#11 Men's Hockey, Colgate to Play in Home-and-Home Series This Weekend

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

THE PUCK DROP
• The No. 11-ranked Cornell men's hockey team squares off against its Central New York rival Colgate in a home-and-home series this weekend. Cornell will host the series opener on Friday at 7 p.m. before the series shifts to the Class of 1965 Arena in Hamilton, N.Y., for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop on Saturday.

WEEKLY AWARDS
• Senior defenseman Sam Malinski and freshman Dalton Bancroft were each honored by ECAC Hockey with weekly awards on Monday morning following their performances last weekend.

• Malinski was selected the conference's Defender of the Week for the second time in three weeks following his five-point weekend. In the 10-1 win over Union, Malinski had a career-high four points — highlighted by his first collegiate multi-goal game.

• Bancroft was named Rookie of the Week for the third time this season, and receiving his fourth overall weekly honor after being named Player of the Week on Nov. 28 following his hat trick at Madison Square Garden against UConn at The Frozen Apple.

SAM THE MAN
• Senior defenseman Sam Malinski, who also was named ECAC Hockey's Defender of the Month on Wednesday, enters the weekend on a career-long 10-game point streak.

• Malinski had 14 points (4-10—14) over seven games in January while increasing his point streak to 10 games, which is tied with Matt Moulson for the second-longest by a Cornell player in the Mike Schafer era.

• With a point Friday, Malinski would match teammate Matt Stienburg's record for the longest point streak in the Schafer era (11 games).

• Since 1990-91, Malinski's point streak is tied for the fourth-longest by a Big Red player. Doug Derraugh, who opened the 1990-91 campaign with points in his first 20 games, Ryan Hughes (19 games in 1990-91), and Stienburg had longer streaks.

• Among active point streaks, Malinski currently has the third-longest streak, trailing Colgate's Alex Young, who has points in his 12 games, and Boston University freshman defenseman Lane Hutson, who has an 11-game streak.

‘SPECIAL’ IN SPECIAL TEAMS
• In last Saturday's win over Union, Cornell scored six power-play goals, which was one off from tying the program record initially established on Nov. 18, 1977, against York.

• Of the six goals scored, five came in the first period, establishing a program record for the most power-play goals in a single period. Cornell previously had scored four power-play goals in a single period on four occasions, most recently on Feb. 8, 2003, against Vermont.

• Thanks for going 6-of-7 with the man advantage on Saturday, Cornell now boasts the nation's top power play with a 32.5 conversation rate (25-of-77). The Big Red are one of three teams nationally to have scored on at least 30 percent of its power plays, joined by North Dakota (32.4 percent) and UMass (30.0 percent).

• The Big Red has recorded a power-play goal in eight of its last 10 games while converting at a 47.2 percent clip during the span (17-of-36).

THAT WAS FAST…
• Freshman forward Dalton Bancroft, sophomore forward Ondrej Psenicka, and fellow freshman forward Nick DeSantis combined to score three goals in 23 seconds against Union last Saturday. The 23-second span is the quickest Cornell has scored three goals in the program's modern era, which dates back to the 1957-58 season.

• The previous record was accomplished in 24 seconds against Princeton on Feb. 28, 1976. Fred Tomczyk had his tally bookended by goals from Mark Trivett in an 8-2 win over the Tigers.

• Cornell also scored four times in a 54-second span, which marked the first time on record in modern era (since 1957) that the Big Red scored four times in less than a minute. The previous record was 1:34 against Penn in a 13-1 win on March 4, 1961. Rudy Mateka (16:34), Bob Myers (17:28), Webb Nichols (17:46), and Myers (18:08) were the goal scorers in the stretch.

• To put the record into perspective, the National Hockey League record for the quickest four goals scored by one team was done by the Boston Bruins against the New York Rangers on Jan. 21, 1945 in 1:20 (Bill Thoms — 6:34, Frank Mario — 7:08 and 7:27, and Ken Smith — 7:54).

LYNAH FAITHFUL
• Cornell is in the midst of playing five of six games at the friendly confines of Lynah Rink, and history has shown playing in front of the Lynah Faithful has favored the Big Red.

• Since Mike Schafer '86 took over as head coach prior to the 1995-96 season, the Big Red has a 270-102-45 record at Lynah Rink (.701).

• Per data compiled from CollegeHockeyNews.com's database, Cornell boasts the sixth-highest home win percentage since Schafer took over as head coach. Only Michigan (.753), Quinnipiac (.726), North Dakota (.723), Boston College (.708), and Denver (.706) have higher win percentages.

• Cornell has been a hostile place to play since the beginning of the 2016-17 season as the Big Red's .787 win percentage at home (56-13-6) is second behind Minnesota State (.842).

• Should Cornell win at home on Friday, Cornell would record its 600th victory at Lynah Rink.

RANKING IN THE TOP 10
• Cornell is one of four programs currently ranking in the top 10 in both scoring offense and scoring defense.

