Men's Hockey Extends Unbeaten Streak to 12 Games

Friday night at Lynah Rink featured a rare goaltender match-up in college hockey -- two Texas goaltenders. In the end, sophomore David McKee, from Irving, Texas, bested Rensselaer's Andrew Martin, from Plano, Texas, as No. 4 Cornell (19-4-3, 15-2-2 ECACHL) beat the Engineers (13-18-2, 5-13-1 ECACHL), 3-0.

"I played with [Martin] growing up," McKee said. "He went to college and played at Fairfield before I did, so he was playing in college way before I was. I was hoping for the opportunity and he's a good friend of mine actually, so it was a fun game to play."

McKee had a relatively easier night than his fellow Texan, as the Red peppered Martin with 34 shots on the night. Cornell was balanced offensively, with three different players scoring for the Red.

"I just thought we did a good job being patient throughout the whole course of the game," said head coach Mike Schafer '86. "It was a good first period, and I thought both teams played solid, feeling each other out."

While Cornell controlled possession throughout the first period, it had some of its best scoring chances in the last five minutes before the intermission. With 5:25 remaining, sophomore Byron Bitz stole the puck from behind the RPI net, and fed it to classmate Evan Salmela. Salmela then fired a shot from the right point which was blocked by the defense. Bitz recovered the puck in the low slot and wristed another shot, which Martin grabbed with a quick glove.

The Cornell power play unit saw its first action of the night after RPI's Vic Pereira drew a boarding penalty at 15:59. Quickly setting up in the Rensselaer zone, the first unit worked the puck around for nearly the entire two minutes.

"I was a little concerned, because you get out there that long, and all you can see in your mind is the guy coming out of the penalty box fresh," Schafer said. "All he has to do is get his hands on it and the other nine guys are done."

After RPI knocked the puck out to the neutral zone, senior assistant captain Charlie Cook brought it back in with time winding down on the man advantage. Freshman Topher Scott worked the puck around to junior assistant captain Matt Moulson, who fed it to an open Cook in the high slot. Cook's ensuing shot wobbled toward the goal, beating Martin just as Pereira stepped out of the box.

"We were moving the puck around quite a bit, I think we took seven or eight shots," Cook said. "Topher passed the puck out, I got a piece of it, didn't get too much on it, and it somehow found its way to the net. I think it just went up and down and went off the tip of [Martin's] glove."

The Red put the pressure on RPI at the start of the second period, as junior Jon Gleed took the puck in on net after senior Paul Varteressian's shot was blocked at the top of the right circle. While Cornell again held possession in the Rensselaer end, the Red's second goal came in transition.

Junior Daniel Pegoraro brought the puck up through the neutral zone, and beat the RPI defense as he crossed the blue line. Skating down to the right circle, Pegoraro dropped the puck back to a tailing Shane Hynes, who wristed it over Martin's right shoulder at 14:34.

The game got physical as the second period continued. RPI's Matt McNeely hit Moulson along the right boards in the Cornell zone, and was called for interference. The resulting scrum led to a charging penalty on Hynes, and the next six minutes saw little five-on-five play.

"[Rensselaer has] a good, solid, physical team, and there were a lot of big hits out there both ways," Schafer said. "It was the kind of game that our team relishes playing in -- a strong, physical, tough hockey game, and we're built for that type of event."

The Red power play saw some more ice time after Blake Pickett was called for holding at 11:15. After the man-advantage ended without a goal for Cornell, Scott Romfo was sent to the box for hitting from behind just 13 seconds after the end of the previous power play.

Cornell went to work again on the man advantage, and this time it was able to capitalize. Scott found senior captain Mike Knoepfli at the right point, and Knoepfli fired a shot that banged off the crossbar and in at 15:01.

"The credit's got to go to [Hynes] and [freshman] Ray [Sawada]," said Knoepfli. "All night on the power play, the goalie didn't see any of the shots that Moulson or I were shooting. They did a great job getting in his way, and I saw the top corner open and just shot it there."

The third period was relatively quiet, as neither team had many scoring chances. Pereira and Bitz were each called for two penalties in a row, resulting in four minutes of four-on-four play midway through the period.

McKee finished with 20 saves for his seventh shutout of the season, taking sole possession of second place in program history with 12. He is one shutout away from tying the all-time mark set by Ken Dryden '69.

