Game 26: Colgate (12-9-3, 6-5-1 ECAC) at Cornell (11-4-4, 8-1-3 ECAC)
Date: Fri., Jan. 27, 2012
Time: 7:30 p.m. (7:36 p.m. TV)
Site: Lynah Rink; Ithaca, N.Y.
Radio: 93.9 FM WKXZ Norwich
Internet Broadcast: WKXZfm.com (http://www.wkxzfm.com), TEAMLINE (http://www.teamline.cc)
Television Broadcast: CBS Sports Network
Live Stats: http://www.cornellbigred.com
Game 27: Colgate vs. Cornell
Date: Sat., Jan. 28, 2012
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Site: Starr Rink; Hamilton, N.Y.
Radio: 93.9 FM WKXZ Norwich
Internet Broadcast: WKXZfm.com (http://www.wkxzfm.com), TEAMLINE (http://www.teamline.cc)
Internet Video: http://www.gocolgateraiders.com/showcase
Live Stats: http://www.gocolgateraiders.com
Opponent: Cornell University
Nickname: Big Red
Location: Ithaca, N.Y.
Conference: ECAC Hockey
2010-2011 Record: 16-15-3 (11-9-2 ECAC)
League Finish: Tied for fourth place with Rensselaer and Princeton; earned fourth seed based on tiebreakers
Playoffs: Defeated Quinnipiac, two games to one, in the ECAC quarterfinals and then shut out Dartmouth, 3-0, in the ECAC semifinals. Lost to Yale, 6-0, in the ECAC championship game.
2011-2012 Preseason Rank: Third (Coaches), Third (Media)
Head Coach: Mike Schafer (Cornell 1986)
Experience: 17th season at Cornell
Record: 324-177-60 through 17 seasons
Assistant Coaches: Ben Syer and Topher Scott
Did You Know: Current Cornell assistant coach Topher Scott was a junior forward for the Big Red the last time Colgate defeated Cornell. Scott assisted on both of Cornell’s goals in a 4-2 loss to Colgate on Jan. 25, 2007 at Starr Rink.
All-Time Series: 74-54-12 Cornell (140 games)
Home: 26-24-5 Cornell
Road: 38-20-5 Cornell
Neutral: 10-10-2 Tied
First Meeting: Feb. 12, 1921 (Cornell 2-0; Ithaca, N.Y.)
Last Meeting: Jan. 22, 2011 (Cornell 5-2; Lynah Rink; Ithaca, N.Y.)
Last Colgate Win: Jan. 25, 2007 (Colgate 4-2; Starr Rink; Hamilton, N.Y.)
Last Cornell Win: Jan. 22, 2011 (Cornell 5-2; Lynah Rink, Ithaca, N.Y.)
Series Notes
*After this weekend’s games, Cornell will be Colgate’s most-played opponent with 142 all-time meetings between the two schools. However, Clarkson will tie Cornell for Colgate’s most-played foe in mid-February when the Raiders travel up to Cheel Arena. In terms of the most-faced opponent, the top four for Colgate are currently Clarkson, Cornell, St. Lawrence and Rensselaer. No other teams have played against Colgate more than 100 times.
*Cornell has a 12-game unbeaten streak against Colgate that dates back to the 2006-07 season. Cornell is 9-0-3 against Colgate in those 12 games; one of the three ties came last season at Starr Rink when the Red and Raiders skated to a 1-1 overtime deadlock. Four games in the last 12 have gone to overtime, only one has been decided – a 2-1 Cornell win at Lynah Rink in Jan. 2008.
*The Raiders have not won at Cornell’s James Lynah Rink in their last seven trips to Ithaca’s East Hill. The last time Colgate triumphed over Cornell at Lynah Rink was on Jan. 30, 2004 (4-1). The Raiders wound up sweeping the 2003-04 season series from Cornell.
*Cornell’s current 12-game unbeaten streak is impressive however the Big Red amassed a 26-game winning streak that lasted from 1964 through the end of the 1970s. The streak came to an end on Jan. 8, 1980 at Lynah Rink when Colgate outlasted Cornell 6-4.
*The outdoor portion of the all-time series was dominated by the Maroon and White from Hamilton. Prior to the construction of both Starr Rink and Lynah Rink, the Raiders were 18-7-1 against the Big Red. The series ended in 1948 and then was resumed when Lynah Rink was built in 1958.
*The Big Red and the Raiders are scheduled to play one another just twice this season, on Friday and Saturday night. Last year, Cornell and Colgate played a third time, a non-conference game at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Two years before in 2008-09, the two sides met in the championship game of the 2008 Florida College Classic in Estero, Fla. And one year prior to that, Colgate and Cornell squared off in the consolation game of the 2008 ECAC championships at the Times Union Center.
