#12 Men’s Hockey Set for Home-And-Home Clash With Colgate

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

THE PUCK DROP

The No. 12-ranked Cornell men's hockey team will conclude its 2024 portion of the 2024-25 schedule this weekend with its traditional home-and-home series against Central New York rival Colgate. The series begins Friday at Lynah Rink and will shift northward to the Class of 1965 Arena on Saturday.

Puck drop for both games between the Big Red and the Raiders is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+. Grady Whittenburg will provide play-by-play and former Cornell defenseman Tim Vanini '91 will offer analysis on Friday night, with action also being simulcast on SNY. John McGraw will call Saturday's action. An international streaming option for both games will also be available through Stretch Internet.

Game coverage will also be available over the airwaves on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM, cortacatoday.com), featuring Jason Weinstein on play-by-play and former Big Red defenseman Tony Eisenhut '88 as the analyst.

Friday's game at Lynah Rink will be a "White Out," with fans encouraged to wear white to the contest. Upon entry into the arena, a white rally towel will also be given out.

Fans are also encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to Lynah Rink for Cornell hockey's annual Toys for Tots campaign, which will conclude this Friday, Dec. 6. Toys can be deposited inside the white cardboard boxes throughout the concourse. 

YOU CAN PUT IT ON THE BOARD!

Since being shut out 1-0 by St. Lawrence's Emil Zetterquist at Lynah Rink on Feb. 18, 2023, Cornell has managed to score in its last 46 games. The Big Red's current scoring streak is the sixth-longest span without being shut out during the 107-plus seasons of Big Red hockey.

The active 46-game scoring streak ranks as the fourth-longest duration without being shut out during Mike Schafer '86's tenure as the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Cornell Men's Ice Hockey. It is the program's most prolonged span without being shut out since scoring in 50 consecutive games between Jan. 23, 2016, and March 18, 2017.

Under Schafer, Cornell also went 76 straight games without being shut out from Dec. 28, 1995, to Jan. 31, 1998, and had a 49-game stretch from March 15, 1998, to Jan. 24, 2000.

The program's record for consecutive games without a shutout occurred between Dec. 29, 1972, and Dec. 5, 1981, during which Cornell scored in 262 straight games. The Big Red also enjoyed a 225-game stretch without being shut out from March 7, 1964, to March 17, 1972.

HOME, SWEET, HOME

Cornell holds a home record of 73-19-9 (.773) at Lynah Rink since the beginning of the 2017-18 season. The win percentage ranks as the third-best among Division I programs heading into this week's competitions.

The Big Red's home win percentage of .773 over the last seven-plus seasons is only behind Minnesota State (112-26-6 — .799) and Denver (99-24-12 — .778). Cornell is one of six programs that has a home win percentage of at least 70 percent during the period, joined by Quinnipiac (90-33-4 — .724), North Dakota (96-33-12 — .723), and St. Cloud State (86-31-13 — .712).

Rounding out the top 10 programs are the Hockey East leader, UMass (82-36-9 — .681), Cornell's bitter ECAC Hockey and Ivy League rival Harvard (58-25-9 — .679), Minnesota (94-44-8 — .671), and fellow ECAC Hockey counterpart Clarkson (77-34-15 — .671).

MISTER RELIABLE

Sophomore forward Ryan Walsh went 13-of-27 on faceoffs against Quinnipiac last Saturday in the 2024 edition of the Frozen Apple at Madison Square Garden, marking the eighth time Walsh has won 10-plus faceoffs in a game this season.

His 13 faceoff victories were the seventh time this season that Walsh has secured at least 13 draws in a single game.

Walsh is tied with Bentley's Ethan Leyh, Holy Cross' Jack Stockfish, North Dakota's Jake Schmaltz, and RIT's Simon Isabelle for the fifth-most games in which a player has won 13 or more faceoffs this season, with each of them achieving the feat seven times. As of this week, Air Force's Clayton Cosentino and Notre Dame's Danny Nelson lead the nation with 10 such games, while Niagara's Tyler Wallace and Northeastern's Jack Williams each have eight.

