PREVIEW: Males’s Hockey Hits the Street to Face ECAC-Rivals Quinnipiac, Princeton

No. 10 males’s hockey (4-1-1, 2-1-1 ECAC) will look to bounce again after a few shaky showings in opposition to Dartmouth (2-1-3, 2-0-3 ECAC) and Harvard (1-1-3, 1-1-3 ECAC), the latter which introduced Cornell with its first lack of the season.

“Within the recreation in opposition to Harvard, the need was there, the need was there, however we acquired result-driven,” stated head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “While you get into that recreation, you need to win so unhealthy that you simply begin to do an excessive amount of…and issues begin to break down.”

The Crimson will look to get again on observe with two street matchups in opposition to robust ECAC rivals, together with defending nationwide champion Quinnipiac (7-3-1, 3-0-1 ECAC) on Friday and Princeton (2-1-1, 2-1-1 ECAC) on Saturday.

The final time Cornell confronted the Bobcats, the Crimson took down, on the time, the No. 1 ranked crew within the NCAA in a 4-0 shutout.

Taking down Quinnipiac this time can be no simple feat. The No. 7 Bobcats penalty kill ranks second within the NCAA, permitting simply two on 39 opponent makes an attempt. Cornell has allowed 5 objectives on the PK to date, together with three this previous weekend. The Bobcats have additionally posted some spectacular performances to date, together with a 6-0 walloping of then No. 19 Harvard.

“I believe once you have a look at final weekend, all 4 of the objectives we’ve given up on the facility play have all been rebound objectives, like pucks popped out to the aspect,” Schafer stated. “We have now to do a greater job of collapsing into the online and choosing up sticks on these rebound probabilities.”

The Crimson’s matchup with Quinnipiac may also carry a well-known face, when Zach Tupker ’23, now a grad switch at Quinnipiac, faces his former crew.

“Zach’s an amazing child,” Schafer stated. “He was an amazing chief for us…Quinnipiac’s lucky to have him, he pays consideration to element, he works laborious [and] competes laborious.”

Tupker compiled 21 factors in 86 profession video games for the Crimson and was named as a finalist for ECAC Hockey’s Greatest Defensive Ahead Award in 2023. This season, Tupker’s been a powerful defensive presence, chipping in for six assists to date.

“It’s unlucky that he’s on their aspect and never ours….he’s doing an excellent job [so far] and [I] wouldn’t anticipate the rest,” Schafer added.

Cornell may also look to faucet into its offense additional after going a mixed one-for-10 on the facility play over the weekend. That is simpler stated than executed, as Quinnipiac ranks second within the nation in opponent objectives in opposition to per recreation with a 1.73 common, second solely to Cornell, whose opponents common a mere 1.33 objectives per recreation.

Saturday’s matchup in opposition to the Tigers can be one for the Crimson to realize momentum going into the transient Thanksgiving break. Cornell has taken eight out of the final 10 matchups in opposition to Princeton, which has a really small pattern measurement of video games to attest to their power. They rank second within the nation on the facility play, however have solely acquired 13 alternatives, whereas different high-ranking groups have gotten upwards of 40 energy play probabilities.

Cornell will look to capitalize this weekend and earn six large ECAC factors earlier than shifting gears to subsequent Saturday, the place they are going to play of their biennial Crimson Sizzling Hockey contest in opposition to Boston College at Madison Sq. Backyard.

Puck drop on Friday is slated for 7 p.m. in Hamden. The Crimson will then journey all the way down to New Jersey to tackle Princeton on the historic Hobey Baker Enviornment for a 7 p.m. puck drop Saturday night time.