*Neutral site games between Colgate and Cornell have been played at Playland in Rye, N.Y., the Syracuse Coliseum, Olympic Arena in Lake Placid, Dayton Arena at Bowdoin College, Madison Square Garden, the Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse, the Glens Falls Civic Center, Nassau Coliseum, Boston Garden, the Times Union Center, German Arena in Estero, Fla., and the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Last Game – Cornell 5 Colgate 2 (Jan. 22, 2011; James Lynah Rink; Ithaca, N.Y.)
Colgate Goals: Austin Smith (Corbin McPherson, Mike Leidl), Austin Smith (Chris Wagner, Kurtis Bartliff)
Scoring by Period: Colgate 1-1-0, Cornell 2-0-3
Shots: Cornell 23-22; Colgate outshot Cornell 15-3 in second, Cornell outshot Colgate 9-2 in third
Power Play: Colgate 0-for-8, Cornell 1-for-6
Goalies: Eric Mihalik (Colgate) 18 saves on 22 shots, Andy Iles (Cornell) 20 saves on 22 shots
Scoring Against Opponent
Colgate
Austin Smith (Sr. F) 4-1-5
Robbie Bourdon (Jr. F) 0-3-3
Thomas Larkin (Jr. D) 0-3-3
Kevin McNamara (Sr. D) 0-3-3
Chris Wagner (So. F) 1-1-2
Jeremy Price (So. D) 1-1-2
Nick Prockow (Sr. F) 1-1-2
Austin Mayer (Sr. F) 1-0-1
Kurtis Bartliff (Jr. F) 0-1-1
Corbin McPherson (Sr. D) 0-1-1
Mike Leidl (Jr. D) 0-1-1
*Alex Evin 0-3-0, 4.14 GAA, .820 SV %, 50/61, 159:30
*Eric Mihalik 0-1-1, 2.93 GAA, .878 SV %, 36/41, 123:05
Cornell
Nick D’Agostino (Jr. D) 1-3-4
Greg Miller (Jr. F) 0-4-4
Sean Collins (Sr. F) 2-1-3
Locke Jillson (Sr. F) 1-2-3
Braden Birch (Jr. D) 0-2-2
Eric Axell (Jr. F) 1-1-2
John Esposito (Jr. F) 1-0-1
Sean Whitney (Sr. D) 1-0-1
Kirill Gotovets (So. D) 0-1-1
*Andy Iles 1-0-1, 2.51 GAA, .878 SV %, 36/41, 119:57
Cornell – Leading Scorers (Current)
Nick D’Agostino (Jr. D) 8-9-17
Brian Ferlin (Fr. F) 7-10-17
Greg Miller (Jr. F) 6-11-17
Sean Collins (Sr. F) 6-8-14
Joakim Ryan (Fr. D) 5-6-11
Joel Lowry (Fr. F) 5-6-11
John Esposito (Jr. F) 4-7-11
*Andy Iles (So. G) 11-4-4, 2.02 GAA, .922 SV %
Cornell – Top Returning Players from 2010-2011
Greg Miller (Jr. F) 4-25-29
Nick D’Agostino (Jr. D) 7-10-17
Sean Collins (Sr. F) 7-8-15
Locke Jillson (Sr. F) 5-8-13
John Epsosito (Jr. F) 8-4-12
Braden Birch (Jr. D) 2-6-8
Andy Iles (So. G) 8-7-2, 2.49 GAA, .912 SV %
Cornell – Key Losses
Joe Devin (F) 17-10-27, Career: 116 games
Tyler Roeszler (F) 12-13-25
Mike Devin (D) 6-10-16, Career: 132 games
Jordan Kary (F) 4-7-11
Patrick Kennedy (F) 2-7-9, Career: 129 games
Dan Nicholls (F) 0-6-6, Career: 101 games
Mike Garman (G) 8-8-1, 2.21 GAA, .928 SV %
Cornell – Key Additions
Brian Ferlin (F)
Joakim Ryan (D)
Joel Lowry (F)
Cole Bardreau (F)
Madison Dias (F)
Connections
*Colgate’s Austin Smith and Cornell’s Locke Jillson and Keir Ross are all graduates of the New Alliance Bulldogs hockey program in Texas. Jillson and Smith both grew up in Dallas while Ross is from McKinney, about a 45-minute drive north.
*Cornell’s Kirill Gotovets and Colgate’s Nathan Sinz were teammates for one season (2008-09) at Shattuck-St. Mary’s.
*Colgate’s John Lidgett and Cornell’s Joel Lowry are both graduates of the Calgary’s Summit Hockey Academy. Another graduate of the Summit Hockey Academy is Austin Smith – no, not the one from Colgate but instead a goaltender for the Western Hockey League’s Swift Current Broncos.
