Advancing to its third straight ECAC Hockey tournament, the No. 7 men’s hockey team is heading to Albany to face Brown today, at 4 p.m., in the league’s semifinals. Based on the results of today’s match-up, Cornell will face either Union or St. Lawrence tomorrow, in the championship or consolation game.99 problems but a goal ain't one: Junior forward Riley Nash remains just one point shy of joining senior captain Colin Greening and senior forward Blake Gallagher in the exclusive 100-point club - By: Emily Burke

Last weekend, the Red (16-8-3, 13-5-2 ECAC) displayed some of its best hockey, as it crushed Harvard in a two game sweep, earning itself a spot in the tournament. The Red won four games against the Crimson this season for the first time in school history. Also, senior goaltender Ben Scrivens became the first goalie to post two shutouts against Harvard in the same season.

“We really brought it both games. We played very sound offensively and it was a great weekend and it’s going to help us going into this weekend for sure. … Everyone seems to be playing well, right now, so it is a great way to be going into this weekend,” said sophomore forward Sean Collins.

Brown (12-19-4, 6-12-4 ECAC) has demonstrated plenty of resilience and hard work, as it knocked off sixth-seed Rensselaer in the first round. Last weekend, Brown continued to display its dominance, earning an upset series win over top seed Yale in the quarterfinal last weekend, a surprise to most hockey fans.

“You never know what is going to happen in the ECAC, all the games are very close, tight-checking games, it’s just a testament to how Brown is playing right now,” Collins said.

Not worrying too much about the Bears’ recent victories, the Red has been working throughout practice this week on maintain its momentum and playing a solid offensive game until the end. By protecting the puck and decreasing the number of turnovers, Cornell expects to capitalize on its offensive physical power. In addition, the Red has been working on its special team units — it has a 21.3 percent conversion rate on the power play, while its PK unit has been successful in killing off 81.7 percent of its penalties.

“Anytime an 11th seed is upsetting RPI and then Yale, they are definitely putting something together; it’s something special they obviously have going right now. We are just going to worry about ourselves, and play our game, and hopefully things will work out,” Collins said.

Cornell defeated Brown, 6-0, earlier this season, before Brown proved itself a tough opponent at Lynah when the Bears put up some late goals and were able to stay in the game. However, the Red won the game, 5-3, because of its ability to string goals together early in the game.

“Anytime you get further into the season, teams get better and better, and I think Brown has proven that. … We underestimated them. We didn’t realize how much they have improved throughout the season. A very resilient team — they did not quit the entire 60 minutes,” said senior captain Colin Greening.

Senior forward Blake Gallagher leads the Red in scoring with 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points, while Greening is not far behind with 34 points. Thirteen different players have tallied at least 10 points this season, a triumph that has helped the Red propel itself throughout the season.

“All teams have progressed throughout the season, and that includes us. I think that we really showed Harvard how we really stuck to the game plan and were consistent the entire weekend, which is something you want to keep doing in the ECAC Championships,” Greening said

 After last weekend’s victory, Gallagher joined Greening in the 100 career point club. In addition, junior forward Riley Nash will join this trio, if he can earn one more point this season — this would be the first time since 1976 that three Cornellians tallied 100 career points in the same season.

With Brown, Union and St. Lawrence all looking to hoist the ECAC Championship trophy, the Red is focusing on each game individually in hopes of conquering the title.