THE PUCK DROP
• The No. 12-ranked Cornell men's hockey team opens its 2023-24 regular season schedule this weekend when it welcomes No. 11-ranked Minnesota Duluth to Lynah Rink in a two-game series.
• Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m., with game action broadcast live on ESPN+ with Grady Whittenburg providing play-by-play and former Cornell defenseman Tim Vanini '91 supplying analysis. Jason Weinstein (play-by-play) and former Big Red blueliner Tony Eisenhut '88 (analyst) will also call the contest over the airwaves on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM, whcuradio.com).
OPENING WEEKEND
• Under Mike Schafer '86, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Ice Hockey, Cornell holds a cumulative 33-17-4 (.648) record over the first two games of a season.
• Cornell is 16-9-2 (.630) all-time in season openers under Schafer, and the program is seeking to avoid losing its second straight opener after falling to Minnesota Duluth, 3-2, last year at AMSOIL Arena. The most recent time Cornell lost consecutive season-opening contests was in 2010 (7-4 loss to No. 10 New Hampshire) and 2011 (5-4 loss to Mercyhurst).
• This weekend's series against Minnesota Duluth marks the first time Cornell is opening a season at home since posting overtime victories of 3-2 and 1-0 over Alaska to begin the 2021-22 campaign.
• With Minnesota Duluth assuming the No. 11 ranking in the most recent USCHO.com poll, this weekend will be the highest-ranked opponent Cornell will play in its first two games of a season since defeating then-No. 9-ranked Yale, 6-2, in New Haven, Conn., on Nov. 4, 2011. It is the highest ranking for an opponent entering Lynah Rink in the first two games since No. 10 New Hampshire on Oct. 29, 2010.
HOME OPENERS
• With Schafer at the helm of the Big Red hockey program, Cornell has a 16-6-3 (.700) record in home openers. Cornell's overall record in home openers — on Beebe Lake and Lynah Rink — stands at 55-28-8 (.648).
• Should Cornell record a victory on Friday, it would be the fourth consecutive home-opening win for the Big Red, which would be the program's longest streak of wins in home openers since stringing together five wins in Schafer's first five years as the Big Red's bench boss from 1995-99.
SHANE EARNS PRESEASON HONOR
• Junior goaltender Ian Shane was the lone Cornell player named to the All-ECAC Hockey Preseason Team, the conference office announced along with the preseason poll on Sept. 27.
• Shane is coming off a stellar sophomore campaign in which he registered a 20-10-1 record with a 1.72 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. His 1.72 goals-against average ranked second among Division I netminders last season, trailing Quinnipiac's Yaniv Perets (1.49).
• By earning the preseason honor, Shane became the Cornell goaltender to garner a preseason honor from ECAC Hockey since Matthew Galajda in 2019-20, also before his junior season.
SHANE'S WORLD
• Junior goaltender Ian Shane has excelled inside the blue paint so far during his previous two seasons on East Hill. Over his 50 appearances with the Big Red, Shane has registered a 27-16-4 overall record with a 1.72 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage.
• Shane's 1.72 goals-against average leads all active Division I goaltenders with at least 25 games played and is just one of two netminders with a goals-against average below 2.00. Additionally, Shane's clip is the fifth-best by a Cornell netminder in the program's modern era (since 1957-58), trailing Dave LeNeveu (1.29), Ken Dryden (1.60), Matthew Galajda (1.64), and David McKee (1.71).
• Along with his impressive goals-against average, Shane ranks fifth among career leaders in save percentage (.923), trailing Minnesota's Justen Close (.926), Colorado College's Kaidan Mbereko (.925), Notre Dame's Ryan Bischel (.924). Wisconsin's Kyle McClellan also has a .923 save percentage but is three ten-thousandths of a point ahead of Shane.
• Thanks to his five shutouts last season, Shane has eight career shutouts and is tied with Notre Dame's Ryan Bischel for the third-most by active Division I goaltenders. Shane's eight shutouts — which rank ninth in Cornell program history — trail Michigan Tech's Blake Pietila (19) and Minnesota's Justen Close (11) for the Division I lead in shutouts.
STOUT DEFENSE
• Historically, Cornell has boasted one of the nation’s stingiest defensive units, as the Big Red has ranked in the top 10 in scoring defense in the last six seasons it has competed in.
• Last year, the Big Red yielded 66 goals allowed, which stood as the second-fewest in Division I last year, trailing ECAC Hockey rival Quinnipiac by just two goals (64).
• Since the 2016-17 season, Cornell has yielded a Division I-leading 389 goals allowed. Harvard is second with 106 more goals conceded in three more games.
POINT SEGER
• Senior forward Gabriel Seger is coming off a stellar first season with Cornell after transferring from ECAC Hockey rival Union. Seger registered 30 points (7-23—30), becoming Cornell's first 30-point scorer since Morgan Barron (14-18—32) in 2019-20.
