ITHACA, N.Y. — Freshman goaltender Matthew Galajda has been named both Ivy League Player of the Year and Goaltender of the Year, Mike Schafer ’86 has been named the Ivy League Coach of the Year, and five members of the Cornell men’s hockey team garnered All-Ivy League honors, as announced by the league on Thursday afternoon.
Sophomore defenseman Yanni Kaldis earned a spot on the All-Ivy League first team for a second straight year, where he joins Galajda – a unanimous selection as the Ancient Eight’s top goaltender. Junior forward Anthony Angello and junior defenseman Alec McCrea were placed on the second team, and junior forward Mitch Vanderlaan earned honorable mention.
Only Ivy League statistics are considered for the All-Ivy squads, creating a unique wrinkle for the teams that play in a league within another league (ECAC Hockey). But for Cornell, the numbers look favorable in just about any light. Currently ranked the No. 2 team in the country in both the USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls, Cornell was 9-0-1 in games against its Ivy brethren. It was the first time the Big Red went undefeated in Ancient Eight play since 1995-96 – Schafer’s first season at the helm – leading to the program’s 22nd Ivy League title.
Galajda was 7-0-1 in Ivy play with a league-leading 1.55 goals against average and .941 save percentage. Two of his eight shutouts this season have come against Ivy opponents – Nov. 10 vs. Dartmouth and Jan. 26 at Harvard. He is the Big Red’s first Ivy League Player of the Year since Andy Iles ’14, and the first Rookie of the Year since Brian Ferlin in 2012.
Kaldis is on the first team again after tying for the league lead in scoring amongst defensemen, posting three goals and five assists for eight points in 10 Ivy games. Beyond the offense, Kaldis is also among the Big Red’s leaders in ice time for the season, seeing time on power plays, penalty kills and at even strength.
Angello earned his first All-Ivy honor after tying for the league lead with eight goals, including his first collegiate hat trick Jan. 26 at Harvard – accounting for all of the offense in the Big Red’s 3-0 victory. He also added six assists for a total of 14 points in just the 10 Ivy League games. McCrea is also a first-time winner of All-Ivy recognition, having scored twice while adding three assists for five points while being one of the Big Red’s steadiest defensive defensemen. He created one of the most memorable moments of the season with a game-winning power-play goal against Harvard on Nov. 11 with just 2.3 seconds on the clock.
Despite needing to miss the last two Ivy League games of the season due to injury, Vanderlaan still earned honorable mention. A second-team pick last season, Vanderlaan has co-captained the Big Red to rare heights while scoring three goals and adding six assists for nine points in just eight Ivy games.
This is Schafer’s first Ivy League Coach of the Year honor, though the accolade was only recently added in 2015.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Matthew Galajda, Cornell (Fr., G – Aurora, Ontario)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Matthew Galajda, Cornell (Fr., G – Aurora, Ontario)
COACH OF THE YEAR
Mike Schafer, Cornell
FIRST TEAM ALL-IVY^
Ryan Donato, Harvard (Jr., F – Scituate, Mass.)
* Max Véronneau, Princeton (Jr., F – Ottawa, Ontario)
* Joe Snively, Yale (Jr., F – Herndon, Va.)
Yanni Kaldis, Cornell (So., D – Montreal, Quebec)
Adam Fox, Harvard (So., D – Jericho, N.Y.)
Josh Teves, Princeton (Jr., D – Calgary, Alberta)
* Matthew Galajda, Cornell (Fr., G – Aurora, Ontario)
SECOND TEAM ALL-IVY^
Sam Lafferty, Brown (Sr., F – Hollidaysburg, Pa.)
Anthony Angello, Cornell (Jr., F – Manlius, N.Y.)
Will Graber, Dartmouth (So., F – Broomfield, Colo.)
Max Gottlieb, Brown (Jr., D – Old Bridge, N.J.)
Alec McCrea, Cornell (Jr., D – El Cajon, Calif.)
Devin Buffalo, Dartmouth (Sr., G – Wetaskiwin, Alberta)
Merrick Madsen, Harvard (Sr., G – Acton, Calif.)
HONORABLE MENTION ALL-IVY
Mitch Vanderlaan, Cornell (Jr., F – Hanwell, New Brunswick)
David Hallisey, Princeton (Sr., F – Wethersfield, Conn.)
Ryan Kuffner, Princeton (Jr., F – Ottawa, Ontario)
Ryan Hitchcock, Yale (Sr., F – Manhasset, N.Y.)
* Unanimous Selection
^ First and Second Teams Expanded Due To Ties In Voting
