#18 Men's Hockey Heads to Capital Region for First Road Trip Since Mid-November

Mike Schafer '86
The Jay R. Bloom ‘77 Head Coach of Cornell Men’s Ice Hockey

THE PUCK DROP
• For the first time in 55 days, the Cornell men's hockey team will play a true road game when it takes on Union and RPI in the Capital Region this weekend.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN…
• Seven of Cornell's last eight games have been played at Lynah Rink. The lone game not played at the Big Red's home rink since its last true road game (Nov. 12 at Clarkson) was Nov. 26 at Madison Square Garden in The Frozen Apple when Cornell routed then-No. 6 UConn, 6-0, at the World's Most Famous Arena.

• It is the longest stretch between road games since also going 55 days between road games during the 2015-16 season (Nov. 21, 2015 at Brown and Jan. 15, 2016 at RPI).

• The 55 days in between Cornell road games is tied for the fifth-longest streak in program history. It trails a quartet of 62-day stretches that occurred during the 2005-06, 2010-11, 2013-14, and 2014-15 campaigns.

• This is the seventh time Cornell has had a 55-day stretch in between road games. The other seasons the feat had been accomplished was in 2003-04, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2011-12, 2012-13, and 2015-16.

NONE SHALL PASS…
• Cornell enters this weekend boasting one of the nation's top scoring defenses. The Big Red has yielded 28 goals over 14 games.

• The Big Red's 2.00 goals per game average ranks second in the nation, only behind ECAC Hockey counterpart Quinnipiac (1.84).

• Dating back to the beginning of the 2016-17 season, Cornell has boasted one of the stingier defensive units in Division I hockey. Cornell has been ranked in the top 10 in scoring defense in five of the last six seasons, with the lone year being 2020-21, which was not played due to the pandemic. 

• Since 2016-17, Cornell has allowed an average of 1.96 goals per game, which ranks second nationally (Minnesota State — 1.85).

KILL, RED, KILL
• Over its last eight games, Cornell has successfully killed off its last 20 penalties, dating back to Nov. 18 against Yale. The Big Red have also killed off 90.0 percent (36-of-40) of its penalties since Nov. 4.

• Thanks to a stingy penalty kill of late, Cornell ranks third nationally in penalty kill percentage (43-of-48 — 89.6 percent). The Big Red trails Ohio State (76-of-84 — 90.5 percent) and is right behind Dartmouth (44-of-49 — 89.8 percent).

• Cornell has yielded just five power-play goals against this season, which is tied with fellow Ivy League foes Dartmouth and Harvard for the fewest by a Division I program this season.

SHANE'S WORLD
• Sophomore goaltender Ian Shane has been strong between the pipes for Cornell so far this year, posting a Division I-leading 1.53 goals-against average.

• Shane also has a .926 save percentage, which ranks seventh nationally and is second amongst ECAC Hockey netminders (Harvard's Mitchell Gibson — .928).

• Over Shane's last six games, he has posted a 4-1-1 record to go along with a 1.17 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage (102-of-109).

• During the stretch, Shane has registered a pair of shutouts which came against then-No. 6 UConn on Nov. 26 at Madison Square Garden, and on Dec. 3 against Dartmouth.

POINT SEGER
• Gabriel Seger has been having a knack for finding the scoresheet as of late, registering at least one point in nine of his 12 games played. He leads Cornell with 10 points (2-8—10), the lone Big Red player with a double-digit point total.

• Seger has an assist in each of his last three games, which is a career-long assist streak for the native of Uppsala, Sweden. He previously had a quartet of two-game assist streaks, three of which came during his time with Union.

• With a point in the weekend opener against Union, Seger will have points in four straight games for the second time this season, matching his career long streak (accomplished between Nov. 11 and Nov. 26).

DOMINATING OFFENSIVELY
• Cornell has excelled in the second period this season, outscoring its opponents by 12 goals (18-6) in the frame.

• In comparison, Cornell has outscored its opponents by just five goals 26-21 in the other two periods of action.

• Along with its plus-12 goal differential in the second period, the Big Red have outshot its opponents by 73 shots in the period, 156-83.

• In the opening 40 minutes of play, Cornell has a plus-103 advantage in shots on goal (287-184). The third period has not fared as well for the Big Red as Cornell has outshot its opponents by 18, 120-102.

BLUE LINER LIGHTS THE LAMP
• Following his second-period goal against AIC last Thursday, Travis Mitchell became the fourth Cornell defenseman (fifth occurrence) since 1990-91 to score in three consecutive games.

• Mitchell was the first Big Red blue liner since Nick D'Agostino in 2010-11 to register a goal in three consecutive games. Doug Murray (4-game streak in 2000-01; 3-game streak in 2001-02) and Mark McRae (2000-01) are the others.

SCOUTING UNION
• Union enters this weekend's series with an 8-10-1 overall record and a 3-5-0 mark in ECAC Hockey action.

• The Dutchmen have been nearly unstoppable at home this year with its 7-1-0 home record.

• Last weekend, Union closed out the 2022 portion of the schedule with a pair of one-goal victories over New Hampshire, 4-3 and 3-2.

• Nate Hanley paces Union's offense (3-13—16), while John Prokop is the other player with 10-plus points (2-10—12).

• Connor Murphy has been Union's go-to goaltender, having starting 17 of the team's 19 games. Murphy is 7-8-1 with a 3.42 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage.

