Thursday, February 1, 2024

Men’s Notes: Big Run for Big Red

Surging Cornell Unbeaten in Last Eight Games

When Cornell dropped a 4-2 home decision to Colgate on Dec. 2, it left the Big Red at 6-4-1 on the season. Not an alarming record by any means, but it certainly fell short of what was expected from a team pegged No. 2 in the ECAC preseason poll.

“I told the players after the game, It’s been so long since I’ve been this angry and disappointed,” head coach Mike Schafer (Cornell ’86) said following that game. “We talked about trying to grow as a hockey team, and we’ve made some good strides, and we reverted to terrible habits tonight.”

Schafer’s charges clearly heeded his words.

Since that loss to Colgate, the Big Red have rattled off an eight-game unbeaten streak (5-0-3). Five of those games have come against nationally-ranked opponents, including a 3-2 overtime win over defending NCAA champion Quinnipiac on Jan. 20.

Standout goaltender Ian Shane (Jr., Manhattan Beach, Calif.) is sporting a 1.38 goals against average and .924 save percentage during the unbeaten streak and was recently named ECAC Goaltender of the Month. Long known for stingy defensive play, only Wisconsin (1.9) has yielded fewer goals per game this season than Cornell’s 2.00.

Now sitting directly on the bubble of the PairWise Rankings at No. 16, the Big Red seek to continue their winning ways this weekend when they welcome St. Lawrence and Clarkson to Lynah Rink.

Stat Leaders | Goaltending Leaders

College Hockey on TSN:

TSN and College Hockey Inc. announced earlier this week an additional 32 games to the NCAA Division I hockey schedule on TSN in Canada. Click HERE to view the complete TSN broadcast schedule.

Tale of Rowe:

Western Michigan G Cameron Rowe (Wilmette, Ill.) enters the weekend just two victories away from becoming the fourth active goalie in NCAA Division I men’s hockey to reach 50 career wins.

Michigan Tech fifth-year standout Blake Pietila (Howell, Mich.) leads all active netminders with 68 wins, followed by Michigan’s Jake Barczewski (Gr., O’Fallon, Mo.) and Minnesota’s Justen Close (Gr., Kindersley, Saskatchewan), who have 50 each.

Rowe and the Broncos, ranked 14 in the PairWise, travel to Denver this weekend for a key NCHC series with the Pioneers.

Smooth Like Cutter:

With a point Friday at UMass Lowell, Boston College sophomore F Cutter Gauthier (Scottsdale, Ariz.) will have sole possession of the longest point streak in Division I men’s hockey this season.

Gauthier has points in 13 straight games, tying him with Maine’s Josh Nadeau (St-François-de-Madawaska, New Brunswick) for the nation’s longest in 2023-24. Nadeau put together his streak from Nov. 3 to Jan. 5.

During his streak, Gauthier has produced 11 goals and 10 assists, along with 75 shots on goal.

Hesse He Can!:

Prior to last weekend, Lake Superior junior G Easton Hesse (Beaumont, Alberta) had yet to appear in a game this season. In fact, his only two previous collegiate appearances came over a year ago as a sophomore, and Heese entered the 2023-24 season as the Lakers’ No. 3 goalie.

But Hesse was called upon to make the starts both nights last weekend against Michigan Tech, and he responded brilliantly, stopping 67 of 69 shots in the series. He turned aside 34 of 35 shots in Friday’s 3-1 victory to earn his first NCAA win, then followed up with a 33-save effort in a 1-0 loss.

On Monday, Hesse was named CCHA Goaltender of the Week.

Hesse and the Lakers are off this week before hitting the road Feb. 9-10 to face Bowling Green.

Fit to Print:

“All the guys have tears in their eyes just because of what it means to you and knowing that you’ll have competition, but you’ll never have competition that’s so deep-rooted in tradition and legacy and honor, and every single guy on that ice is gonna go out and do something special for their country. So, it means a whole hell of a lot more than just a hockey game and just the hockey series.”

— Air Force senior D Luke Rowe on the service academy rivalry with Army (source: College Hockey News)

NHL Note of the Week:

Veteran F Zach Parise (2002-04) signed a one-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche last weekend, ensuring a 19th NHL season for the former North Dakota (2002-04) standout.

Among active NCAA alumni, only Joe Pavelski (1,044) and Blake Wheeler (942) have scored more NHL points than Parise (879), who was selected 17th overall by New Jersey in 2003. Last season, Parise recorded 21 goals and 34 points in 82 games with the Islanders.

Parise was a Hobey Baker Award finalist in each of his two seasons at North Dakota, where his teammates included fellow future NHLers Matt Greene and Drew Stafford.

Fries at the Bottom of the Bag:

Wisconsin became the nation’s first team to 20 wins when it downed Michigan 6-5 in overtime last Saturday … Sophomore F Noah Laba (Northville, Mich.) scored the game-winner in both of Colorado College’s 2-1 overtime wins at Western Michigan last weekend. Laba has four OT goals this season, including each of CC’s last three OT wins … Robert Morris G Francois Boisvert (Gr., Blainville, Que.) stopped 50 shots in Friday’s 2-0 win over AIC, the fourth 50-save shutout in Atlantic Hockey history. It was Boisvert’s first collegiate win … RIT G Tommy Scarfone (Jr., L’Île-Bizard, Que.) earned his 44th career victory Friday against Bentley, making him the winningest goaltender in school history … A school-record crowd of 6,578 witnessed Penn State’s 4-3 win over Ohio State last Saturday at Pegula Arena … North Dakota has gone 19 straight games without a regulation loss, its last coming Nov. 3 at Boston University (3-2). The Fighting Hawks are the nation’s only team this season without a conference loss in regulation … Clarkson senior F Eric Ciccolini (Vaughan, Ontario) notched a hat trick in a second-period span of 2:22 in last Friday’s win over St. Lawerence. It was the first career three-goal game for the Michigan transfer … AIC freshman G Nils Walstrom (Skellefteå, Sweden) picked up his 13th win of the season last Friday against Robert Morris, setting a new program record for freshmen.

College Hockey Inc. Resources:

Did you know? 93% of NCAA Division I men’s hockey players earn their degree!