Offensive Outburst

Jill Mendelsohn  —  Nov 6, 2009

After a disappointing loss in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament last year, the men’s hockey team is looking ahead to build its momentum and confidence as it opens up its Ivy League season tonight.

Head coach Mike Schafer ’86 has set his goals high this season, and in particular for the Red’s offense. With 15 forwards on this year’s roster, Cornell is ready to reclaim its position in the NCAA tournament as it continues to create opportunities and move the puck better in its offensive zone.

“We have a lot of good forwards up front … they are well balanced. I’m very happy with the depth and we will get more scoring from more lines than we did last year,” Schafer said.

Power Play Expected to Be Key To Red’s Success

Mitchell Drucker  —  Nov 6, 2009

For a traditionally low-scoring Cornell team — a squad that last year averaged just 2.56 goals per game — a prolific and efficient power play could be the difference between victory and defeat. Indeed, 34 percent of the team’s goals last year came with the man advantage, indicating that the power-play unit was an integral part of the Red’s success.

This year’s team features many returning players from the 2008-09 power play lineup, including Riley and Brendon Nash, Colin Greening and Blake Gallagher. Head coach Mike Schafer ’86 saw those four players develop exceptional chemistry playing together last year, and expects that experience to translate into even more success this year.

Basketball’s Success Fuels Growth of Newman Nation

Brandon Cohen  —  Nov 6, 2009

As the winter sports season approaches a lot of focus will be on the Cornell hockey team that almost went to the Frozen Four a year ago. Undoubtedly the “Lynah Faithful” will be in full force this season, yelling “sieve” with the best of them. Do not overlook, though, the Cornell basketball team’s evolving “Newman Nation.” Cornell is looking to win its third straight Ivy League championship this season, and with five returning starters, Newman Nation will be an overwhelming force as a “sixth man.”

Red Boasts Deep Backcourt Playmaker Arsenal

Matthew Manacher  —  Nov 6, 2009

The decision was an easy one for head coach Steve Donahue at the outset of last season. With Louis Dale, the 2007-08 Ivy League Player of the Year, sidelined for the first eight games due to a sore hamstring, Donahue inserted freshman Chris Wroblewski into the team’s starting lineup at point guard.

This year, the decision making process is a bit more complex as it appears Wroblewski and senior Geoff Reeves will compete for the starting nod. Reeves, who started all but one game last season, seems to hold a slight edge over the sophomore, but Donahue says it is too early to tell.

Injury-Free, Dale Ready to Rock

Matthew Manacher  —  Nov 6, 2009

He might be listed as the smallest player on the Cornell roster, but Louis Dale, a 5-11 starting point guard, has been one of the biggest reasons for the team’s rise to the top during his first three years at Cornell.

The 2007-08 Ivy League Player of the Year is one of the most dynamic players in the Ancient Eight. In 2008-09, Dale finished among the league leaders in several categories, tallying 13 points per game, 3.6 assists per game, 1.2 steals per game and a .463 field-goal percentage. Despite his diminutive stature, Dale can also play a big man’s game, ranking in the top-15 rebounders in the league with 4.2 boards per game. Last season, Dale became just the second player in school history to record 1,000 points, 300 rebounds and 300 assists.

Foote Returns To Push Red On Defense

Rahul Kishore  —  Nov 6, 2009

Senior Jeff Foote, 265 pounds, 84 inches, and 2 Ivy League titles, will continue to lead the Red this season from center. The big man was last year’s Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year and NABC second-team All-District. So what’s next for one of the Red’s most integral players on both sides of the court?

Foote will admit, though tall, he wasn’t the most ripped man on the court. But that changed in the offseason when Foote and senior Ryan Wittman played summer league in Minn., where Foote put on 25 pounds of raw muscle.

Forwards Comprise Mix Of Veterans, New Talent

Rahul Kishore  —  Nov 6, 2009

When the men’s basketball team returns to the parquet floors Nov. 14 against Alabama on the road, the Red will be suiting up a team that will be familiar to fans and opponents alike. The Red is returning all five of its starters this year, including big man and senior co-captain Jeff Foote and key offensive weapon, senior Ryan Wittman. It is this experienced starting lineup that netted the Red votes in the Top-25 preseason poll –– a Cornell first –– and marked it as the team to beat in the Ivy League for the third season in a row.

“We think we’re a very good team, so we want to pick up a couple of signature wins, especially early in the season,” Foote said. “We want to go undefeated in the Ivy League and make a splash in the tournament.”

Good Things Come in Threes

Alex Kuczynski-Brown  —  Nov 6, 2009

They say good things come in threes. Well, the men’s basketball team will look to confirm the legitimacy of this claim, as the Red embarks on a 2009-10 campaign to capture its third consecutive Ivy League championship. If successful, the team will be only the fourth in Ancient Eight history to do so; as it stands now, Cornell is just the third school since Penn and Princeton to earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in back-to-back years.

For Icers, 'D' Leads the Way

Keenan Weatherford  —  Nov 6, 2009

In a goalies’ league, Ben Scrivens ranks among the best. ECAC Hockey games are relatively low-scoring and the league has produced a number of big-name college hockey goalkeepers, many from the rink far above Cayuga’s Waters. In fact, few positions in sports have as much institutional tradition as Cornell’s netminder. Ken Dryden ’69 went 26-0-1 as a sophomore to lead the team to its first national championship in 1966-67, and played starting goalie for the Montreal Canadiens from 1971-1979. Brian Cropper ’71 went 29-0-0 en route to the Red’s second, and last, national championship in 1969-70. From 2002-2005, Cornell accounted for three of four Ken Dryden Awards, given to the top goalie in ECAC Hockey.

Cornell Points Leader Returns as Captain

Jill Mendelsohn  —  Nov 6, 2009

With one goal and one assist in this last weekend’s game against Niagara, senior Colin Greening continues to demonstrate his swift skills with the puck and reiterate his passion for the sport. It was no doubt to men’s hockey head coach Mike Schafer ’86 to make Greening a returning captain for Cornell to help lead the team to a victorious season.

“He is such a physical beast on the ice; he overpowers kids. His strength is that he is, in school and in hockey, 100 percent all the time, both academically and athletically,” Schafer said.

Coming into Cornell as the seventh-round draft pick for the Ottawa Senators in 2005, Greening knew he had high expectations to fulfill. During his freshman season, he appeared in all 31 games and accumulated 11 goals as a rookie.