Men's Hockey Hosts RPI, Union

With two weeks left in the regular season, the No. 4 men's hockey team (18-4-3, 14-2-2 ECACHL) sits atop the league standings with a four-point lead over Colgate. This weekend, the Red will try to move one step closer to clinching the No. 1 seed in the ECACHL tournament when it battles RPI (13-17-2, 5-12-1 ECACHL) and Union (11-18-1, 7-11-0 ECACHL) tonight and tomorrow at Lynah Rink. Both contests begin at 7 p.m.

"Everybody's fighting for position in the standings," said head coach Mike Schafer '86. "The reasons we're fighting for might be a little different than the reasons RPI and Union are fighting for, but everybody's trying to jockey and get themselves the best position in the standings. It's kind of the unique thing about our playoffs, going down the stretch drive here, everybody has the same thing at stake."

Tomorrow's senior night will honor Charlie Cook, Jeremy Downs, Mike Iggulden, Mike Knoepfli, and Paul Varteressian, as it will be the last regular season home game of their careers. The class of 2005 has racked up impressive credentials in its four years at Cornell, including a Frozen Four showing, two NCAA appearances, one ECACHL title, and three Ivy League titles. 

"Senior night is coming a little too soon," Cook said. "It's going to be a bittersweet experience, I'm sure, but I guess I'm ready."

Junior assistant captain Matt Moulson echoed Cook's sentiments.

"I've played with these guys for three years, it's sad to see a great bunch of guys, a good class leave," Moulson said. "Senior night always touches home with everyone. It'll be an emotional weekend."

After taking three points off of its travel partner, Colgate, two weeks ago, the Red further distanced itself last weekend with a four-point effort on the road against Princeton and Yale, while the Raiders only came away with three. Last Friday, Cornell blanked the Tigers 5-0, with five different players netting a goal. The Red's special teams accounted for three tallies, with Iggulden netting his second shorthanded goal of the season. Sophomore goalie David McKee recorded his sixth shutout of the season, which tied him for second all-time in program history with David LeNeveu '05. 

The next night against Yale, the Red fell behind early in the first period, but answered just 22 seconds later with a tally from sophomore Byron Bitz. Cornell tacked on two more scores in the period en route to a 5-2 victory. For the second night in a row, five different scorers recorded goals for the Red, and also for the second night in a row, Iggulden netted a shorthanded goal -- the eventual game-winner. 

During its trip to the Capital District in January, the Red took four points from Union and RPI. Another Iggulden shorthanded goal, this time in overtime, sealed a 2-1 victory over the Dutchmen, while the Red beat up on an under-manned Engineer squad the next night, winning 5-0.

"RPI will be a much different team than when we played up there," Schafer said. "Kirk MacDonald was out of the game, Oren Eizenman, two of their better players didn't play. You take two of anybody's top four scorers out of the game, you're going to have a whole different type of team."

MacDonald leads the team in scoring with 31 points, and last weekend, he scored the game-winner against Brown with nine seconds remaining in regulation. 3-3-0 in its last six conference games, the Engineers sit in tenth place in the conference standings, and will need two wins to remain in the hunt for home-ice in the first round of the conference playoffs. Union, currently in ninth, is only one point behind seventh place Clarkson and St. Lawrence. After starting conference play 6-2-0, the Dutchmen have dropped 11 of their last 12 conference games. Jordan Webb and Scott Seney are tied for the team league in scoring with 24 points, while goalies Kris Mayotte and Justin Mrazek have been splitting time between the pipes. 

"Union always gives us a difficult time, especially in their rink, and we just have to play our game at home in Lynah and keep the streak going," said junior Shane Hynes. The Red are unbeaten at home this season.

The Red will head up to the North Country next weekend for its final two games of the regular season against Clarkson and St. Lawrence. With a first-round bye in hand, Cornell will return to Lynah Rink three weeks from now for the second round of the ECACHL playoffs.

