The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/cornell-mens-hockey/)
The action continues for Cornell Men’s Hockey this week with a Tuesday match against Colgate. Despite the Raiders’ losing record, the Red must keep its energy high even with minimal rest.
Cornell will face a greater challenge in the beginning of the season than last year, with only four of its first 14 games home at Lynah Rink.
Jeff Kubiak’s overtime winner against undefeated Providence. Mitch Gillam’s sprawling glove save that took away a Boston University goal at Madison Square Garden. Matt Buckles’ series-ending goal against Union College. Cornell men’s hockey had a number of memorable moments last season. As the 2016-2017 campaign is about to begin, hockey fans can look forward to many more glorious goals, stunning saves and crushing checks.
In the annual preseason ECAC polls, Cornell was tabbed to finish fifth by the media and sixth by the conference’s coaches. While the Red’s squad remains similar and strong, as compared to last year’s, the team’s key opponents have also kept their squads up to par. Top names ranked ahead of Cornell include perennial favorites including Quinnipiac, Harvard and Yale.
Aiming to replace a four-member senior class, Cornell men’s hockey will rely on a talented group of five skaters in its freshman class this upcoming season. Corey Hoffman, Noah Bauld, Jeff Malott, Connor Murphy and Yanni Kaldis make up the incoming class of 2020, with Kaldis serving as the lone defender in the group. The five represent the smallest class on the team; the other three classes are all at least seven skaters strong. “We try not to over-recruit with kids we have,” head coach Mike Schafer ’86 said. “The five guys coming in replaces what we have in our program with the [four] guys that graduated.”
Overall, Schafer and his staff stressed offensive talent in this incoming class.
Cornell’s former stars are moving up in the world of sports, with many joining the professional level.