ITHACA, N.Y. — After leading the Cornell men's hockey team to a share of its second straight Cleary Cup, Mike Schafer '86 has been named a finalist for ECAC Hockey Tim Taylor Coach of the Year, the league announced Monday afternoon.
 
While expectations were high for Big Red after it posted a dominating 17-3-2 record in ECAC Hockey during the 2017-18 season, Cornell ascended to the top of the pack through much more adversity this season. The team has been riddled with injuries from the start, meaning Schafer – the Jay R. Bloom Head Coach of Men's Hockey – has constantly juggled lineups to get the most out of the squad.
 
Cornell was just 5-5 at the end of November, but has posted a 12-3-4 record since. With a 13-5-4 record in ECAC Hockey, the Big Red was atop the league tables for a fifth time in Schafer's 24 years as the program's head coach.
 
Schafer is angling to become the league's coach of the year for a fifth time, having won the honor before in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2018. Other finalists for this year's award are Quinnipiac's Rand Pecknold and Clarkson's Casey Jones. The winner is scheduled to be announced Tuesday, March 19.
 
Entering the weekend ranked 10th in the nation in both major polls, Cornell starts its postseason run at 7 p.m. Friday in Game 1 of an ECAC Hockey Championship quarterfinal series against Union at Lynah Rink.