With two weeks left in the regular season, the No. 4 men's hockey team (18-4-3, 14-2-2 ECACHL) sits atop the league standings with a four-point lead over Colgate. This weekend, the Red will try to move one step closer to clinching the No. 1 seed in the ECACHL tournament when it battles RPI (13-17-2, 5-12-1 ECACHL) and Union (11-18-1, 7-11-0 ECACHL) tonight and tomorrow at Lynah Rink. Both contests begin at 7 p.m.
"Everybody's fighting for position in the standings," said head coach Mike Schafer '86. "The reasons we're fighting for might be a little different than the reasons RPI and Union are fighting for, but everybody's trying to jockey and get themselves the best position in the standings. It's kind of the unique thing about our playoffs, going down the stretch drive here, everybody has the same thing at stake."
Tomorrow's senior night will honor Charlie Cook, Jeremy Downs, Mike Iggulden, Mike Knoepfli, and Paul Varteressian, as it will be the last regular season home game of their careers. The class of 2005 has racked up impressive credentials in its four years at Cornell, including a Frozen Four showing, two NCAA appearances, one ECACHL title, and three Ivy League titles.
"Senior night is coming a little too soon," Cook said. "It's going to be a bittersweet experience, I'm sure, but I guess I'm ready."
Junior assistant captain Matt Moulson echoed Cook's sentiments.
"I've played with these guys for three years, it's sad to see a great bunch of guys, a good class leave," Moulson said. "Senior night always touches home with everyone. It'll be an emotional weekend."
After taking three points off of its travel partner, Colgate, two weeks ago, the Red further distanced itself last weekend with a four-point effort on the road against Princeton and Yale, while the Raiders only came away with three. Last Friday, Cornell blanked the Tigers 5-0, with five different players netting a goal. The Red's special teams accounted for three tallies, with Iggulden netting his second shorthanded goal of the season. Sophomore goalie David McKee recorded his sixth shutout of the season, which tied him for second all-time in program history with David LeNeveu '05.
The next night against Yale, the Red fell behind early in the first period, but answered just 22 seconds later with a tally from sophomore Byron Bitz. Cornell tacked on two more scores in the period en route to a 5-2 victory. For the second night in a row, five different scorers recorded goals for the Red, and also for the second night in a row, Iggulden netted a shorthanded goal -- the eventual game-winner.
During its trip to the Capital District in January, the Red took four points from Union and RPI. Another Iggulden shorthanded goal, this time in overtime, sealed a 2-1 victory over the Dutchmen, while the Red beat up on an under-manned Engineer squad the next night, winning 5-0.
"RPI will be a much different team than when we played up there," Schafer said. "Kirk MacDonald was out of the game, Oren Eizenman, two of their better players didn't play. You take two of anybody's top four scorers out of the game, you're going to have a whole different type of team."
MacDonald leads the team in scoring with 31 points, and last weekend, he scored the game-winner against Brown with nine seconds remaining in regulation. 3-3-0 in its last six conference games, the Engineers sit in tenth place in the conference standings, and will need two wins to remain in the hunt for home-ice in the first round of the conference playoffs. Union, currently in ninth, is only one point behind seventh place Clarkson and St. Lawrence. After starting conference play 6-2-0, the Dutchmen have dropped 11 of their last 12 conference games. Jordan Webb and Scott Seney are tied for the team league in scoring with 24 points, while goalies Kris Mayotte and Justin Mrazek have been splitting time between the pipes.
"Union always gives us a difficult time, especially in their rink, and we just have to play our game at home in Lynah and keep the streak going," said junior Shane Hynes. The Red are unbeaten at home this season.
The Red will head up to the North Country next weekend for its final two games of the regular season against Clarkson and St. Lawrence. With a first-round bye in hand, Cornell will return to Lynah Rink three weeks from now for the second round of the ECACHL playoffs.
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Hockey Welcomes Conference Foes to Lynah

While Lynah Rink is usually almost full around 7 p.m. on any given winter Friday night, tonight, it will probably be almost empty. Anyone looking to see the No. 8 men's hockey team (13-4-2, 9-2-1 ECACHL) will have to wait another hour, as tonight's contest against Clarkson (7-15-2, 3-8-1 ECACHL) will be nationally televised at 8 p.m. on CSTV's Friday Night Game of the Week. Tomorrow, the Red's game against St. Lawrence (13-10-1, 7-5-0 ECACHL) will start at the regular 7 p.m. time.

Despite having a better record than both squads, head coach Mike Schafer '86 thinks the team must be prepared to battle over the weekend.

"They will come in here very, very hungry," said Schafer. "Everyone is fighting for a different place in the standings and you know [St. Lawrence head coach] Joe Marsh and [Clarkson head coach] George Roll obviously did an awesome job last year at coming in here and preparing against us. We will get their best effort like we always do and it'll be two games very similar to the ones we just played against Dartmouth and Vermont this weekend -- tough and physical."

