UMass Closes Out Non-Conference Schedule Against ECAC Leader No. 10 Cornell
• UMass closes out its non-conference schedule this Sunday (5 PM) against the ECAC's top-team No. 10 Cornell in a rematch of last season's 0-0 overtime thriller. The Minutemen are winners of three of their last four games, while the Big Red have lost only once this season - at North Dakota.
• Sunday afternoon will be just the eighth all-time meeting between the two teams. Cornell holds a 4-2-1 edge in the series and this will be just the second time the Big Red have visited Amherst.
• Last season, neither team could find the decisive game-winning goal as each goalie played tremendously between the pipes. Paul Dainton made 24 saves, while Cornell's Ben Scrivens made 45 - including 19 in the first period alone. Both goalies are back this season which should make this anyone's game.

Broadcast Information
• UMass hockey will once again be broadcast live on 100.9 FM WRNX with Donnie Moorhouse calling the play-by-play and Brock Hines calling the color commentary. The pregame show will begin 30 minutes prior to the opening face-off. The game will also be streamed live over the internet through www.UMassAthletics.com.
• Streaming video can be accessed through www.UMassAthletics.com which is a for-fee service and best viewed on a high-speed broadband internet connection.
• Additionally, GameTracker Live Stats will also be available through www.UMassAthletics.com along with a live in-game blog.

Stocking Stuffer Ticket Special
• UMass is pleased to once again offer the popular Stocking Stuffer Ticket Special where fans can buy four tickets for just $30 to the Cornell game or the Jan. 9 New Hampshire. This package makes a great present for any UMass fan.

CAHOON BECOMES ALL-TIME WINNINGEST COACH IN UMASS HISTORY
• Head coach Don "Toot" Cahoon became the all-time winning head coach in UMass history on Dec. 12, 2008 with a 4-0 win over American International. He earned career win No. 121 which surpassed UMass Hall of Famer Jack Canniff who had 120 wins in his career from 1967-79. He won his 300th overall game as a head coach on Dec. 5, 2008 in a 5-1 win over Connecticut.
• Under Cahoon's tenure, UMass made its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance (2007) and played for the Hockey East Championship title in 2003.

Fans Set New Attendance Record
• With an average of 4,794 fans per home game, UMass ranks 13th nationally in attendance and fourth in Hockey East, just behind Boston College, New Hampshire, and Boston University.
• UMass averaged a program-best 5,017 fans at home games in 2007-08 which was an all-time best for the program. Against UMass Lowell (10/19/07), UMass set a new record for opening game attendance as 5,862 fans came through the turnstiles. Attendance has increased in each of the last four seasons.
• A Mullins Center record 8,389 fans turned out to see UMass defeat Boston College on Nov. 22 - a mark that also ranks as the ninth-best UMass hockey attendance for all venues. UMass had 7,212 fans pack the Mullins Center for the Boston University game (11/14).

UMass In The National Polls
• UMass earned its first national ranking of the year at No. 19 in the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Top 20 poll on Nov. 3 after starting the season 4-1-1. The Minutemen have received votes in either the USCHO.com or the USA Today/USA Hockey Top 15 Poll in each week of the season. In the Dec. 15 polls, UMass is receiving votes (6th team listed), but have fallen out of the USA today poll.
• To begin the 2008-09 season, UMass entered both the USA Today/USA Hockey Top 15 and the USCHO.com/CSTV preseason polls as a team receiving votes.
• At No. 5 in the Dec. 31, 2007 and Jan. 7, 2008 USCHO.com/CSTV.com Top-20 poll, UMass gained its highest ever national ranking in program history. The previous top national ranking was No. 7 back in December 2003.

vs. Ranked Teams
• In 2008-09, UMass is 3-3-1 against ranked teams. Of those, UMass has faced five teams ranked in the nation's top-5 posting a 3-1-1 record.
• Last season, UMass was 7-10-1 against ranked opponents including a 5-0-1 stretch against ranked teams through the holiday break. It was UMass best record ever against ranked teams.
• All-time, UMass is 43-168-18 against ranked opponents including a 4-7-2 record at neutral sites and a 5-19-4 record against non-conference teams.
• UMass posted its second ever win over a No. 1-ranked team on Friday, Nov. 14 in the 5-1 win over Boston University. The first came in 1994-95 with a 4-2 win over No. 1 Maine on Jan. 28. In the modern era, UMass is 2-12-1 against team's ranked No. 1.

