ITHACA, N.Y. — In leading the Cornell men's hockey team to its third consecutive Cleary Cup and the nation's best winning percentage for the second time in three years, Mike Schafer '86 has been named the ECAC Hockey Tim Taylor Coach of the Year.
 
This is a record fifth time Schafer, the Jay R. Bloom Head Coach of Men's Hockey, has won the league's annual top coaching honor. The other four times, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2018, have come at other points in which the Big Red established itself as one of the top teams in the country. While Cornell did not get a crack at the postseason this year due to the season's early shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Big Red posted a 23-2-4 record that yielded the nation's highest winning percentage (.862) since Maine (.956) marched to the 1993 NCAA championship.
 
After opposing coaches and media pundits alike picked Cornell to finish atop ECAC Hockey this year in preseason polls, the Big Red delivered on the promise that led to that target. The Big Red proved to be a juggernaut that went 18-2-2 in league play, which gave it a five-point cushion for first place and a 38-point total that hasn't been seen in the league since Cornell posted an identical ECAC Hockey record in 2005.
 
Schafer's calling card has been prominent again this year, with Cornell finishing second in the nation in team defense by surrendering a paltry 1.55 goals against per game — including a remarkably low 24 even-strength goals in 29 games. But what's keeping the Big Red back among the national elite of late its a deep, potent offense that scored 104 goals in 29 games. That average of 3.59 goals per game ranked sixth in the country and was the highest posted by Cornell since 2002-03.
 
Other finalists for this year's Tim Taylor Award were Clarkson's Casey Jones and Rensselaer's Dave Smith. Schafer becomes the record-holder for most Tim Taylor Awards in a career, moving out of a tie with St. Lawrence's Joe Marsh.