The Big Red returns home for its final home games over the next six weeks when St. Lawrence and Clarkson visit Lynah Rink. The winner of Friday's game between the Big Red and Saints will have at least a share of first place in ECAC Hockey, while the Golden Knights' visit serves as a homecoming for Cornell graduate Casey Jones. Jones is in his first year as head coach at Clarkson after three years as an associate head coach with the Big Red. Both games will broadcast by Jason Weinstein on WHCU 870 AM. Live streaming video is also available worldwide through the Cornell Redcast subscription service, which will also feature Weinstein's call.   
 
GAME #10: ST. LAWRENCE at #17 CORNELL
DATE: Friday, Dec. 2, 2011
TIME: 7 p.m.
SITE: Lynah Rink — Ithaca, N.Y.
2011 RECORDS: Cornell 6-3, 5-1 ECAC Hockey; St. Lawrence 5-7, 4-2 ECAC Hockey.
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 53-41-7
LAST MEETING: Cornell won in OT, 4-3, on Feb. 5, 2011 in Ithaca.
RADIO: WHCU 870 AM (Jason Weinstein)
REDCAST VIDEO: www.cornellbigred.com/showcase
LIVE STATS: http://livestats.internetconsult.com/cornell/mhockey/
 
GAME #11: CLARKSON at #17 CORNELL
DATE: Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011
TIME: 7 p.m.
SITE: Lynah Rink — Ithaca, N.Y.
2011 RECORDS (entering Friday's games): Cornell 6-3, 5-1 ECAC Hockey; Clarkson 8-5-3, 2-3-1 ECAC Hockey.
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 56-49-12
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 5-2, on Feb. 4, 2011 in Ithaca.
RADIO: WHCU 870 AM (Jason Weinstein)
REDCAST VIDEO: www.cornellbigred.com/showcase
LIVE STATS: http://livestats.internetconsult.com/cornell/mhockey/

Cornell game notes (PDF)
St. Lawrence game notes (PDF)
Clarkson game notes (PDF)
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell is coming off a heartbreaking overtime loss to Boston University on Nov. 26 in front of 18,200 fans at a sold-out Madison Square Garden in New York. The loss ended the team's five-game winning streak, which dated back to four straight ECAC Hockey victories — started with road victories at Harvard and then-ranked Dartmouth, then followed by wins at home against Princeton and Quinnipiac. As a result, the Big Red is sitting in first place in the conference with 10 points, holding steady at the No. 17 ranking in the latest USCHO.com poll. Junior defenseman Nick D'Agostino continues to lead the team in scoring (6-6—12) with four power-play goals and four game-winning goals.
 
ABOUT ST. LAWRENCE
The Saints have won five of their last seven games since a humbling 0-5 start to the season, which included a 10-3 loss at Michigan. Four of those five victories have come by one goal. Junior forward Kyle Flanagan leads the team in scoring (6-7—13), but has missed the last three games due to injury. Sophomore Greg Carey (2-7—9) is second on the team in scoring, while sophomore Kyle Essery (4-3—7) and freshman Chris Martin (4-3—7) have been playing together on the team's second line. In goal, Matt Weninger returns for his sophomore campaign after emerging as the starter last season. He has started 11 of the Saints' 12 games this season, posting a 5-6 record with a 2.80 goals-against average and .904 save percentage. Associate head coach Mike Hurlbut has been leading the team in the interim with 27th-year head coach Joe Marsh sidelined by health problems.
 
THE SERIES WITH ST. LAWRENCE
Cornell leads the all-time series against St. Lawrence, 53-41-7, though the teams split their two games last seasons. The Big Red won the last meeting at Lynah Rink in dramatic fashion, as forward Greg Miller cashed in the winning goal in overtime for a 4-3 victory. Cornell head coach Mike Schafer is 17-15-5 all-time against the Saints.
 
ABOUT CLARKSON
The Golden Knights have slowed down after a ferocious 6-1-2 start, having won just twice in the seven games since. Both of those victories — against Dartmouth on Nov. 19 and Holy Cross on Nov. 27 — came via Paul Karpowich shutouts. The senior St. Louis Blues draft pick has four shutouts on the season, posting an 8-5-3 record with a 1.80 goals-against average and .942 save percentage. A pair of seniors lead the offensive charge. Boston Bruins draft pick Nick Tremblay (9-6—15) is the leader in goals, while Louke Oakley (7-10—17) leads in points. They have been playing recently on a line with sophomore Allan McPherson (6-5—11). The Golden Knights are 7-0-1 when scoring the first goal. Saturday's game at Lynah is the fourth of Clarkson's five-game road trip, which will be followed by four games at neutral sites. One of those will be in the second day of the Florida College Classic, which also includes Cornell.
 
THE SERIES WITH CLARKSON
Cornell has swept the last two series against the Golden Knights to take a 56-49-12 lead in the all-time series. The Big Red has won four straight games and is unbeaten in its last six against Clarkson (5-0-1). Cornell head coach Mike Schafer holds a 29-14-5 record against the Golden Knights.
 
