August 23, 2010

Men’s Hockey Welcomes Heralded Freshman Class

Print More

When fans file into Lynah Rink this season the familiar names of Nash, Scrivens, Greening and Gallagher will no longer be embroidered on the back of the home whites. Head coach Mike Schafer ’86 announced over the summer that six incoming freshmen will be suiting up for the Red this season, as it attempts to improve upon its early exit from last year’s NCAA tournament after losing to New Hampshire in the first round.This year’s incoming class is highlighted by goaltender Andy Iles, an Ithaca native whom many fans will remember for his spectacular performance leading the U.S. Under-18 Team to a 3-2 victory over the Red in a preseason exhibition last season. Iles recorded a 20-6-1 record in net for the U-18 team including three shutouts and a 2.16 goals-against average. The Ithaca native attended The Salisbury School after graduating from Ithaca High School, where he was named Goaltender of the Year by the U.S. Hockey Report after the 2008-09 season. Iles will likely begin the season on the bench, with junior Mike Garman expected to begin the season as the starting goalie.The lone NHL draftee in this year’s incoming class will be defenseman Kirill Gotovets, who will enter the Cornell record books as the first Belarusian to suit up in the red and white. Gotovets was a seventh-round selection of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2009 NHL draft, and joins junior defenseman Sean Whitney and sophomore defensemen Nick D’Agostino and Braden Birch as the only members of the 2010-11 squad who have been drafted by an NHL club. Gotovets will have the unenviable task of filling the void left by former Red defensemen Brendon Nash ’10 and Justin Krueger ’10.Gotovets will be joined on defense by Quebec native Mathieu Brisson, who joins the Red after winning the U.S. Hockey League’s Western Division with the Omaha Lancers last season. The 6-2 defenseman compiled 22 points in 60 games last season, good for a plus-13 rating in his time on the ice.The Red offense will also have a few reinforcements with the departure of former captain Colin Greening ’10 and forward Blake Gallagher ’10. Armand de Swardt will finally make his debut at Lynah Rink this season after he decided to defer his enrollment by a year in lieu of beginning his career on East Hill last season. De Swardt tallied 37 points in 49 games for the Wenatchee Wild of the North American Hockey League last season.The final addition to the 2010-11 team is forward Rodger Craig, who joins the Red after playing for the Grande Prarie Storm of his native Alberta Junior Hockey League. Craig netted 16 points in 57 games last year.The six newest members of the men’s hockey team will take the ice for the first time in the annual Red vs. White scrimmage on Oct. 16 at Lynah Rink. The regular season kicks off with a rematch from the opening round of last year’s NCAA tournament when the Red will play host to New Hampshire on Oct. 29.

Original Author: Evan Rich