Following the aformentioned four-point weekend last week against the Green and the Catamounts, the Red remained unbeaten at home, posting a 9-0-0 record this season.

Overall, Cornell has won nine of its last 11 games, and currently sits in second place in the ECACHL standings, one point behind Colgate, and both squads have each played 12 games. Freshman Topher Scott was named ECACHL Rookie of the Week for the first time this season after tallying one goal and five assists in last weekend's games. He is currently tied for third on the team in scoring with 12 points.

This weekend marks the first time since the 2000-2001 season that the Red has first faced its North Country rivals at home. Cornell has faired well recently in the regular season against both Clarkson and St. Lawrence at home, going 5-0-1 against the two in the past three seasons. While the Red ended the regular season last year with a 2-1 win against the Golden Knights, the two teams faced off in the second round of the ECAC Playoffs. After Cornell won the first game 5-1, Clarkson rebounded to win the next two games 5-4 and 5-1, prematurely ending the second-seeded Red's season.

"I dont think [there will be any added juice to the game]," Schafer said. "Year by year things are so much different. Some players will hold on to that and some wont and Ithink it is more important to focus in on right now and this year. It is something that the fans will probably remember a lot more than our players. Our players obviously remember playing and losing here. It is something that is embarrassing and diappointing and upsetting and angry and all the emotions that we went through at that point in time. It is a whole different year and a whole different environment now."

The Golden Knights come into tonight's contest with a 3-3 record since the beginning of the new year. Clarkson began the season by losing 11 of its first 16 games. The team is paced on offense by seniors Jay Latulippe and Chris Blight, who are first and second on the team in scoring with 23 and 21 points respectively. Latulippe and freshman Steve Zalewski are tied for first in goals with 10 each. In goal, junior Dustin Traylen and sophomore Kyle McNulty have each seen significant time this season, with Traylen compiling a 3-9-1 record and McNulty posting a 2-5-1 record. 

Last weekend, one Clarkson player was kicked off the team and four others were suspended for undisclosed violations.

"Well I don't know anything about their situation," Schafer said. "It always takes a a strong coach to defend your athletes and it is so easy to sweep some things under the rug and not pay attention. It just shows [Roll] is made of strong character and he stands by what he says. I'm sure it will do nothing but benefit the hockey team."

St. Lawrence has been on a tear of late, winning six of its last seven games. The Saints had its five-game winning streak snapped by Rensselaer last weekend at home, but rebounded to beat Union the following night. Junior T.J. Trevelyan leads the league in goals scored with 16 and is second in scoring with 31 points. Goalie Mike McKenna has played all but 191 minutes this season, posting an 11-9-1 record, a 2.94 goals against average, and a .904 save percentage.

Men's Hockey Ties, Loses at Michigan State

The No. 8 men's hockey team entered the weekend as the only remaining undefeated team in the NCAA, boasting one of the most prolific offenses in the nation. Hoping to lengthen its winning streak, the Red (4-1-1, 2-0-0 ECACHL) travelled to East Lansing, Mich., for a two-game set against Michigan State on Friday night and yesterday afternoon. The Spartans had other ideas, limiting Cornell to one goal on the weekend. After playing to a 1-1 tie on Friday night, Michigan State blanked the Red en route to a 2-0 victory yesterday, Cornell's first loss of the season.

"Any time you go on the road and you're playing a team as good as Michigan State, it's always a challenge," said Cornell head coach Mike Schafer '86. "We definitely found which areas of the game we want to improve upon, but I thought we played well against a very good team. It gives us confidence that we belong where we are."

The Red's high-powered offense, which averaged 5.75 goals in its first four games, could not get going on Friday night, while on the other end, sophomore goalie David McKee was peppered with a multitude of shots. Whle McKee made several remarkable saves -- some from point-blank range -- the Spartans capitalized on the man advantage early in the first.

With junior Jon Gleed in the box, Michigan State's Ash Goldie received the puck at the top of the right circle, and blasted a shot that beat McKee glove-high at 5:54.

After only registering three shots in the first period, the Red capitalized on one of its five shots in the second period. At 4:11, freshman Doug Krantz's shot from the left point found the back of the net after richoting off of the left post and the skate of Spartan goalie Dominic Vicari. The tally, which was assisted by classmate Raymond Sawada and junior Cam Abbott, was Krantz's first collegiate goal.

