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.

Cornell comes into this weekend sitting at No. 5 in both the USCHO and USA Today polls. After getting out to a 4-1-0 start, the Red is comfortable with its current level of play on both the offensive and defensive end. Cornell has a total of five players that are averaging at least a point per game. Senior captain Colin Greening is leading the way with three goals and eight assists, and he is joined by senior Blake Gallagher who has notched five goals and added four assists so far in the young season. Greening attributes the team’s offensive success to contributions from all parts of the Red’s depth chart.

“I think it’s just more scoring depth, personally,” Greening said. “Through the first five games, we’ve had at least three or four consistent lines that have been generating offensive opportunities. When you do that, you give yourself a better chance of getting more scoring opportunities and better quality opportunities, and I think that’s why we have been scoring more. “

At the back end, senior goalie Ben Scrivens has shaken off some early-season rust and returned to his steady form. Scrivens picked up his first shutout of the year in the Red’s 6-0 trouncing of Brown last Sunday.Muscle up: Senior captain Colin Greening (15) leads the team with 11 points so far in the Red’s five games.

“Right now, we want [Scrivens] to err on the side of caution as far as staying in his net, making good sets behind the net for our defensemen and getting out of the way,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “I think he’s done a really solid job. The third goal he let in [during Saturday’s 4-2 loss] against Yale wasn’t a great goal, but I thought he came back the next night and he was really solid. He’s providing us that leadership back there and the guys are very comfortable and know that he is a great goalie.”

The Red is expecting challenging games from both Princeton and Quinnipiac as both teams have found some success early this season. The Tigers and the Bobcats will each bring aggressive, physical squads to Ithaca this weekend.

“They are very similar, especially on defense,” Greening explained. “They cheat off their checks, and they are very good defensively down low. They are very offensive minded teams; they have forwards that will try and sweep behind our defensemen to stay behind you.”

For tonight’s game, Schafer and his players expect Princeton to come flying out of the gates and push the puck up the ice, while staying disciplined on defense.

“[Princeton] has a great team defense in terms of how they play in their own zone and how they limit chances,” Scrivens said. “They keep guys to the outside. Obviously we trust those guys in front of me who are making the plays. There’s a reason that we’re scoring a lot of goals right now and we have a system that’s working for us. So we just have to try to break [Princeton] down systematically in terms of their defensive zone and their neutral zone coverage.”

Princeton goaltender Zane Kalemba, last season’s ECAC Hockey Player of the Year, has struggled in his four games between the pipes, playing to a 1-2-1 record with a 2.72 goals-against average. In lieu of Kalemba’s early lapse, the Tigers have turned to junior goaltender Alan Reynolds, who has posted a 0.99 GAA and .964 save percentage in two Princeton wins. While it remains unclear who will be starting in goal tonight, the Red is prepared for either possibility.

“They have a little bit of indecision with where they’re going,” Scrivens explained. “Whether it’s Kalemba or Reynolds, we’re just going to try to do what we’ve been doing.”

Tomorrow, Cornell will host a Bobcat squad that currently sits atop the ECAC Hockey standings and is ranked No. 13 nationally. Headlined by senior forward Eric Lampe, Quinnipiac’s offense has tallied 38 goals in nine games this season. Lampe, who has registered nine goals and five assists, is joined up front by senior Brandon Wong and sophomore Scott Zurevinski, who have each accrued 13 points.

“You look at them statistically and obviously Quinnipiac is off to a great start at 8-1,” Schafer said. “Quinnipiac has good talented hockey players and if you give them opportunities, they’re going to capitalize.”

The onus will be on a Cornell defense that is eighth best in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 2.00 goals per game.

“I think we’re up to the challenge,” Greening said. “We’ve been putting up a lot of goals too. We’re confident defensively that we’ll be able to limit their opportunities. When it comes to the game, we’re just going to have to limit their offensive-minded players.”

“The biggest thing is just to be ready,” Scrivens explained. “[Quinnipiac] is very prolific with their scoring. Some of their guys are smaller and shiftier and can really work through a crowd and get out in front and get a scoring chance. But, they’ve also got their big guys there who can really muscle the puck in front. You’ve got to know that they’re going to get some chances this weekend, so you’ve just got to be ready.”