In nine games this season, Walsh has won 119 out of 206 faceoffs, resulting in a win rate of 57.8 percent. His faceoff percentage ranks 20th among Division I players with at least 100 faceoff wins and is third among ECAC Hockey players. Walsh is only trailing Clarkson's Ellis Rickwood (179-of-288 — 62.2 percent) and RPI's Jakob Lee (114-of-195 — 58.5 percent).

Entering this week, Walsh was one of only four Division I hockey players averaging at least 13 faceoff wins per game this season, joining Northeastern's Jack Williams (14.09), Brown's Max Scott (14.00), and Notre Dame's Danny Nelson (13.57).

SHANE'S WORLD, IT'S PARTY TIME, EXCELLENT!

Senior goaltender Ian Shane has excelled inside the blue paint during his time on East Hill. Over his 93 career appearances between the pipes for the Big Red, Shane has a 53-23-13 record with a 1.73 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage.

Shane's 53 career victories place him sixth among Cornell goaltenders in program history. Entering this weekend, Shane needs five more wins to tie Andy Iles '14 for the fifth-most wins in program history. His 53 wins also rank third among active Division I goaltenders, trailing only Western Michigan's Cameron Rowe (60) and Wisconsin's Tommy Scarfone (59). The closest active player to the 50-win mark is Boston University's Mathieu Caron, who has 49 wins.

After achieving a 24-save shutout against Princeton on Nov. 23, Shane's 12 career shutouts are the most by any active Division I goaltender. He is three shutouts ahead of Scarfone (nine) and has four more than North Dakota graduate student T.J. Semptimphelter (eight).

Shane's 12 shutouts rank fifth all-time among Cornell goaltenders, just one shy of matching Ken Dryden '69, a Cornell Athletics and Hockey Hall of Famer, who assumes fourth place with 13 shutouts.

Entering this weekend with 1,848 saves, Shane has the 11th-most by a Cornell goaltender in program history. His recent 26-save performance against Quinnipiac moved him past Doug Dadswell, who made 1,824  saves between 1984 and 1986, and Matthew Galajda, who accumulated 1,844 career stops from 2017 to 2020. Shane is 140 saves away from surpassing Dryden and officially entering the top 10 in Big Red history.

MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF

Senior goaltender Ian Shane boasts a 1.73 career goals-against average, placing him 10th in NCAA Division I history. He is among only 35 goalies to have registered a sub-2.00 goals-against average while playing at least 1,500 minutes.

Shane's career goals-against average currently trails LeNeveu (1.29), Quinnipiac standout Yaniv Perets (1.34), Minnesota State phenom Dryden McKay (1.46), Michigan State and 18-year NHL veteran Ryan Miller (1.54), UMass' Filip Lindberg (1.58), Dryden (1.59), former UMass Lowell and current Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (1.60), and former Big Red netminders Matthew Galajda (1.70) and David McKee (1.72).

Cornell has five of the top 10 career goals-against averages in NCAA history and is the lone program with multiple representatives in the top 10.

Ben Scrivens '10 recorded a goals-against average of 1.93, aiding Cornell to have six of the 35 sub-2.00 career goals-against averages in NCAA history — the highest number for any Division I program. Other Division I programs with multiple sub-2.00 averages include Quinnipiac (four), Maine and Notre Dame (three each), and Denver, Miami, Michigan State, and UMass (two each).

Among active Division I goaltenders who have played at least 1,500 minutes, Shane is one of only two netminders with a career goals-against average below 2.00, joined by Maine's Albin Boija (1.78).