The Red's penalty kill was tested in the second period, as it had to kill off eight penalties, including 1:22 of 5-on-3. Early in the third period, McKee stoned Goldie on a breakaway with a glove save. Although the Red had two power plays early in the period, the penalty-killing unit provided an offensive spark late in regulation, as senior assistant captain Mike Iggulden stole tht e puck and fed it ahead to Abbott, who broke free up the left side. After faking a shot left, Abbott took a shot from the right, but the puck went wide. 

In overtime, Michigan State outshot the Red, 4-1, almost scoring in the waning seconds of the game. With the Red shorthanded for the final 0:47 of overtime, Abbott had two great scoring chances, but couldn't convert.

Vicari finished the game with 20 saves for the Spartans, while McKee recorded a career-high 36.

"It was an outstanding performance by [McKee]," Schafer said. "We definitely left him out to dry there a few too many times, that's something we need to work on, but Friday night he stole the point for us. It proves we are definitely strong at that position."

"That might be the best game we have played all year," Michigan State head coach Rick Comley said after Friday night's game. "We had a chance to get up by three or four, but their goaltending held them in there. It was about as much as you could want in a 1-1 game." After a day off on Saturday, the two teams resumed their series yesterday afternoon. The Spartans struck first again, as Bryan Lerg grabbed a rebound off of a shot from A.J. Thelen and slid the puck through McKee's five-hole at 15:43 in the first period. Both teams were held scoreless in the second, as Vicari and McKee turned away several scoring chances. 

While the Red's play in the second and third periods was reminscent of its earlier games, the Spartans doubled their lead at 5:13 in the third. As Michigan State crashed the net, Jim McKenzie received the puck in the slot and fed it to Chris Mueller, who beat McKee on a backhanded shot. 

"I thought we played the style of hockey in the second and third period that is typical of our hockey team," Schafer said. "I thought we deserved a worse fate on Friday night, and I thought we deserved a better fate [yesterday]; and that's the way that hockey can be sometimes."

McKee was pulled for the final 1:50, but the Red could not cut the Spartans' lead. After being outshot, 37-21, on Friday, the Red posted a 32-22 shot advantage yesterday. Vicari's 32 saves earned him his first shutout of the season, while McKee stopped 20.

"I thought their size really played a factor in the game and they came at us hard," Comley said. "Their goaltender obviously is outstanding and Dom reacted to him and the two goalies went toe-to-toe."

While the Red failed to get a win on its road trip, playing a tough opponent like the Spartans gave Cornell the chance to identify the weak points of its game in preparation for the upcoming conference slate.

"I like to play tough opponents," Schafer said. "You really don't find out what your weaknesses are until you play someone that's a strong team, and they had a good team. It gives us an opportunity to go back and refine things."

Club Hockey Wins New York State Championship

It's not often that a team can go from two wins to 15 wins in consecutive seasons, but that's what the Cornell club hockey team recently accomplished. After finishing 2-12-0 in 2002-03, the team finished its 2003-04 campaign with a 15-7-1 record, and capped the year by winning the New York College Hockey League postseason tournament. Cornell defeated Lemoyne and Cortland to advance to the championship game, where it faced Hobart, and came from behind to win the game, 4-2.

"I think we had a much more solid group of guys than last year. Last year, we didn't have a very big team, and a lot of guys were very busy with different things, and there wasn't a lot of senior leadership," said captain Nat Brand '04. "This year we had a lot of freshmen come to tryouts, and they stuck with us even through rush, and it turned out to be a good year because we had a good balance of young guys and good senior leadership."

At the beginning of last season, the team's coach quit, and Ben Hysell '02 and Gary Brandt stepped in as the coaching staff. Hysell commuted in from Rochester to coach the team, and Brandt served as assistant coach and faculty advisor.

"[Ben's] good at just making sure the guys keep their priorities in order and stay focused in the locker room when we need them to stay focused," Brandt said.

After playing in the Eastern Collegiate Hockey League last season, Cornell helped to found the eight-team NYCHL last summer. The new league is composed of only teams in New York State, with most away games only an hour-and-a-half away.

Cornell held practices weekly on Monday and Wednesday nights and began its season in late October. After facing little difficulty in the early part of its schedule, the team faced some tougher opponents this semester, splitting a home-and-home series with Fredonia.

