games this year. Cornell has been on the penalty kill just 83 times to date, 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.
 

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 St. Lawrence:

•  The Saints (4-26-2, 2-16-2 ECAC Hockey) suffered a pair of losses on the road last weekend, 7-2 at Quinnipiac and 5-3 at Princeton. The Bobcats scored four power-play goals inside 35 minutes on Friday.
•  The power play isn't among the Saints' struggles this year. St. Lawrence's is clicking at a 23.4% success rate in ECAC Hockey play and 19.1% overall on the man advantage. Four of the Saints' five goals last weekend came on the power play.
•  Junior right winger Carson Gicewicz (3-13–16) leads the team in scoring. He typically plays on a line centered by 6-foot-8 sophomore center Keenan Suthers (5-8–13) and junior Ryan Garvey (4-6–10) on the opposite wing.
•  Sophomore defenseman Bo Hanson (4-11–15) has moved into second in team scoring. He had two of his three power-play goals in last weekend's games.
•  Junior Alex Gilmour (5-3–8) leads the team in power-play goals, with all of his tallies on the year coming on the man advantage.
•  St. Lawrence has three goaltenders that have started at least eight games. Freshman Emil Zetterquist (1-8-2, 4.15, .881) has been in favor of late, including the game against Cornell 20 days before this one. His 12 starts matches senior Arthur Brey (1-10, 4.20, .895) for most on the team.
•  St. Lawrence has been outscored in the first period this year, 48-13. It has only scored the first goal in five of its 32 games to date.
•  Mark Morris is in his third season as head coach of the Saints.
 

The Series Against St. Lawrence:

•  In a series that began during the 1926-27 campaign, Cornell holds a 63-45-8 all-time lead and enters Friday on a five-game winning streak and an 11-4-1 record over the last 16 in the series.
•  The Big Red won, 3-1, in this season's first meeting Feb. 9 at Lynah Rink. Michael Regush and Morgan Barron scored power-play goals in the first period for Cornell, then Mitch Vanderlaan's strike late in the second closed the scoring.

•  Last year's matchup at Appleton Arena was as close as they come, with Cornell scratching out a 1-0 victory on a goal by Jared Fiegl '18 and a 16-save shutout from goaltender Matthew Galajda. 
 

Scouting Clarkson:

•  The Golden Knights (21-10-1, 12-7-1 ECAC Hockey) had split four straight weekends of league play before a big three-point road trip last weekend.
•  After a 1-1 tie Friday at Princeton, Clarkson's 5-3 win Saturday at Quinnipiac both kept the Golden Knights alive in the Cleary Cup hunt and allowed the Big Red to retake first place.
•  Junior center Nico Sturm (12-27–39) leads the team in scoring, and the reigning ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Forward also has a league-best plus-21 rating a team-best 56.3 winning percentage on faceoffs.
•  Sturm is typically flanked on the right side by classmate Heralds Egle (16-18–34), who leads the team in goals and ranks second in scoring. The left wing on the top line has changed several times, though it's a spot most recently filled by senior Juho Jokiharju (2-3–5).
•  Junior winger Devin Brosseau (9-11–20) and junior defenseman Greg Moro (5-13–18) are tied for the team lead with four power-play goals apiece.
•  Junior Jake Kielly (21-10-1, 1.92, .929, 5 SO) is in his third year as the starting goaltending, tied for third in the nation in shutouts and seventh in both goals against average and save percentage.
•  Like Cornell, Clarkson has excelled at grabbing the early lead. The Golden Knights have scored first in 22 of 32 games. Clarkson also outscores the opposition 37-18 in the third period.
•  Casey Jones, a 1990 graduate and former associate head coach at Cornell, is in his eighth season as the head coach of the Golden Knights.
 

The Series Against Clarkson:

•  The Big Red owns a 66-55-18 record against the Golden Knights, boosted by two straight shutouts coming into Saturday's game.
•  Cornell won this season's first meeting on Feb. 8, 5-0, behind two goals from Jeff Malott and a stellar defensive effort that meant Matthew Galajda needed to make just 17 saves for his third shutout of the season.

•  Clarkson also didn't score in the teams' last meeting at Cheel Arena – though neither did Cornell. That scoreless draw on Feb. 9, 2018 in Potsdam is the last time the Big Red has been shut out in a game.
•  Cornell is 11-6-5 against Clarkson since Casey Jones '90 became head coach.