Shane's career save percentage of .9222 ranks sixth among active Division I goaltenders with at least 500 saves. He trails Boston College's Jacob Fowler (.928), Arizona State's Gibson Homer (.925), Boija (.924), Colorado College's Kaidan Mbereko (.9226), and Augustana's Josh Kotai (.9225).

'TENDY POINT!

Senior goaltender Ian Shane recorded an assist on senior defenseman Tim Rego's second-period goal against Harvard on Nov. 16, making Shane the first Cornell goaltender to earn a point since Matthew Galajda assisted Morgan Barron on a power-play goal in the second period of a 6-0 shutout over Brown on March 22, 2019, at the 2019 ECAC Hockey Championship semifinals in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Shane is the 25th goaltender in Cornell history to record a point in a game and the 24th to earn an assist.

Paired with his 32 saves in the Big Red's tie with the Crimson, Shane is the 10th Cornell goaltender (11th instance) to register an assist and make at least 30 saves in the same game. He joins the ranks of Steve Kelleher (March 5, 1974, vs. St. Lawrence), Dave Chrastina (Jan. 5, 1975, vs. St. Lawrence), Darren Eliot (twice — March 15, 1980, vs. Dartmouth and Jan. 26, 1981, vs. Princeton), Doug Dadswell (Jan. 19, 1985, vs. Yale), Corrie D'Alessio (Jan. 23, 1988, vs. Yale), Ian Burt (Feb. 12, 2000, at St. Lawrence), Ben Scrivens (March 9, 2008, vs. Dartmouth), Mitch Gillam (Nov. 29, 2014, vs. Penn State at Madison Square Garden), and Galajda to accomplish the feat.

STOUT DEFENSE

Cornell has established itself as one of the nation's top defensive units, consistently ranking in the top 10 for scoring defense over the last seven seasons and in nine of the past 10 seasons in which it has competed.

The Big Red has ranked within the top 10 in scoring defense seven times over the last eight seasons, the most by any Division I program. Minnesota State (six) and ECAC Hockey rival Quinnipiac (five) are the closest programs to Cornell.

Over the last eight-plus seasons, Cornell has averaged 1.95 goals allowed per game, making it one of only two programs, alongside Minnesota State (1.91), to allow fewer than two goals per game during the period.

So far this season, through its first nine games, Cornell is allowing an average of 2.11 goals per game, ranking 14th in Division I hockey. Its average is third among ECAC Hockey programs, trailing Brown (2.00—T-9th) and Clarkson (2.06 — 12th). Minnesota State leads the nation with 1.50 goals allowed per game, conceding 24 goals over 16 games.

With 19 goals against, Cornell is tied with Colorado College for the fourth-fewest goals allowed this season. Brown leads with 16 goals against, while Dartmouth and Michigan State have each allowed 18 goals.

THAT'LL LEAVE A MARK…

Sophomore defenseman Hoyt Stanley blocked four shots in the Big Red's 5-0 shutout of Princeton on Nov. 23, marking the third time he absorbed at least four shots in a game this season. Stanley's four blocked shots match his single-game high, all of which have come this season.

According to data from College Hockey News, Stanley is one of 13 Cornell players to block at least four shots in at least three games in a season since the statistic began being tracked in 2012-13.

Should Stanley block at least four shots in either game this weekend, he will tie Reece Willcox (2014-15 and 2015-16), Alec McCrea (2017-18), Yanni Kaldis (2017-18), Matthew Nuttle (2018-19), and Tim Rego (2023-24) for the 10th-most games with four or more blocked shots in a season by a Cornell player.

As of this week, Stanley's average of 2.22 blocked shots per game ranked as the 12th-highest average in Division I hockey and third in ECAC Hockey. Only Brown's Alex Pineau (2.75) and Clarkson's Tristan Sarsland (2.41) had higher averages than Stanley.

ON THE PLUS SIDE…

Entering this week's games, senior forwards Ondrej Psenicka and Kyle Penney, along with senior defenseman Tim Rego, ranked among the top 10 active Division I players nationally in career plus-minus ratings.