"There was one game where we traveled to Colgate with eight guys, and they had a full squad, and we beat them 5-4. There's definitely a lot of talent on the team, and at the beginning of the year everyone gelled together really nicely," Brand said.

As a club sport, the members of the team pay dues that go towards ice time for practice and games, equipment, insurance, and travel expenses. The team also received financial support from the SAFC. With these funds, the team was also able to purchase new uniforms at the beginning of the season.

"We ended up getting a good amount of money from the SAFC, they were very generous this year, and we really appreciated that," Brand said.

Next year, the team hopes to add more games to its schedule, and the NYCHL could possibly expand also. While the team graduates six seniors this year, it has a lot of young members thanks to good recruiting in the fall. With a good coaching staff in place and a lot of returning members, the team will look for continued success in the years to come.

"We're hoping that the momentum we created this year is going to convince the guys that the club team is worth sticking to, and that it's a good thing to do at a busy university," Brand said.

Sharks Sign Swede

After a successful hockey career on the East Hill, Doug Murray '03 has taken the next step in his career, recently signing a contract with the NHL's San Jose Sharks. Murray, a two-time All America defenseman and a Hobey Baker Award Finalist in 2002, was drafted by the Sharks in the eighth round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.

"[Signing with the Sharks] is a step towards a dream come true," said Murray. "It's been a dream of mine to play in the NHL since I started playing hockey as a kid."

This past year, Murray served as co-captain along with classmate Stephen Baby '03, and helped lead the Red to its first Frozen Four appearance in 23 years. Murray recorded five goals and 20 assists, while helping to establish the Red's defense as the best in the country, with a mere 1.36 goals allowed average. The Bromma, Sweden native had quite a following among the Lynah Faithful, as several Swedish flags could be seen in the stands during most games.

With training camp on the horizon in September, Murray participated in the Sharks' summer development camp from July 9-12 at Logitech Ice in San Jose. He was one of six blueliner prospects at the camp, and there are currently five defenseman on the San Jose roster. If Murray does not make the Sharks after training camp, he could be sent to the Cleveland Barons of the AHL or one of the Sharks' other minor league teams.

"I want to use the summer to put myself in a position to get a spot on the team," remarked Murray. "I need to concentrate on what I can control."

Current Cornellians in the NHL include the three-time Stanley Cup champion Joe Nieuwendyk '88 of the New Jersey Devils, Brad Chartrand '96 of the Los Angeles Kings, and Kent Manderville '91 of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Murray will look to join them when training camp starts in mid-September.

Athletic Dept. Holds Ticket Lottery

With the men's hockey team advancing to its first Frozen Four in 23 years, hundreds of fans gathered at Lynah Rink yesterday afternoon for a chance to buy tickets for the event, which will take place at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo next week.

Earlier in the week, the athletic department announced that student and general season ticket holders would be able to enter a lottery for the right to buy three-game packages for the entire event.

"We had between 1000 and 1500 responses total. The total responses included more than season ticket holders," said athletic ticket office manager Gene Nighman. "We have a database of all the students who had a line number, and a list of general season ticket holders who renew every year, so we compared the names on the e-mails to the database."

Members of the men's hockey team came up to the announcer's booth during practice to draw names from two pools of names: one for student ticket holders and one for general ticket holders. A total of 25 names were drawn from each pool, and each person chosen had the opportunity to buy two tickets.

Those who were not in attendance were contacted and will have until 5:00 p.m. on Monday to respond.

"There are so many tickets being sold out early, and they do that for a reason. Five-hundred tickets, they go fast. By the time you get through the players and everybody who's associated with that, there's not many tickets," said men's hockey head coach Mike Schafer '86. "But knowing Cornell fans, they're resourceful. There are lots of ways of getting tickets that will just continue all week."

The drawing was completely random, meaning there was no advantage for having a high number in September's ticket line.

"Getting a high line number was the reward for getting to the line early [in September.] For this, I think we did it a fair way, with a drawing only for people that had season tickets," explained Nighman.

Five alternates were also drawn from each pool at the end, and those people will have the opportunity to buy tickets should the people who were selected in the initial drawing decide not to buy tickets.

Junior Mike Maas was one of the many students attending yesterday.

"I've already bought tickets on the eLynah.com message board," he said. "I'm here today to see if I can get better seats first. I don't think my chances are very good in the lotto, but I don't care since I already have five tickets."