• Offensively, the Big Red has the sixth-most goals per game this season, scoring at a 3.65 clip. Western Michigan (4.17), Boston University (4.11), Michigan (4.11), Minnesota (4.11), and Quinnipiac (3.89) are those ahead of Cornell.

• The Big Red's 2.13 goals allowed per game ranks third in the nation, trailing Quinnipiac (1.79) and Michigan Tech (2.00).

NONE SHALL PASS…
• Cornell enters this weekend boasting one of the nation's top scoring defenses. The Big Red has yielded 49 goals allowed so far this year, the fewest allowed by a Division I program.

• The Big Red's 2.13 goals allowed per game ranks third nationally and is second in ECAC Hockey (Quinnipiac — 1.79).

• Historically, Cornell has boasted one of the stingiest defensive units in Division I hockey. The Big Red has ranked in the top 10 in scoring defense in the five seasons of competition. 

• Since the 2016-17 season, Cornell has yielded 372 goals against which stands as the fewest by a Division I team in the span. Harvard, the Big Red's bitter ECAC Hockey and Ivy League rival, is second in the category with 464 goals allowed.

• The Big Red's 1.99 goals allowed per game average in the timeframe ranks second, only behind Minnesota State (1.84).

SHANE'S WORLD
• Sophomore goaltender Ian Shane has been strong between the pipes for Cornell so far this year, posting a 1.85 goals-against average, which ranks fourth nationally.

• Shane is up for two award nominations, as he was named to the Mike Richter Award watch list on Jan. 12, and is Cornell's lone nominee for this year's Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

• He is the first Cornell goaltender to be named to the Richter Award watch list in consecutive seasons since Matthew Galajda in 2018-19 and 2019-20.

• Over his last 15 games, he is 11-3-1 with a 1.83 goals-against average and .909 save percentage (270 saves on 297 shots).

• During the stretch, Shane has recorded all three of his shutouts on the season, two of which came against opponents ranked that were ranked in the top 10 of the USCHO.com poll.

• Shane is one of three active Division I goaltenders with a pair of shutouts over top-10 opponents this season, joining Wisconsin's Jared Moe and St. Cloud State's Jaxon Castor.

OFFENSIVE DOMINANCE
• Cornell has excelled in the opening 40 minutes of games this season, outscoring its opponents 64-33, good for a plus-31 goal advantage.

• In comparison, Cornell has only outscored its opponents by five goals, 20-15, in the final period of regulation.

• Since the Big Red's 6-0 victory over UConn at the Frozen Apple on Nov. 26 at Madison Square Garden, the Big Red has outscored its opponents in the first two periods by a 47-20 margin.

• Over the opening 40 minutes of play, Cornell has generated a plus-173 advantage in shots on goal (488-315). In the final period of regulation, the Big Red has a plus-32 advantage in shots (193-161).

SPREADING THE WEALTH
• Cornell has been spreading the wealth offensively this season as 22 of the 23 skaters that have seen action this season have recorded at least one point this season.

• The 22 players with a point is the most in a season since the 2019-20 team had 23 players register at least one point.

• Of the 22 players with a point this season, 20 have scored at least one goal marking the seventh consecutive year at least 20 players have found the back of the net for the Big Red.

• Additionally, 20 players have recorded an assist this year marking the eighth straight campaign the Big Red has had at least 20 players with at least one helper.

SCOUTING COLGATE
• Colgate enters this weekend's series with a 13-13-2 overall record and a 10-6-0 mark in ECAC Hockey play. The Raiders are currently holding onto the coveted fourth spot in the ECAC Hockey standings with 29 points, one point ahead of fifth-place St. Lawrence (28 points).

• Last weekend, Colgate was swept on home ice after falling to Union and RPI by respective 3-1 and 2-1 scores. It was the Raiders' first losing weekend since being swept on the road against Niagara back on Nov. 25-26.

• Alex Young paces Colgate's offense with a team- and ECAC Hockey-leading 17 goals. Young's 17 markers on the year are tied for fourth nationally, while his eight power-play goals leads ECAC Hockey and is tied for fifth nationally.

• Young also boasts an active Division I-leading 12-game point streak entering the home-and-home series. His 30 points are tied for the third-most by an ECAC Hockey player.

• Matt Verboon (12-14—26), Alex DiPaolo (8-14—22), and Ross Mitton (6-16—22) have all surpassed the 20-point plateau for the Raiders. Mitton and Nick Anderson (2-16—18) each have a team-high 16 assists.

• Carter Gylander, a seventh-round pick by Detroit in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, has started 27 of Colgate's 28 games this season between the pipes. Gylander has a 2.29 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage on the year, while having a 13-12-2 record with a pair of shutouts.

• Colgate has the 12th-best penalty kill in the nation posting an 84.2 percent conversion rate so far on the year. 

SERIES HISTORY
• This weekend will mark the 165th and 166th meetings between the two Central New York rivals. Cornell leads the all-time series, 87-61-16, despite having just one win in the last five meetings (1-3-1).