Psenicka's plus-50 rating places him among five active Division I players with at least a plus-50 rating, joining Denver's Jack Devine (plus-63), Ohio State's Aidan Hansen-Bukata (plus-57), Boston College's Eamon Powell (plus-55), and Minnesota State's Rhett Pitlick (plus-54).

Penney's plus-47 rating ties him for seventh nationally with Minnesota's Mike Koster, while Rego's plus-46 rating puts him in a tie for 10th with Boston College forward Ryan Leonard and Minnesota forward Mason Nevers.

Cornell is the only Division I program with three players holding a career plus-minus rating of at least plus-45. The Big Red is also one of three programs with multiple players boasting plus-45 ratings, alongside Boston College and Minnesota.

The Big Red is also the only Division I program with five players with a career plus-minus rating of at least plus-35. In addition to Psenicka, Penney, and Rego, the group includes senior forward Jack O'Leary (plus-40) and senior defenseman Hank Kempf (plus-39).

SPREADING THE WEALTH

Cornell saw scoring contributions from nearly every skater who appeared in at least one game last season. Out of the 23 players, 21 (91.3 percent) registered at least one point, and 19 of those players (82.6 percent) recorded two or more points.

During its first nine games this season, Cornell has succeeded in maintaining the scoring levels achieved from last year. Once again, 21 of the 23 players (91.3 percent) who have appeared in at least one game have at least one point, and 17 players have at least two points.

The sophomore class, which led the team last season in goals (44), assists (70), and points (114), has accounted for 43.1 percent of the team's scoring this season, leading in assists (21) and points (31), while the 10-player senior class has scored a team-high of 11 goals.

HAIL TO THEE, OUR ALMA MATER!

Mike Schafer '86, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Cornell Men's Ice Hockey, is one of 24 Division I head coaches to serve as their alma mater's head coach this season.

Roughly 38 percent of the 64 active Division I programs will have an alumnus as their head coach this season. ECAC Hockey paces the nation with six alums as Schafer is joined by Yale's Keith Allain, Harvard's Ted Donato, Colgate's Mike Harder, Clarkson's Jean-François Houle, and Brown's Brendan Whittet. The NCHC is right behind ECAC Hockey with five alums.

ALL HE DOES IS WIN, WIN, WIN

Mike Schafer '86, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Cornell Men's Ice Hockey, is one of six active Division I men's hockey head coaches with 500 career victories.

Schafer's 546 wins are the 18th-most wins by a Division I head coach in college hockey history and is nine wins shy of matching former Michigan Tech head coach John MacInnes, who won 555 games with the Huskies during his 26-year tenure from 1956-82.

Among active Division I men's head coaches, Schafer has the fourth-most career wins, trailing Quinnipiac's Rand Pecknold (648), Mercyhurst's Rick Gotkin (609), and Notre Dame's Jeff Jackson (595).

SCOUTING COLGATE

Colgate enters this weekend with a 7-7-2 overall record and a 4-1-1 mark in ECAC Hockey play. The Raiders are coming off a two-game series where they were swept by Penn State, losing 3-2 and 7-1 on the two days leading up to Thanksgiving.

Brett Chorske (9-7—16) leads the Raiders in goals and points. Simon Labelle (1-10—11) leads all Colgate players with 10 assists. Other players with double-digit point totals include Alex DiPaolo (6-8—14), Antonio Fernandez (4-6—10), and Max Nagel (3-7—10).

In goal, Andrew Takacs has started 11 of 12 appearances with a record of 6-4-1, a goals-against average of 3.09, and a .895 save percentage. Nick Haas has started five of his six outings, posting a 1-3-1 record with a 4.24 goals-against average and a .868 save percentage.

103 YEARS, 67 MILES, 168 MEETINGS

Cornell and Colgate will meet for the 169th and 170th times this weekend, as the Big Red leads the all-time series 89-62-17. In their last 26 meetings, Cornell is unbeaten in 20 of those games (15-6-5).