• Seger's 30-point season marked the first time a Big Red player logged 30-plus points in their first season at Cornell since Riley Nash (12-20—32) did so in his freshman year in 2007-08. It was also the seventh instance of a Big Red player registering at least 30 points in their first season with Cornell over the last 40 seasons.
• Although transfers are generally rare at Cornell, Seger became the third player in the modern era (since 1957-58) to record 30-plus points in the season following his transfer to Cornell. Seger joined Tom Whitehead (10-20—30) and Doug Berk (11-21—32), who both accomplished the feat in 1978-79 after transferring from fellow Ivy League institution, Penn, after the Quakers' varsity hockey program was disbanded.
THANKS FOR THE HELP!
• The 23-assist season by Seger last year was the most helpers by a Big Red player since defenseman Yanni Kaldis had 24 assists in 2018-19. It was the most helpers recorded by a forward since Greg Miller registered 25 assists during the 2010-11 campaign.
• Over his two seasons at Union and last year with Cornell, Seger has accrued 52 career assists. Entering this week, according to data from College Hockey News, Seger is currently in a six-way tie for the 11th-most assists by an active Division I player. Tied with Seger is Boston College defenseman Jacob Bengtsson, Clarkson forward Ayrton Martino, Colgate defenseman Nick Anderson, Quinnipiac forward Collin Graf (Seger's former teammate at Union), and Western Michigan defenseman Zak Galambos.
• Seger's 52 assists are tied with ECAC Hockey counterparts Graf and Martino for the ninth-most by an active Division I forward entering this week's action.
• Should Seger register at least 20 assists this upcoming season, he would become the first Cornell player with consecutive 20-assist seasons since defenseman Yanni Kaldis accomplished the feat in both the 2018-19 (24) and 2019-20 (20) seasons. No Big Red forward has had consecutive 20-assist seasons since Riley Nash did so in each of his three seasons on East Hill (2007-10). Nash had 20 assists in his freshman season before posting 21 and 23 assists in his respective sophomore and junior seasons.
LOOKING TO PICK IT BACK UP…
• Over its final eight games, Cornell ended the year on a torrid defensive stretch, allowing just seven goals (0.88 goals per game) while posting a Division I-leading .957 save percentage. The Big Red's goals allowed and goals per game average are also the top figures for Division I programs.
• The Big Red's penalty kill also came up huge toward the end of the season, successfully killing off its opponent's last 18 power plays. Cornell is one of three programs to not allow a power-play goal since Feb. 18, joined by first-year program Augustana, which has killed its first 18 penalties this year, and New Hampshire (15-of-15).
• Faceoffs were another strength of Cornell toward the end of the year as the Big Red went 255-of-447 in draws, posting a 57.0 percent win rate. Only Minnesota State (.595) had higher conversion rates at the faceoff dot in the span.
KILL, RED, KILL
• Along with Cornell's 18 consecutive successful penalty kills, Cornell has killed off 22 of its last 24 penalties, posting a .909 conversion rate, tied with Northeastern for the seventh-best penalty kill in Division I hockey during the span.
• Those ahead of Cornell during the span include first-year program Augustana (18-of-18 - 1.000), Quinnipiac (46-of-48 - .960), Union (35-of-37 - .949), RIT (51-of-54 - .947), and New Hampshire (15-of-16 - .941).
FRESH(MAN) START
• When opening a brand-new season, the uncertainty of how first-year players will acclimate to the college game is seemingly always questioned. That has not been the case for Cornell over the last five seasons, as the Big Red has had a freshman score in its previous five season-opening contests.
• Last year at Minnesota Duluth, Winter Wallace scored 2:36 into the third period to tie the game, 2-2, before falling 3-2 to the Bulldogs. Ondrej Psenicka (2021-22), Jack Malone (2019-20), Max Andreev (2018-19), and Morgan Barron (2017-18) were the others to score their first collegiate goals in the Big Red's last five season openers. Anthony Angello also scored in his first collegiate game in 2015-16, giving Cornell a first-year goal-scorer in six of the previous seven seasons in which the Big Red has competed.
IT'S JUST A NUMBER…
• A number never worn in program history and a digit never donned by a blueliner in 64 years highlight this season's sweater numbers worn by Cornellian players.
• Freshman Jonathan Castagna will be the first player to don a No. 38 sweater for the Cornell men's hockey program and be the first Big Red forward to wear a sweater number north of 30.
• Former Big Red goaltender Eddy Skazyk is the only player to have worn a sweater number higher than Castagna's No. 38 when he wore No. 39 for two seasons from 1994-96.
• Fellow freshman Marian Mosko is the first defenseman to wear No. 13 since the first bearer of the oft-deemed "unlucky" No. 13, Lane Montesano, who split time as both a forward and defenseman from 1957-59.
• Mosko is the first true defenseman in Cornell history to wear No. 13, which has only been worn six times in the modern era of Cornell hockey, dating back to 1957-58. The freshman blueliner is just the second Big Red player to wear No. 13 over the last 57 seasons, joining former Big Red forward Jack Malone, who wore the sweater number for the previous four seasons.