Team Overview
• UMass returns a strong corps of players in 2008-09 led by seven seniors including co-captain Cory Quirk. The Minutemen also have defenseman John Wessbecker back in the line-up after he missed the second half of last season due to injury. Defensively, the Minutemen will have to find replacements for Mike Kostka and David Leaderer who were two of the most dependable blueliners in all of Hockey East last season. One area of the ice that is looking strong for UMass is between the pipes with sophomore Paul Dainton and junior Dan Meyers both returning.
• UMass returns seven of its top 10 scorers from last season with sophomore James Marcou (8-24-32) and Cory Quirk (11-18-29) leading the way. Justin Braun is the top scoring defenseman returning after scoring 20 point (4-16) last season.
• Bolstering UMass' depth is six newcomers (4 forwards, 2 defensemen). Coach Cahoon is very high on this class stating that each will make an impact on the ice this season.

Story Lines
• UMass' loss to Bemidji State snapped a two-game win streak, but the Minutemen rebounded for a 4-1 win over Army last Monday.
• UMass lost for the second time this season when limiting an opponent to under 20 shots in a game (1-2-0)...UMass held Army to just 17 shots - the second fewest opponent shots of the season... UMass has allowed fewer than 20 shots in each of the last three games (2-1-0).
• UMass was 0-for-6 on the power play in the tournament and is 1-for-22 with the extra man in the last five games
• UMass allowed two power play goals against Bemidji State - just the second time this season a team scored two power play goals in a game (Nov. 21 at Boston College).
• UMass is outscoring opponents 15-to-6 in the last four games.
• In games won this year, UMass is averaging 5.0 goals per game, is 8-for-38 on the power play, and allowing 1.4 goals per game, while in games lost, UMass is averaging 1.3 goals per game, is 2-for-30 on the power play, and is allowing 3.0 goals per game.
• UMass has scored 16 goals in the first period and 14 goals in the second period of games won, while just scoring three in each of those periods of games lost.
• UMass is 9-1-0 when scoring three or more goals this year and 0-6-1 when scoring fewer than three goals.
• The Minutemen have three short-handed goals in the last five games.
• UMass is 3-1-1 against teams ranked in the nation's top-5 this season. Included in those wins are victories over a team ranked No. 1 nationally and the defending national champions.
• Seven of UMass' games this season have been against ranked teams. Of those, Vermont is the lowest ranked opponent at 13th nationally.
• The 26 goals scored in the first seven games are the most since the 1995-96 season when UMass netted 33 goals in the first seven games ... The 26 goals are the most in the first seven games of any season of head coach Don Cahoon since scoring 24 in 2003-04 - the same season UMass appeared in the Hockey East Championship game.
• The trio of Alex Berry-Cory Quirk-James Marcou has accounted for 57 of UMass' 146 total points - 39.0 percent of UMass' point total.
• As a team, UMass is outscoring opponents 146-to-96 overall - 3.2 goals per game to 2.1 gpg.
• UMass' win over No. 1 Boston University was the second win of the season over a top-5 nationally ranked program. It was also the program's second all-time win over a team ranked No. 1 nationally since defeating Maine 4-2 on Jan. 28, 2005.

Milestones, Firsts, Who's Hot
• Head coach Don "Toot" Cahoon became the all-time winningest coach in UMass history with the 4-0 win over AIC - he now has 121 career wins at UMass and earned his 300th win overall as a head coach after the victory over UConn.
• James Marcou now has 53 career points in 53 career games including nine points in the last seven straight games.
• With 92 career points, Cory Quirk needs just 8 more to reach 100 points for his career - he also leads UMass with a +28 career rating ... Quirk has also scored nine points in the last six games ... He was named to the Dartmouth Ledyard All-Tournament Team.
• Justin Braun scored his third goal in the last six games against Bemidji State and has four total this year
• Will Ortiz tied his career high with two goals against Army.
• Casey Wellman continues to lead all Rookie scorers for UMass after scoring a goal and adding two assists against Army - his fourth multi-point game of the season ... Wellman was named the Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week for the league-leading second time this season.
• UMass is now 32-14-7 in Chris Davis' career when he scores at least a point in a game after he had an assist against Army.
• Matt Gedman saw his first career action playing the final 4:21 in goal vs. AIC making one save to preserve the shutout win - Gedman is also a member of the UMass baseball team.
• Alex Berry scored his third career short handed goal, the game-winner, in his 100th ca