*Cornell’s Madison Dias and Colgate’s John Lidgett were teammates briefly last year with Canada West at the 2010 World Junior A Challenge.
*Colgate’s Joe Wilson and Cornell’s Kevin Cole are both products of the Mid State Youth Hockey Association. Other MYHA alumni include Dustin Brown of the Los Angeles Kings, Tim Connelly of the Buffalo Sabres and Brian Gionta of the Montreal Canadians.
*For one game in the 2007-08 British Columbia Hockey League season, Colgate’s Austin Smith and Alex Evin were teammates with Cornell’s Dustin Mowrey. The current Cornell sophomore was then around 16-17 when he skated for the Vees. Mowrey went on to play the next two full seasons with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies.
Loose Pucks – Cornell
*The Big Red have the nation’s longest unbeaten streak at seven games (4-0-3). Cornell has not lost since a 5-2 setback to Massachusetts at the Florida College Classic in Estero. In six games played in the 2012 calendar year, Cornell is 3-0-3.
*Over the last three weekends, Cornell has earned a Friday night victory and then a Saturday tie. That includes Friday wins over Colorado College, Quinnipiac and Dartmouth and ties against Colorado College, Princeton and Harvard. It should be noted that Cornell is undefeated on Friday night’s this season with an 8-0-0 record.
*Cornell is ranked in the top 10 of both national polls. The Red sit sixth in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Top 15 and ninth in the USCHO.com Top 20. It is the highest Cornell has been ranked all season. The Ithacans are also 11th in the PairWise (only ECAC team) and 16th in the KRACH.
*Head coach Mike Schafer has a very young team with 15 total underclassmen – six sophomores and nine freshmen. The initial Cornell Class of 2015 included 10 players however frosh Philipe Hudon left school due to medical issues and he is now skating closer to home in the Quebec Major Junior League.
*Not only does Cornell have a seven-game unbeaten streak but the team is 10-2-4 in its last 16 games. Cornell has been on a tear since a 5-4 loss at Brown in early November. The only two losses since then have come to Hockey East opponents in neutral site games – Boston University (MSG) and UMass (Florida).
*Visitors have not done a lot of scoring at Lynah Rink this season. Cornell has outscored opponents 20-10 on Ithaca’s East Hill. Five of those 10 goals came in one game when Mercyhurst stunned Cornell, 5-4, in the Red’s season opener. In league games, Cornell has outscored opponents 15-5. St. Lawrence, Clarkson, Princeton and Quinnipiac were all shut out at Lynah.
*While Cornell is unbeaten in its’ last seven games, the Big Red has had a problem hanging onto the lead. Last weekend, despite three points, Cornell coughed up leads of 2-0 and 3-2 against Dartmouth and 1-0 and 2-1 to Harvard. The weekend before, the Red let a 3-1 lead slip away at Princeton and that ended as a tie. And at Colorado College on the second night of a home-and-home, Cornell was 30 seconds away from sweeping the Tigers when CC potted the game-tying goal.
*In typical Cornell fashion, the Big Red have played a myriad of one-goal games. Twelve of Cornell’s 19 games have been decided by one goal or less. In those games, Cornell is 5-3-4. The Big Red have not lost a one-goal game since Nov. 26 to Boston University. The Terriers won “Red Hot Hockey” 2-1 on a goal (The Tebow goal) in overtime.
*When scoring first overall, Cornell is 10-2-2. In ECAC games, Cornell is 7-0-2 when drawing first blood.
*Cornell’s four overall defeats are tied with first nationally-ranked Minnesota Duluth for the fewest losses this season.
*When scoring three goals or more, Cornell is 9-2-2. With fewer than three goals, the Red has a 2-2-2 record. And when holding the opposition to two goals or less, Cornell is 9-2-2.
*Goaltender Andy Iles has played just about every minute of every game for Cornell this season. The sophomore has been Cornell’s only goaltender. Back-up’s Vincenzo Marozzi and Omar Kanji have not played. Iles is third nationally with a 1.97 goals against average. He has pitched several different shutout streaks this season including one shutout string at Lynah Rink that lasted over five games and 312 minutes. Most interesting is that he did not record his first career shutout until Nov. 18 against Princeton.
*Forward Brian Ferlin leads all ECAC Hockey rookies with 17 points while defenseman Nick D’Agostino tops the league rearguards with six power play goals. D’Agostino and Ferlin along with forward Greg Miller each have 17 points this season.
*Nick D’Agostino and Colgate’s Austin Smith each have five game-winning goals.