A.I. — THE NEW ANSWER
With three consecutive shutouts in November, sophomore goalie Andy Iles recorded the second-longest shutout streak in program history, spanning 213 minutes, 35 seconds over a five-game span. The only Cornell shutout streak that went longer was posted by current Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Ben Scrivens, who held the opposition scoreless for 267:11 during the 2010 playoffs.
 
DANGEROUS D'AGOSTINO
Junior defenseman Nick D'Agostino leads the team in scoring with six goals and six assists for 12 points entering the weekend. His average of 1.33 points per game ranks second in the nation among blueliners, and his four game-winning goals is tied for the NCAA Division I lead. D'Agostino earned ECAC Hockey Player of the Week honors Nov. 14 after a gaudy four-goal weekend in victories at Harvard and Dartmouth. The Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick scored three power-play goals over the weekend, including a pair of goals on the man advantage just 56 seconds apart against the Crimson. He then scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Niagara on Nov. 22.

BIG-STAGE PERFORMERS
Seniors Sean Whitney and Locke Jillson have shown a knack for producing in front of the biggest crowds they've seen in their college careers. Both scored goals against Boston in front of a sold-out crowd of 18,200 at Madison Square Garden in 2009, then the duo teamed up to score the Big Red's lone goal against BU on the same stage on Nov. 26. Whitney had the initial shot on Jillson's goal, which came on a sharp-angle shot off a rebound.
 
FERLIN'S FURIOUS START
Freshman forward Brian Ferlin leads the nation in rookie points per game (1.22) and also leads the ECAC Hockey scoring race after posting 10 points in the Big Red's first five conference games. Teams around the league have taken notice, tabbing the Boston Bruins draft pick as the Rookie of the Week on consecutive weeks of Nov. 7 and Nov. 14. Teammate Joakim Ryan earned the honor on Oct. 31, meaning the Big Red had ECAC Hockey's top newcomer for the first three weeks of its season.
 
RYAN OFF AND RUNNING
Freshman defenseman Joakim Ryan got his season off to a flying start with two goals and an assist in the opening 5-4 loss to Mercyhurst on Oct. 29. For his efforts, Ryan was awarded as the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week. It was actually the second straight year that a freshman potted two goals in his debut for the Big Red — Dustin Mowrey did it on Oct. 29, 2010 against New Hampshire. But it was the first time a Big Red freshman has scored three points in the opener since Byron Bitz also had two
goals and an assist against Western Michigan on Oct. 31, 2003.
 
NEW SUPPORT STAFF
Mike Schafer returns for his 17th season as the Cornell head coach, but he has three new assistants this year. While the new assistant coaches will be new faces in their positions behind the bench, their faces will still be familiar. Ben Syer joins the Big Red after eight seasons as an assistant coach for ECAC Hockey opponent Quinnipiac, and Topher Scott returns to East Hill just 3½ years since he last competed for the Big Red as a senior co-captain who eclipsed 100 career points. Volunteer assistant coach Kris Mayotte is also familiar with ECAC Hockey, having tended goal for Union from 2002-06.
 
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Cornell head coach Mike Schafer is quickly moving up the ranks of the coaching fraternity in his win totals. Now in his 17th season, Schafer has 319 career victories, ranking him third in ECAC Hockey, but with the shortest tenure of the two ahead of him in the rankings. Schafer trails only St. Lawrence's Joe Marsh (473) and is closing the gap on Quinnipiac's Rand Pecknold (320). Schafer is tops among Ivy League coaches, with Dartmouth's Bob Gaudet recently reaching his 303rd career win.
 
CLASS-Y KEIR
Captain Keir Ross is one of 20 national candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence — community, classroom, character and competition. Ross posted a plus-12 rating last season, good for second on the team, and was penalized the least of any defenseman despite frequently being matched up against some of the opposition's best forward combinations. Outside of the rink, Ross is a two-time selection to the ECAC Hockey Academic All-League team and was the Big Red's Hockey Scholar Athlete last season. He was also named to the College  of Human Ecology Dean's List in 2010, carrying a 3.57 grade point average in Human Biology, Health and Society.
 
COLLECTING HARDWARE
Andy Iles became the first Cornell hockey player to earn a medal for the United States at the IIHF World Junior Championships when he was part of Team USA that claimed bronze at this year's tournament in Buffalo, N.Y. Iles is just the second Cornell player to be a member of the U.S. team, joining Jean-Marc Pelletier in 1998. The last Cornell player to earn a medal for any nation at the IIHF World Junior Championships was Sasha Pokulok, who claimed gold with Canada in 2006. The bronze medal won by Iles is the first bronze of the seven medals claimed by Cornellians at the tournament. Iles had an outstanding evaluation camp with the team this summer, setting himself up to compete again in 2012.
 
INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE
Andy Iles isn't the only Cornell player to experience international competition recently. Freshmen forward Brian Ferlin and defenseman Joakim Ryan were also at the Junior Evaluation Camp from Aug. 6-13 in Lake Placid, N.Y. Ferlin had a goal and three assists in five games with the United States and Ryan trolled the blue line for Sweden.
 
INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE, PART II
Sophomore Kirill Gotovets got a taste of the big time in May when he was selected to represent his native Belarus in the 2010 IIHF World Championships – not an age group World Championships (though he did play for Belarus at the U20 World Championship as well) – playing against some of the best players the world has to offer. He played in three of Belarus' eight games at the World Championships, recording two shots and two minutes in penalties, helping his nation to a 10th-place finish. Gotovets came to the United States two years before coming to Cornell, attending prestigious Shattuck-St. Mary's in Minnesota.
 
PROSE ABOUT PROS
All seven players who graduated after playing with the Big Red last season have played professionally this season. The group includes forwards Joe Devin (AHL's San Antonio Rampage), Tyler Roeszler (Sweden's Vita Hästen), Patrick Kennedy (ECHL's Trenton Titans) Jordan Kary (CHL's Texas Brahmas), Dan Nicholls (CHL's Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and SHL's Fayetteville FireAntz), defenseman Mike Devin (ECHL's Elmira Jackals) and goalie Mike Garman (ECHL's Colorado Eagles).
 
MILESTONES
The Big Red's 2-1 win over Quinnipiac in game one of the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals last season marked the 1,000th victory all-time for the Cornell men's hockey program. Cornell became the 17th program to reach that milestone. The Big Red then surpassed another milestone this season by recording the 500th victory all-time at storied Lynah Rink with a 1-0 shutout of Niagara on Nov. 22.
 
CLOSER TO HOME
Hometown fans of the Big Red got a rare treat last season when goalie Andy Iles became the first Ithaca native to play for the team since Mark McCutcheon in 2006-07. But when freshman Kevin Cole makes his collegiate debut, it will be the first time in at least 50 years — and perhaps the first time in program history — that two Ithaca natives have played for the Big Red in the same season. Cole was born in Ithaca and raised in nearby Lansing before heading off to junior programs in Syracuse and Cornwall, Ontario. His father, Dave, lettered for the Big Red in the 1981-82 season. Cornell also entered the season having sons of former players suit up for the team in each of the last eight seasons.
 
THE OFFENSIVE DEFENSE
The Big Red scored four short-handed goals last season after going without a goal on the penalty kill since Dec. 28, 2008. Senior forward Sean Collins had two of those short-handed goals, becoming the first Cornell player with multiple shorties since both Cam Abbott and Mark McCutcheon had a pair of them in the 2005-06 season. The trend has continued early this season, with Joakim Ryan scoring a short-handed goal in the team's third game of the season at Brown and Vince Mihalek adding another shorty on Nov. 19 vs. Quinnipiac.
 
FEEL THE DRAFT?
Cornell has six players on the roster who have been selected in the NHL Entry Draft, including picks in the fourth and fifth rounds last June. Freshmen Brian Ferlin (Boston Bruins) and Joel Lowry (Los Angeles Kings) were selected in a span of 20 picks, giving the 2011-12 Big Red the program's highest number of draft picks on a single team since 2006-07. Other players whose NHL rights are already owned are senior Sean Collins (Columbus Blue Jackets), juniors Braden Birch (Chicago Blackhawks) and Nick D'Agostino (Pittsburgh Penguins) and sophomore Kirill Gotovets (Tampa Bay Lightning).
 
SOUTHERN FLAIR
None of the other 57 schools in Division I men's hockey have as many players that call states bordering the Gulf of Mexico home as Cornell. The Big Red has four players that fit into that category — Florida native Brian Ferlin and the three Texans, Locke Jillson, Keir Ross and Armand de Swardt. Northern Michigan is the only other team in the country that has three players from Texas.
 
AMERICAN INFLUENCE
Seven of this season's nine freshmen were born in the
United States, giving the Big Red a more American feel than it's seen in quite a while. Cornell has 12 players who were born in the United States, which is the most on a Mike Schafer-coached team at Cornell. The previous high was 10, which came in 1997-98.
 
BLANK YOU VERY MUCH
Sophomore goalie Andy Iles made 15 saves for his first collegiate shutout on Nov. 18 in a 4-0 victory over Princeton. With that result, the Big Red extended its streak of seasons with at least one shutout to 17. The last time Cornell went a full schedule without posting a shutout came during the 1994-95 season under former coach Brian McCutcheon, as Cornell finished that year 11-15-4. The following year marked the first season for head coach Mike Schafer, and his clubs have never gone a full year without recording a shutout.
 
UP NEXT
Cornell will take a break for exams and the holidays before returning to action Dec. 29-30 at the annual Florida College Classic. The Big Red takes on Massachusetts in the first round, then will face Clarkson or Maine next.