THE SERIES
• Friday will be the 79th all-time meeting between the two Empire State programs. Cornell leads the series, 46-22-10, and is 5-0-1 over its last six games with the Dutchmen.

• Dating back to 2015-16, Cornell is unbeaten 12-3-3 against Union.

• Cornell has three-plus goals in 13 of its last 14 games against Union and multiple goals in each of its last 15.

• The Big Red has had its success at Messa Rink at Achilles Center recently, going 8-3-4 at the facility since 2007-08. The Big Red is 4-1-2 over its last seven games at the venue.

THE LAST TIME AGAINST UNION
RECAP | BOX SCORE

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (FEB. 12, 2022) – The Cornell men's hockey team rattled off four third period goals on Saturday night, including the second strike of the night from senior tri-captain Kyle Betts, to record a 5-2 victory over Union at Messa Rink and extinguish a winless skid that had reached six games.

ABOUT RPI
• RPI enters this weekend series with a 7-11-1 overall record and a 2-6-0 mark in ECAC play.

• The Engineers have shined at Houston Field House, posting a 7-2-1 record on its home ice, compared to its 0-9-0 record away from Troy.

• As of late, RPI has struggled losing its last four games and being winless in seven of its last eight (1-6-1).

• Ryan Mahshie (9-3—12) and Jakob Lee (4-8—12) currently are tied for the team lead in points. Jake Gagnon (6-5—11) and Sutter Muzzatti (2-8—10) also have double-digit point totals.

• Jack Watson has been RPI's go-to goaltender, starting 18 of the Engineers' 19 games entering the weekend. Watson has a 2.93 GAA and a .899 save percentage.

THE SERIES
• Cornell leads the all-time series, 66-39-11, against RPI, dating back to the first meeting between the two teams on Jan. 31, 1908, at Empire Rink in Albany.

• The Big Red has fared well against RPI as of late, going 6-3-1 against the Engineers, dating back to 2016-17.

• RPI and Cornell split last year's series, as the Big Red posted an 11-3 victory at Lynah Rink on Nov. 13, 2021, before falling to the Engineers, 6-2, at Houston Field House.

THE LAST TIME AGAINST RPI
RECAP | BOX SCORE

TROY, N.Y. (FEB. 11, 2022) – Senior forward Max Andreev and junior forward Ben Berard scored first-period goals in their respective returns to the lineup, but Rensselaer rattled off the next three goals before tacking on a pair of empty-netters to skate away with a 6-2 victory on Friday night at Houston Field House.
 
Despite the deceivingly lopsided score, the Big Red outshot the Engineers, 41-19. That included a goal by Ture Linden at the 8:16 mark of the first period to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

OFFENSE EXPLODES FOR BIG RED IN WIN OVER AIC

RECAP I BOX SCORE 

ITHACA, N.Y. (DEC. 29, 2022) – Seven players registered multi-point nights for Cornell in the Big Red's 8-4 victory over AIC in men's hockey action at Lynah Rink on Thursday night.

Jack Malone and Ondrej Psenicka each registered three-point nights, while Sullivan Mack recorded his first collegiate multi-goal game, to pace the Big Red offense.

Psenicka finished the night with two goals and one assist, while Malone had a goal and two helpers.

Travis Mitchell, Kyle Penney, and Nick DeSantis each had a goal and an assist on the night. Ben Berard chipped in two assists apiece for Cornell (8-5-0).

Ian Shane earned the victory between the pipes for the Big Red, improving his season mark to 7-4-0.

PAIR OF THIRD-PERIOD GOALS AID BIG RED TO TIE WITH AIC

RECAP I BOX SCORE 

ITHACA, N.Y. (DEC. 30, 2022) – Nick DeSantis and Ondrej Psenicka scored third-period goals to avenge a 3-1 deficit and aid the Cornell men's hockey team to a 3-3 tie with AIC on Friday night at Lynah Rink.

Jack Malone and Max Andreev scored in the best-of-three shootout to give the Big Red the shootout victory.

DeSantis scored the first two goals for Cornell (8-5-1), while Psenicka netted the game-tying goal during an extra-attacker situation with 1:10 left in regulation.

Between the pipes, Cornell's Ian Shane stopped 19 shots in relief of Remington Keopple, who was pulled after allowing two goals in the opening four minutes of the game.

2022-23 Roster

If you’ve never been to a Big Red hockey game at Cornell’s James Lynah Rink, there are quite a few things you’ve never experienced. You’ve never camped out in line just to get season tickets and ensure your spot as one of the raucous and devoted "Lynah Faithful." But most importantly, if you’ve never been to Lynah, you’ve never really experienced all the best that college hockey has to offer.

Lynah Rink, which turned 65 years old in 2022, is the home of Big Red hockey. The rink, which was dedicated April 6, 1957, was named in honor of the late James Lynah (class of 1905), director of athletics at Cornell from 1935-43.

• Cornell returns to the road to conclude its three-game road trip when it takes on a longtime non-conference rival in Boston University next Saturday.

• Puck drop between the Big Red and Terriers at Agganis Arena is slated for 4 p.m.

• The contest will be the 51st all-time meeting between the two programs, but will be the first at Boston University's home rink since Nov. 25, 2001, at Walter Brown Arena.

• Eight of the last nine meetings have come during the program's biennial meeting at Madison Square Garden in Red Hot Hockey.