The men’s hockey team leads the country in scoring with an average of 4.40 goals per game. Tonight, the Red’s sizzling offense will be put to the test against Ivy League foe Princeton, which is riding a three-game unbeaten streak into Lynah. Tomorrow night, Cornell will host Quinnipiac in a battle of the top-2 scoring teams in the NCAA.

With three crucial wins under its belt, the No. 3 men’s hockey team heads on the road this weekend for the first time this season to face Ivy League rivals Yale tonight, followed by Brown tomorrow night.

When the rivals from Cambridge braved a maelstrom of fish and newspaper to try their luck at Lynah Rink, three Red skaters from Massachusetts picked up the intensity in the second half of the game and helped Cornell to a 6-3 win over Harvard and a four-point weekend in ECAC Hockey play.

Juniors Joe and Mike Devin and sophomore Sean Whitney, all of Scituate, Mass., accounted for eight points, including seven past the halfway point of the game. Cornell’s special teams continued clicking — the Red converted 2-of-3 power play opportunities and killed off all five of Harvard’s man-advantage chances.

With both teams penalized more than 10 times, including three Dartmouth 10-minute misconducts, the men’s hockey league opener on Friday night was plenty exciting. The Red opened its ECAC Hockey season and showcased its special teams, as four power-play goals made the difference for No. 5 Cornell (3-0, 2-0 ECAC), as it skated to a 5-1 victory over Dartmouth (0-3, 0-3 ECAC).

Watching Cornell hockey over the last few years was essentially a two-period experience. Most of the time, you could watch the first 40 minutes of hockey and know whether Cornell would win or lose. As seen in Saturday’s win over Harvard, this may no longer be true.

Since the start of the 2002-03 season, Cornell boasts an astonishing 115-4-7 record when leading after two periods. Last season, Cornell was 17-1-0 when leading after two periods, with the single loss coming in the final minute against Princeton at Lynah. (For some comparison, the New York Yankees were 71-2 this season when leading after six innings.)

Check Monday's edition of The Cornell Daily Sun for additional coverage

Men's hockey 5, Dartmouth 1

Cornell opened its ECAC Hockey season with a convincing statement, piling on three third-period goals to seal the 5-1 victory in a chippy, physical game against Dartmouth. Forwards Blake Gallagher scored twice, Colin Greening had one goal and two assists; and goalie Ben Scrivens made 21 saves.

Cornell's special teams shone on the opening night of league play. The Red took advantage of 49 Dartmouth penalty minutes, going 4-of-7 on the power play. Cornell's penalty kill turned away all but one of Dartmouth's seven man-advantage opportunities, including a 5-on-3 in the second period.

Women's hockey 4, Union 0

Forget saving the best for last; face-off time for Cornell hockey fans' favorite game of the season is 7 p.m. Saturday. The No. 5 men's hockey team has a 2009-10 schedule littered with tough games against big-name hockey programs like Boston University and North Dakota, but those will be largely forgotten when Harvard takes the ice at Lynah Rink in the 131st installment of the rivalry.

After a disappointing loss in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament last year, the men’s hockey team is looking ahead to build its momentum and confidence as it opens up its Ivy League season tonight.

Head coach Mike Schafer ’86 has set his goals high this season, and in particular for the Red’s offense. With 15 forwards on this year’s roster, Cornell is ready to reclaim its position in the NCAA tournament as it continues to create opportunities and move the puck better in its offensive zone.

“We have a lot of good forwards up front … they are well balanced. I’m very happy with the depth and we will get more scoring from more lines than we did last year,” Schafer said.