HAMILTON, N.Y. — For a crowd that is historically raucous, the Colgate hockey fans never really had a chance to get into the game last night against Cornell. The Red scored two power play goals early and then rode the stout goaltending of junior Ben Scrivens to a 4-1 win last night in Hamilton, N.Y.

The win did not come without cost, however. Senior co-captain Tyler Mugford, the Red’s leading scorer, went down with a knee injury in the third period and had to be gingerly helped off the ice by two teammates. With junior Brendon Nash sitting out due to the flu and senior Evan Barlow — who had two assists — getting banged up during the contest, the Red was forced to rely on some less familiar faces.

This past summer, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved a new officiating system for college hockey in which two referees and two linesmen will work each game as part of an effort to rid the game of obstruction.

The new rules will intensify the spotlight on both the penalty killing and power-play units, according to senior co-captain Michael Kennedy, but he believes that his squad is in good position to be successful under the new rules compared to other teams.

In 2007-08, the Cornell defensive corps ranked second in ECAC Hockey, surrendering a scintillatingly-low 1.95 goals per contest. The Red also finished second in penalty killing opportunities, snuffing 85-of-97 (87.6 percent) short-handed situations. This season, the Red blue-liners will be anchored by senior co-alternate captain Jared Seminoff.

“[Head] coach [Mike Schafer ’86] just wants me to play like I normally play, just go out there and be physical and be aggressive and try to get the entire defense on the same line,” Seminoff said. “Nothing’s really changed. We just want to be really aggressive and hit as many people as possible.”

From the perspective of the men’s hockey team, the ECAC Hockey coaches must have missed something last year when they were voting for league awards. Netminder Ben Scrivens, now a junior, was overlooked in spite of numbers superior to many fellow netminders in the league.

“You look at [Scrivens’] statistics from last year, he had a great year,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “I thought he was one of the best goalies in the ECAC if not the best.”

The passing of college hockey legend Ned Harkness brought up certain emotions in the Lynah Faithful. One of these may be respect for the consistency of the Cornell hockey tradition, largely established by Harkness himself.

Last year, the message of the men’s hockey team was simple: play 60 minutes.

A full 60 minutes.

The Red was searching for consistency from a group of talented, but relatively young, players. The experience as a team wasn’t there yet, and it showed.

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The men’s hockey team will take a quick trip upstate to Hamilton, N.Y., tonight for a rare weekday matchup against instate rival Colgate at Starr Rink at 7:30 p.m. The Red has not allowed a goal in its last two games, a 1-0 win over Princeton last Friday afternoon and a scoreless tie against Quinnipiac on Saturday, and is ranked 14th in the nation in the latest USA Hockey/USA Today poll.

The teams met three times last season, and Cornell won all three matchups.

PRINCETON, N.J. — Balanced team play, solid defense and a well-placed shot by senior forward Tyler Mugford helped the men’s hockey team to a successful, three-point opening weekend of conference play on the road. The Red knocked off defending ECAC Hockey and Ivy League champ Princeton, 1-0, on Friday before battling to a scoreless tie against Quinnipiac on Saturday.

The Red (1-0-1, 1-0-1 ECAC) started off its 4 p.m. matchup with the Tigers (2-1, 1-1) with plenty of energy and enthusiasm in its first meaningful game of the season, but struggled in the first period with maintaining consistent, mistake-free play. Head coach Mike Schafer ’86 said that excitement and nerves probably contributed to the occasionally hectic atmosphere on the ice.

Never before has Cornell hockey opened a season in such dramatic fashion. Junior goalie Ben “Mr. 0” Scrivens turned away all 68 shots he faced this weekend to shutout both No. 9 Princeton and Quinnipiac. Yet Cornell managed just one goal on the road trip and the Red rode home with three points in perhaps its most difficult test of the year.

Although the hockey team is the last Division I program to begin its regular season, the Red will do so in impressive fashion, facing off against the reigning ECAC champion Princeton Tigers today at 4 p.m. — the earlier start time is due to the fact that the Red’s season debut will be nationally televised on ESPNU. Tomorrow evening, Cornell will complete its weekend road trip against Quinnipiac.

The Tigers (1-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC Hockey) swept the season series last year against the Red (0-0-0, 0-0-0), but Cornell is excited to finally face an opponent in a different uniform, according to senior co-alternate captain Tyler Mugford.

After the visiting University of Western Ontario Mustangs scored an equalizing goal with just 28 seconds remaining in the third period, it seemed as though the Red was headed for its second straight 3-3 exhibition tie. However, the Red mounted a final attack in the closing moments, and junior Brendon Nash broke the tie, scoring his second goal of the night with just 6.3 seconds remaining to earn a 4-3 Cornell victory.

Red co-captain Michael Kennedy scored the other two Cornell goals on the evening while junior goaltender Ben Scrivens made 17 saves. However, the Red’s lack of discipline and a couple of defensive breakdowns almost proved to be fatal, as the team coughed up a 3-1 third-period lead.