*Cornell’s scoring defense is allowing 2.11 goals per game overall and 1.75 goals per game in ECAC contests.
*One of Cornell’s weaknesses has been the penalty kill. The Ithacans have allowed 20 power play goals this season and they have a PK conversion rate of 74.7%. Though against ECAC teams, that number is 81.5%.
*The Big Red has outscored opponents overall 37-21 in the first two periods.
Loose Pucks – Colgate
*Last year at this time (Jan. 27), Colgate was 3-19-2 and 0-10-2 in ECAC Hockey coming off of the home-and-home with Cornell. Even with the recent losing skid, that’s still a nine-win differential between 2011 and 2012. The Raiders also sat in last place in ECAC Hockey and currently the team is tied for fourth, just one point behind third-place Quinnipiac.
*The peloton is tightening after last weekend. Seven points separate third-place Quinnipiac from last-place Rensselaer with five weekends remaining in the ECAC Hockey regular season. Princeton and Quinnipiac will resume league play next weekend.
*The Raiders carry a six-game winless streak into Lynah Rink on Friday night. Colgate is 0-5-1 in its last six games with the lone point coming from a 2-2 overtime stalemate with Harvard last Friday night at Starr Rink. Colgate has yet to win in 2012.
*During the winless stretch, Colgate has been outscored 27-13 and lost games twice where it has had the lead through two periods. Three of the six games have also been decided by one goal or less.
*Breaking down Colgate’s 13 goals in 2012, nine of the 13 have come from Austin Smith, Chris Wagner and Joe Wilson. The other four goals have been scored by Kurtis Bartliff, Matt Firman, Spiro Goulakos and Corbin McPherson. Overall, Smith, Wagner and Wilson have combined for 38 of Colgate’s 74 goals which are more than half.
*Last Saturday against Dartmouth, Colgate had at least four skaters score at least one goal each for the eighth time this season. It was also the second time four different skaters lit the lamp in a game versus the Big Green. Prior to Dartmouth, Dec. 30 against Canisius was the last time four players had at least one goal.
*With Saturday’s loss to Dartmouth, the Raiders are 5-1-5 in their last 10 overtime games. Colgate’s core senior class (not including K. McNamara and Mayer) have played in an astonishing 45 overtime games. Remember, the seniors as freshmen set an NCAA Division I record with 19 overtime tilts in a single season.
*Friday night has been Colgate’s best night. The Raiders are 8-3-1 on Friday (Cornell as mentioned is 8-0-0). Colgate’s last Friday win came on Dec. 30 against Canisius. CU is 0-2-1 in its last three Friday contests.
*The loss to Dartmouth was also a one-goal game. The Raiders are now 3-4-3 in games decided by one goal or less. Colgate ripped off one-goal victories against Nebraska-Omaha, Miami (Ohio) and Niagara all in October yet has not triumphed in a one-goal game since. Though, comparatively speaking to last season, the Raiders were 4-11 in one-goal games.
*Austin Smith leads the nation in overall goals (24), goals per game (1.00) and short-handed goals (five). Smith is tied for second in overall national points (38), tied for third in points per game (1.50) and he is tied for fourth in game-winning goals (four). Chris Wagner is also high in the national rankings, now up to 12th in points per game (1.30) and he is tied for 10th in assists per game (0.91). Wagner is one of 13 players nationally with at least 30 points.
*Meanwhile, in the ECAC, Smith and Wagner are running away atop the conference. Smith’s 15 goals, 20 points and 1.67 points per game all top the league. He also leads the loop in short-handed goals and short-handed points. Wagner sits behind Smith in second place with 18 points and 1.50 points per game. Wagner’s 11 helpers are tied for second in the league.
*Special teams have struggled in Colgate’s recent skid. The Raiders are 1-for-15 (6.7%) on the power play over the last three games and 2-for-20 (10.0%) in the last four. The PP went a combined 0-for-8 last weekend. Meanwhile, the penalty kill put together a 4-for-4 effort versus Dartmouth on Saturday though it is 16-for-22 (72.7%) over the last six games. If you go back to the SLU game on Dec. 3, the Raiders are just 24-for-36 (66.7%) on the kill.
*Colgate has scored 22 goals in the first or last two minutes of a period this season. The number is slightly higher if you include the first three or four minutes after last Saturday’s goal-scoring surge late in the second period. Meanwhile, the Maroon and White has given up 16 goals in the first/last 2.5 minutes of a frame.
*Barring a scratch, Jeremy Price will play his 100th career game for Colgate this weekend.
*Colgate’s best period remains the first. The Raiders overall are outscoring opponents 23-16 and in ECAC games 13-6.
#BeatCornell
#ChewBigRed
#BetterDeadThanRed
#AustinSmithForHobey
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