Men’s Hockey Ranked #1 In Both Major Polls
Cornell ascends to top spot before home-heavy finish to regular season
1/13/2020 2:40:00 PM
ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell men’s hockey team has ascended to No. 1 in both the USCHO Division I Men’s Hockey Poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll just in time for a homecoming. Owners of the nation’s best winning percentage (.875) despite playing the fewest amount of home games in the nation to date, Cornell (12-1-2, 8-1-1 ECAC Hockey) has moved atop the major national polls for the first time since Jan. 29, 2018.
The Big Red is on a four-game unbeaten streak, having defeated Ohio State in a top-10 showdown on Jan. 3 and Rensselaer last Friday, and tied 2019 Frozen Four qualifier Providence on Jan. 4 and ECAC Hockey rival Union last Saturday.
Those results wrapped up a stretch of seven straight games away from Lynah Rink, paving the way for plenty of home contests down the stretch. Cornell plays nine of its final 14 regular-season games at Lynah Rink over the next seven weeks, starting with a two-game non-league series against #17 Northern Michigan at 7 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday. Tickets for both games go on sale at 9 a.m. Tuesday through the Cornell Athletics Ticket Office or online at bigredtix.com.
Under the direction of Mike Schafer ’86, who is in his 25th season as the Jay R. Bloom ’77 Head Coach of Men’s Hockey, the Big Red not only continues to be one of the best defensive teams in the nation, it also brandishes one of the most productive offenses. Cornell averages 3.67 goals per game, which ranks sixth in the country.
Junior forward Morgan Barron, a draft pick of the New York Rangers, continues to lead the team in scoring. The vaunted blue line features senior Yanni Kaldis, a three-time selection to the All-Ivy League first team, and junior goaltender Matthew Galajda has already posted 16 shutouts in his collegiate career – just three back of the program’s all-time record.
Cornell is No. 1 in both polls for a second time in the last three years, but it couldn’t make that claim for the nearly 15 years prior. Pollsters bumped the Big Red to the top alongside North Dakota in the USCHO poll, while Cornell sits alone in the top spot in the USA poll.