Since Colgate moved into Class of 1965 Arena, Cornell has a 5-1-1 record and has scored three or more goals in five of the seven games played at the venue. Overall, the Big Red is 11-3-2 in its last 16 games in Hamilton. 

The Big Red has scored in its previous 47 games against Colgate, with the Raiders' last shutout occurring on Jan. 30, 2004, in a 2-0 victory at Starr Rink.

CORNELL - COLGATE CONNECTIONS

Cornell director of hockey operations and assistant coach Corey Leivermann coached Robby Newton (2018-19 Janesville Jets), Jack Brandt and Max Nagel (2022-23 Madison Capitols), and Michael Neumeier (2023-24 Fargo Force) ... Charlie Major also played with Brandt on the 2022-23 Chicago Steel ... Marian Mosko and Jacob Napier played on the 2022-23 Fargo Force ... Mosko and Anthony Fernandez spent parts of two seasons on the Lincoln Stars (2021-23) ... Ondrej Psenicka and Nic Belpedio were teammates on the 2019-20 Waterloo Black Hawks ... Justin Katz and Simone Dadiè played on last year's Powell River Kings ... Daniel Panetta was teammates with Dalton Bancroft (2018-19 Wellington Dukes) and Sullivan Mack (2020-21 Salmon Arm Silverbacks) ... Winter Wallace and Dominic Foglia spent parts of three seasons together on Shattuck St. Mary's 16U AAA and 18U Prep teams from 2017-20 ... Nick DeSantis and Ryan Sullivan played two years together on the Sioux Falls Stampede (2018-20) ... George Fegaras and Niko Rexine played on the 2022-23 Muskegon Lumberjacks ... Robby Newton and Jake Schneider played on the 2019-20 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders alongside Jack O'Leary and Michael Suda ... Schneider also spent the 2021-22 season with Ben Robertson on the Waterloo Black Hawks ... Ian Shane spent the 2020-21 season playing with Tommy Bergsland (Bismarck Bobcats) and Nick Haas (Chicago Steel) ... Brett Merner played with Jack O'Brien and Sean Donaldson on the 2021-22 Nanaimo Clippers.

COLGATE SCORES TWICE IN THIRD TO SPLIT HOME-AND-HOME SERIES WITH #16 MEN'S HOCKEY 

BOX SCORE I RECAP | HIGHLIGHTS | GALLERY

ITHACA, N.Y. (DEC. 2, 2023) — Reid Irwin and Ryan McGuire scored third-period tallies for Colgate as the visiting Raiders defeated the No. 16-ranked Cornell men's hockey team, 4-2, before a sold-out crowd of 4,316 at Lynah Rink in ECAC Hockey action on Saturday night.

Jake Schneider and Brett Chorske each had three-point nights for the Raiders, as both players registered a goal and two assists. Carter Gylander made 24 saves between the pipes en route to his fifth win on the season.

Freshman forward Ryan Walsh and junior forward Sullivan Mack each found the back of the net in the setback for Cornell.

MACK, CASTAGNA LOG MULTI-POINT NIGHTS AS #11 MEN'S HOCKEY TIES WITH #18 QUINNIPIAC

BOX SCORE | RECAP | HIGHLIGHTS | POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE | GALLERY

NEW YORK (NOV. 30, 2024) — Making his return from a four-game absence, senior forward Sullivan Mack scored a goal and added an assist to aid the No. 11-ranked Cornell men's hockey team (4-2-3) to a 3-3 tie with No. 18-ranked Quinnipiac (6-6-1) before a crowd of 16,593 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

Joining Mack in having a multi-point performance was sophomore Jonathan Castagna, who chipped in two assists.

Senior forward Jack O'Leary and junior forward Dalton Bancroft also lit the lamp in the draw for the Big Red, who extended its unbeaten streak at Madison Square Garden to five games (4-0-1).