• Despite the recent blemishes, Cornell is unbeaten in 17 of the last 22 contests, posting a 13-5-4 record against the Raiders.

• Games between the two Empire State-based programs have been relatively close under Mike Schafer '86, as 50 of the 65 all-time meetings have been decided within two goals.

• Since the Class of 1965 Arena opened in 2016, Cornell is 4-1-0 all-time at the venue and all but one game has been decided within two goals.

• Cornell has won six of its last seven games in Hamilton, logging a 6-1-0 record since 2014-15.

THE LAST TIME AGAINST COLGATE
RECAP | BOX SCORE

ITHACA, N.Y. (MARCH 13, 2022) – The Cornell men's hockey team largely did what it needed to by territorially dominating an ECAC Hockey Championship quarterfinal series against Colgate over the weekend, except there was one problem — Mitch Benson. The goaltender made 36 saves on Sunday to backstop Colgate to a 2-1 victory over Cornell in Game 3 of an ECAC Hockey Championship quarterfinal series at Lynah Rink, sending the Raiders on to Lake Placid while ending the Big Red's season.

MALINSKI, MITCHELL LEAD #11 MEN'S HOCKEY TO VICTORY OVER RPI

RECAP I BOX SCORE 

ITHACA, N.Y. (FEB. 3, 2023) – Senior defensemen Travis Mitchell and Sam Malinski combined to score all three goals for the No. 11-ranked Cornell men's hockey team in its 3-1 victory over RPI at Lynah Rink on Friday night.

Malinski extended his point streak to nine games as his goal was bookended by Mitchell's two tallies, which served as his first career
multi-goal game while donning the Carnellian Red.

Cornell held RPI in check throughout the night in the shots column, posting a 26-12 advantage in shots on goal.

Sophomore goaltender Ian Shane made 11 saves in between the pipes for the Big Red.

T.J. Walsh scored the lone marker for RPI, while Brett Miller stopped 24 shots in the setback.

SIX POWER-PLAY GOALS POWER #11 MEN'S HOCKEY TO WIN OVER UNION

RECAP I BOX SCORE 

ITHACA, N.Y. (FEB. 4, 2023) – The No. 11-ranked Cornell men's hockey team scored six power-play goals to lift the Big Red past Union, 10-1, at Lynah Rink on Saturday night.
 
Cornell's six power-play goals are the most in a game since Boston University had the same total against UMass on Jan. 30, 2015.
 
Five of the six power-play goals by the Big Red came in the first period with the latter four coming during a five-minute major penalty against Union. The final three goals during the major penalty came in a 23-second span, which is a Cornell program record for the quickest trio of goals.
 
Of the 13 Cornell players who registered a point on Saturday, nine had multi-point nights. Senior defenseman Sam Malinski paced Cornell's offense with a team-high four points, scoring twice and assisting on two others.
 
Malinski increased his point streak to 10 games, becoming the third Cornell player under Mike Schafer '86 to have a point streak of at least 10 games. Matt Stienburg (11 games in 2021-22) and Matt Moulson (10 games in 2005-06) were the other players to accomplish the feat.
 
Fellow senior defenseman Travis Mitchell and junior forward Gabriel Seger each registered three-assist nights, while freshman forward Dalton Bancroft (two goals, one assist) and senior forward Max Andreev (goal, two assists) also had three points apiece for the Big Red.
 
Freshman forward Nick DeSantis joined Malinski and Bancroft with two-goal nights.

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.

The venue has received a facelift or two since its inaugural game on March 21, 1957, between the NHL's N.Y. Rangers and the AHL's Rochester Americans.

During the summer of 2006, the rink underwent a 16,700 square foot expansion that added new locker rooms, coaches offices, study lounges, a new athletic training space, and the addition of approximately 450 new seats. Prior to the expansion of the support space, the university spent nearly $1 million in renovations to Lynah in the summer of 2000, replacing the rink floor, drainage system, frost protection, and refrigeration piping, as well as adding new boards and seamless glass.

Though many physical aspects of Lynah Rink have changed over the years, one thing remains constant: the crowd. Lynah is capable of holding 4,267 boisterous Cornell hockey fans who provide unwavering support for the Big Red, creating an atmosphere that is unparalleled in the sport of college hockey. Although many rinks in the nation are larger in seating capacity, few are known to be louder. The Cornell fans, aptly named the "Lynah Faithful," stream into every home contest and make themselves as much a part of the game as the players do. Whether they’re cheering for the Big Red or joining the pep band in their rendition of "Give My Regards to Davy," the Lynah Faithful reaffirm the old saying, "there’s no place like home."

• Cornell returns to Lynah Rink for its final two regular-season contests of the season when it welcomes North Country rivals Clarkson and St. Lawrence next weekend.

• Next weekend Cornell will be honoring the 1973 and 2003 Frozen Four teams at Lynah Rink, with the 1973 team being honored during Friday's game against Clarkson. The 2003 squad will be recognized on Saturday in the game versus St. Lawrence.