After a high-stakes weekend in New York City and a 3-3 tie with Quinnipiac, No. 12 men’s hockey will conclude the fall semester with a home-and-home series against its upstate New York foe, Colgate.
“They’re a very good team, especially offensively. I think [in] watching them on video, they’re one of the better transitional teams I’ve seen,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86.
The Raiders are coming off a rough weekend against Penn State, getting swept and outscored by a 10-3 margin. The Raiders had been receiving votes in the USCHO poll over the last few weeks –– after starting the season 1-4-1, Colgate went on a 6-1-1 stretch before it visited the Nittany Lions.
Cornell has the edge in the overall series, but the recent splits have been anything but one-sided. The Red is 4-4-2 in its last 10 games against Colgate, its most recent matchup being a 4-2 loss at Lynah Rink. The first of the two games this weekend will be held on home ice.
“It’s a big rivalry game for [Colgate]. They get extremely excited for it,” Schafer said. “So we need to understand that as a group of guys, and realize the importance of this game to them and treat it accordingly.”
Cornell (4-2-3, 2-2-2 ECAC) is looking to end the first half off on a high note –– after being ranked as high as No. 6 in the country, its shaky start to conference play has vaulted it back to the No. 12 spot.
That start has been at least partially attributable to the amount of injuries incurred to roster regulars. Although it recently got senior forwards Ondrej Psenicka and Sullivan Mack back in the lineup, captain and senior forward Kyle Penney was notably absent from the Cornell lineup at Madison Square Garden and did not make the trip to New York City.
“Shout out to our captain who didn’t make a trip with us. We hope he’s doing okay back on campus,” Schafer said in his postgame press conference on Nov. 30. “And that’s been the story of us for our first little bit here –– a ton of injuries, a ton of adversity, especially with a lot of individual guys going through a lot of stuff right now, and Kyle’s going through some of that right now. We hope he’s better soon.”
It’s unknown whether Penney will be in the lineup this weekend. The looming break will be a crucial period for the Red to get healthy and return for the second half with a deeper bench.
“You can see the big difference when Ondrej [came] back, how it helped us, and now with Sullivan back, how much [that] has helped us,” Schafer said. “Getting healthier is going to be huge for us. … That’s kind of been a common theme for us throughout the whole fall, but we’ve got to get through these two games this weekend with our health and then regroup and get healthier for the second half.”
A force to be reckoned with this weekend on the other bench is Colgate forward Brett Chorske, in his second year with the Raiders after two seasons at Colorado College. The Minnesota native leads Colgate in both goals (nine) and points (16).
The Red will host the Raiders on Friday before making the trip to Hamilton, New York on Saturday. Cornell has had a string of recent success at Colgate’s Class of 1965 Arena, going 7-1-1 in its last nine matchups.
“I think we’ve had a lot of success over the last while there,” Schafer said. “I don’t think that [we will] be intimidated by playing at Colgate after playing at Madison Square Garden.”
The Raiders’ rink, although newer and noticeably less charming than the old and sacred Lynah Rink, is often filled closer to capacity when the Red comes to town. Yet after a bout with Quinnipiac in front of nearly 17,000 people, Cornell should be aptly prepared for any atmosphere.
“Just [dealing with] distractions and being nervous –– I think those kinds of games always help in that regard,” Schafer said. “It always prepares you, and I think that the guys did a pretty good job down there.”
Historically, Cornell has also run into issues against the Raiders’ goaltenders. Carter Gylander and Mitch Benson, the two goaltenders Cornell has faced in its last eight matchups with Colgate, combined for a .914 save percentage. Benson notably led his team to a come-from-behind ECAC quarterfinal series win that shockingly ended the Red’s season in 2022.
This year, with both of those netminders graduated, both Andrew Takacs and Nick Haas have shared time between the pipes. Both goaltenders have save percentages below .900 while Takacs has had the edge in ice time, although he was pulled in the recent loss to Penn State on Nov. 27 after giving up two goals on ten shots.
Cornell is in search of six crucial ECAC points before it embarks on its holiday break.
“I mean, every game is obviously important. You want to win [and] you want to get those big points as [much as] you can,” Schafer said. “I think we’re just concerned with just playing one game at a time and coming out and playing on Friday night. … Just stay focused and not look at the points, but look at the process.”
Cornell will look to close out the first half against Colgate. The Red will be home against the Raiders on Friday before making the quick road trip on Saturday. Puck drop for both games is slated for 7 p.m.