ECAC HOCKEY PRESEASON POLL
• Cornell was picked to finish second in the ECAC Hockey Coaches' Preseason Poll, which ECAC Hockey announced on Sept. 27.
• Following a vote among the 12 head coaches in ECAC Hockey, the reigning national champion, Quinnipiac, received 10 of the 12 first-place votes, finishing with a league-leading 120 points. Cornell was right behind the Bobcats as the only other program to garner 100 points with its 108-point total. Harvard (98) and Clarkson (92) finished third and fourth, respectively, while splitting the remaining two first-place votes.
• St. Lawrence (79), Colgate (68), RPI (53), and Union (45) were in the middle of the poll, finishing in positions five through eight. Rounding out the 12-team poll were the other four Ivy League programs in Princeton (44), Yale (35), Dartmouth (30), and Brown (20).
CORNELL + PAIRWISE = WISE PAIR
• Cornell is one of seven programs to have finished in the top 15 of the pairwise rankings at least six times since 2015-16.
• Denver has finished within the top 15 seven times during the span. Minnesota State, St. Cloud State, North Dakota, and Ohio State are the other programs, along with Cornell, who have finished within the top 15 on six occasions.
• Over the last eight seasons, Cornell has had an average finish of 11.4 in the pairwise rankings, which ranks seventh among Division I programs. The Big Red's average finish is the best of any ECAC Hockey program, edging Quinnipiac (12.5), and is 3.7 spots ahead of Boston University (15.1), which has the highest average of any Hockey East program.
CORNELL'S MELTING POT
• This year's roster of 28 players features six countries (United States, Canada, Czechia, England, Slovakia, and Sweden), 13 states (New York, Alaska, California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin), and three Canadian provinces (British Columbia, Ontario, and Nova Scotia) represented.
• Junior forward Ondrej Psenicka is one of six players to hail from Czechia. The other Czech Division I hockey players include Providence's Jaroslav Chmelar, UMass' Michael Hrabal, St. Lawrence's Tomáš Mazura, Niagara's Josef Mysak, and Ferris State's Stepan Pokorny.
• Freshman defenseman Liam Steele is one of two Division I hockey players from England, joined by Alaska sophomore forward Cade Neilsen, whose hometown is in Nottingham.
• Luke Devlin, a freshman forward, is one of eight Division I players to call Tennessee home. The others play for Air Force, Army, Dartmouth, Ferris State, Miami, Michigan Tech, and Ohio State.
ONE OF THE BEST
• Mike Schafer '86, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Cornell Men's Ice Hockey, is one of 10 active collegiate hockey head coaches with 500 career victories behind the bench.
• Schafer's 520 wins rank as the 26th-most by a head coach in college hockey history. Schafer is 16 wins shy of matching former Minnesota State bench boss Don Brose (536) for the 25th-most.
• Among active Division I men's head coaches, Schafer has the fourth-most wins, trailing Quinnipiac's Rand Pecknold (617), Mercyhurst's Rick Gotkin (598), and Notre Dame's Jeff Jackson (575).
• Regardless of level or gender, Schafer's 520 victories are the ninth-most by active college hockey head coaches.
TOWERING OVER THE COMPETITION
• Cornell enters this season ranked tied for the sixth-tallest program in Division I hockey, as the program has an average height of six feet, nine-tenth inches. Miami and Western Michigan are the other two programs to average out at the same height as the Big Red.
• Ahead of the Big Red in height are Lindenwood (6'1.5"), Vermont (6'1.1"), Boston University (6'1.0"), St. Cloud State (6'1.0"), and Clarkson (6'1.0").
• Last season, Cornell held an average height of 6'1.0", which was the second-tallest in Division I hockey.
PUTTING ‘BIG’ IN BIG RED
• In addition to its height, Cornell has the third-highest average weight in Division I hockey, posting an average weight of 192.4 pounds. Only Notre Dame (195.6 pounds) and UMass Lowell (192.7 pounds) are ahead of the Big Red.
• Cornell has the highest average weight of any ECAC Hockey program, edging Colgate, who has the fourth-highest average at 191.3.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
• Cornell has 10 freshmen on this year's roster, tied for the seventh-most in Division I hockey this season with AIC, Augustana, Denver, and Michigan State, according to data compiled by College Hockey, Inc.
• Robert Morris, who brought back its program following a three-year hiatus, paces the nation with 16 first-year players. Air Force, Army, Boston College, Lake Superior State, and Mercyhurst all have 11 freshmen on their rosters.
• The Big Red's age, as of Oct. 1, averaged out to 21 years and four months, which was tied with Providence for the seventh-youngest in Division I hockey. Programs younger than the Big Red include Boston College (20 years and 6 months), Denver and Harvard (20 years and 9 months), Boston University (21 years and 1 month), and Michigan State and Wisconsin (21 years and 2 months).
• Along with its 10 freshmen, Cornell is tied for the fifth-fewest seniors on a roster this year (2). Alaska, Augustana, Lindenwood, and Minnesota State are the quartet of programs with one senior this season.