Sophomore Alyssa Keese also secured tickets on eBay, but entered the lottery in hopes of getting better seats.

"I think my chances of winning are very small, I think they should have allotted more tickets for students," she said. "My friends and I are really excited [for next week], we can't wait to go."

For people who did not win the lottery, many avenues of acquiring tickets remain. As of last night, there were over 80 listings on eBay, with prices ranging from $100 to $900. In addition, many people have been able to obtain tickets through the message boards on eLynah.com and USCHO.com.

"I know a lot more fans want to go, and there definitely should be," junior center Ryan Vesce said. "I think they should keep looking for tickets because I think there's going to be a few after the first game on Thursday."

LeNeveu Attends Canadian Junior Team's Camp

Cornell sophomore netminder David LeNeveu was invited to attend the Canadian junior national team's summer development camp held in Halifax, Nova Scotia from Aug. 10-20. The ten-day camp featured 46 of the best junior players in the country and was held in preparation for the World Junior Championships which will be played in Halifax from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5.

"It was truly a great experience," remarked LeNeveu. "When I went out there, I didn't really know what I was getting into.

"Then I saw the other players who were attending the camp, truly some great talent -- guys like Jason Spezza, Jay Bouwmeester, Rick Nash, all drafted in the top three spots in the past two NHL prospect drafts," he continued.

The Canadian junior team has finished either second or third at the past three tournaments, and won a record five-straight gold medals from 1993 to 1997. Upon arrival at the first practice at the Halifax Metro Centre, the camp attendees were split into two squads, the Red team and the White team. LeNeveu and Olivier Michaud of the Shawinigan Cataracts were the goalies on the Red team. The two groups then played four intersquad games over the course of ten days. LeNeveu, along with Duncan Keith of Michigan State, were the only two college players attending the camp.

"I felt I might have had an advantage going and being a college player because I know the strength and conditioning program we have here at Cornell set us way above already," said LeNeveu. "I was just glad I was recognized being a college player and got the opportunity to compete with all the other WHL, OHL, and junior league players."

"David's a strong kid both mentally and physically. He has a good handle on his abilities," remarked Blair Mackasey, head scout for the Canadian junior team. "He probably wasn't as well known as some of the other players at the camp, but he left his mark."

On-ice practices focused on getting the players accustomed to the new systems they would be using during the games. There was also a skills competition and two scrimmages. On off days, the players were able to experience the sights of Halifax, including a ride on a navy ship, a dragonboat canoeing competition, and a lobsterfest with tournament sponsors. The four Red-White games offered the players some valuable game experience with their future teammates.

"Intersquad games were definitely not like a Cornell game. It was very fast-paced, very transitional, no defense whatsoever," said LeNeveu. "It was just everybody trying to display their talent, and us goalies, we were doing to the best we could to keep the puck out of the net."

The games were very high scoring, with the two teams combining for 48 goals in four contests. In his four games, LeNeveu posted excellent numbers, including an impressive performance in game two, stopping 20 of 22 shots. He had the lowest goals-against average of the four goalies at the camp and the second highest save percentage.

LeNeveu's performance drew the praise of team officials.

"I'm quite happy with his performance," commented Mackasey. "Having worked as a scout for the Phoenix Coyotes who drafted David, I'd already seen him play several times, and his level of play was as expected."

The games drew a decent-sized crowds, with an average of 3598 fans in attendance at the 11,000 person Metro Centre.

"The atmosphere was nowhere near Lynah. Nothing can recreate Lynah Rink's atmosphere. I thought it was great to see fan support in a summer development camp," remarked LeNeveu.

The World Junior Championships have been host to many future NHL players such as Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Eric Lindros, Peter Forsberg, Brian Leetch, and John LeClair. Team USA's highest finish came in 1997 when it finished second behind Canada. In December, some players will be invited back to the selection camp, after which the final roster will be named.

"[The tournament is] going to be very highly competitive. Obviously, Canada wants to reestablish our reputation as the number one hockey country in the world, so there's definitely that behind us. It's in our home country, so we should have great fan support for that as well," commented LeNeveu. "I'm just hoping to get invited back to the December camp, and prove that I'm able to play with these guys and make the team."

"Barring any injury, there's a very good chance he'll be back for selection camp in December," said Mackasey.