Aaron Schwartz was the lone player for Quinnipiac to have a multi-point night, scoring once and assisting on another Bobcat tally. Cooper Moore and Andon Cerbone also found the back of the net for Quinnipiac.

Cornell's Ian Shane stopped 26 shots in the draw while Dylan Silverstein matched his season high for saves, shoving aside 30 Big Red shots between the pipes.

Saturday's contest was the most attended Cornell hockey game at Madison Square Garden since Red Hot Hockey on Nov. 28, 2015, when Cornell and Boston University played to a 3-3 tie in front of 17,154. It was the second-largest Frozen Apple game in the series history, trailing the inaugural contest on Nov. 24, 2012, when the Big Red posted a 5-1 win over Michigan before a sold-out crowd of 18,200, which was the last of four consecutive sellouts at the venue.

2024-25 Roster

If you’ve never been to a Big Red hockey game at Cornell’s Lynah Rink, there are quite a few things you’ve never experienced. You’ve never camped in line 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 experienced all the best that college hockey offers.

Lynah Rink, which enters its 68th year serving as the home of Big Red hockey this season, was formally dedicated on April 6, 1957, a month after its opening to the public on March 4, 1957. The facility, which was built following a $500,000 anonymous donation (approximately $5.59 million in 2024), honors the late James Lynah '05, who served as the director of athletics at Cornell from 1935-43.

The donation to build Lynah Rink reresurrected the Cornell hockey  program following a 10-year hiatus, ensuring hockey returned as a varsity sport for the 1957-58 season.

Cornell began sponsoring hockey as a varsity sport with the 1900-01 season, which featured all Big Red home games played on the university’s outdoor rink on Beebe Lake. Due to a series of abnormally mild winters, the program was left — literally — on thin ice, causing Cornell to drop the program entirely after the 1947-48 campaign.

Since its opening in March of 1957, Lynah Rink has received numerous face-lifts since hosting its inaugural event on March 21, 1957, a 7-3 victory for the NHL’s New York Rangers in an exhibiton against the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL). Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Gump Worsley stopped 44 shots in the victory for the Rangers.

Among the renovations, Cornell spent nearly $1 million in the summer of 2000, to replace the rink floor, drainage system, frost protection and refrigeration piping, and adding new boards and seamless glass.

During the summer of 2006, a 16,700-square-foot expansion added new locker rooms, coaches offices, study lounges, new athletic training space, and approximately 450 new seats in the seating bowl.

Over last season’s winter break, updated Cornell branding on the façade and south concourse brought a more modern look to the facility.

Though many physical aspects of Lynah Rink have changed over time, the crowd remains constant. Lynah Rink can hold 4,267 boisterous Cornell hockey fans, who provide unwavering support for the Big Red while creating an unparalleled atmosphere in college hockey.

Although many rinks in the nation are bigger in capacity, few are known to be louder. The Cornell fans, aptly named the "Lynah Faithful," stream into every home contest, making 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 reaffirms the old saying, "There’s no place like home."

Since the doors opened on Lynah Rink, the Cornell men's hockey program has won a pair of NCAA Division I men’s hockey championships in 1967 and 1970, garnering an ECAC Hockey-record 13 tournament championships (1967-70, 1973, 1980, 1986, 1996-97, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2024) and 26 Ivy League titles, 22 of which have been won outright.

Cornell will continue its seven-game road trip as it opens its 2025 portion of the 2024-25 season in Tempe, Ariz., at the Desert Hockey Classic, hosted by Arizona State.

The first game of the two-game tournament will pit Cornell against UMass on Friday, Jan. 3 for a 5 p.m. ET puck drop. Cornell will play the team of the same result, either Robert Morris or Arizona State, the next day.

Both games will be available to watch on NCHC.tv or can be heard on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM, cortacatoday.com).