By DANI ABADA
This week, No. 8/9 Cornell (12-4-5, 8-3-4 ECAC) travels to Hamilton, N.Y. to face Colgate (13-11-9, 9-5-1) for the second time this season.
“It’s a really big game,” said senior goaltender and assistant captain Andy Iles. “They are right behind us in the standings and anytime someone is sitting behind you, they’re looking to climb the ladder. … They are obviously a cross town rival; it’s going to be a pretty hostile atmosphere up there.”
“We want to try to get to where we want to be, which is [to] try to get to first place in our league.” – Mike Schafer ’86
This will be the second time the teams have met this season, the first being at Lynah on Dec. 7, when the game ended in a 2-2 tie.
“The game we had here was kind of a weird game,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “They scored two in the second period off of rebounds and another broken play, and then we scored two five-on-three goals in the game.”
The Red — currently unbeaten in nine games — will only face one opponent this weekend. Schafer discussed how this allows for some changes to the team’s regular practice schedule.
“This is a weird week: with only one game on Saturday, everything is shifted back, so [Tuesday] was like our Monday,” he said. “So the guys [who] are banged up sat out [Monday] and [Tuesday] and maybe even [will] sit out [Wednesday] and get ready for practice later in the week. … To get that extra day, that can go a long, long way.”
Iles added that preparing for only one opponent this week gives the Red a break from the mental stress of studying up on two different teams.
“You only have to worry about one team; every other weekend you have to worry about two teams [and] you kind of have to allocate your time accordingly as far as preparations are concerned,” he said.
Oliver Kliewe / Senior PhotographerBreaking the tie | The last time Cornell met with Colgate on Dec. 7, the two teams tied. Junior defenseman Joakim Ryan (above left) had a goal and an assist in the game.