Sixth Biennial Event to Take Place Saturday, Nov. 30
NEW YORK — The cream of the crop of ECAC Hockey will convene on the storied ice in Manhattan on Saturday, Nov. 30, as the Cornell men’s hockey team will face Quinnipiac at the 2024 Frozen Apple at Madison Square Garden, it was announced jointly by Cornell, Quinnipiac, and Madison Square Garden.
Puck drop between the Bobcats and Big Red is scheduled for 8 p.m., and game action will be broadcast on ESPN+. With regular-season contests already scheduled on Nov. 22 in Ithaca and Jan. 18 in Hamden, the meeting in New York City will serve as one of Cornell’s seven non-conference contests for the 2024-25 season.
“I’m incredibly excited for this year’s Frozen Apple game at Madison Square Garden,” said Dr. Nicki Moore, Cornell’s Meakem & Smith Director of Athletics and Physical Education. “I am eager to see two of the top programs in ECAC Hockey face each other at such a historic venue as they continue their longstanding rivalry. For Mike Schafer, it will be his final trip to the Garden as head coach, and as a driving force behind the annual Thanksgiving series, I know Cornell fans all around the world will cherish the opportunity to celebrate him in person.”
“We’re really excited to get back to Madison Square Garden. Over the years, we’ve tried to bring quality opponents,” said Mike Schafer ’86, the Jay R. Bloom ’77 Head Coach of Cornell Men’s Hockey. “This year with Quinnipiac, obviously a rival in ECAC Hockey but also being a nationally recognized name across the country as far as their success is concerned, we hope they bring a lot of fans and alumni to Madison Square Garden to make it a tremendous environment once again. We’re excited for our players and are looking forward to come down and play at ‘The World’s Most Famous Arena’.”
Tickets for the contest will go on sale tomorrow (Aug. 1) at noon through bigredtix.com. Fans will be able to choose a section and seats will be assigned best available at time of purchase by the Cornell Athletics Ticketing Office.
“We are pleased to welcome our long-time college hockey partner Cornell University back to Madison Square Garden to continue the tradition of The Frozen Apple,” said Joel Fisher, executive vice president, MSG Marquee Events and Operations. “The matchup between Cornell and Quinnipiac, the 2023 NCAA National Champions, will pit two powerhouses against each other for a can’t-miss game.”
“Part of playing in ECAC Hockey is having outstanding opportunities on and off the ice, and this matchup at Madison Square Garden is something special for the student-athletes, coaches, students, fans, and alumni,” added ECAC Hockey commissioner Doug Christiansen. “The defending Cleary Cup winner (Quinnipiac) versus the defending Whitelaw Cup (Cornell) champion is a matchup not to be missed. I am looking forward to a great night at ‘The World’s Most Famous Arena’.”
Cornell will be playing at Madison Square Garden for the 29th time in program history and the 21st time at the venue’s current location. The Big Red has fared well at the venue, winning its last four games and going unbeaten in nine of its last 11 contests (8-2-1).
During its four-game win streak at Madison Square Garden, Cornell has outscored its opponent by a 16-5 clip, which includes registering shutouts over Boston University, 2-0, in the 2019 Red Hot Hockey game and against UConn, 6-0, in the most recent Frozen Apple contest in 2022.
In the last iteration of The Frozen Apple, Cornell registered its shutout thanks to a hat trick by then-freshman forward Dalton Bancroft, who joined Dick Bertrand ’70 as the lone Cornell players in program history to notch a hat trick at the venue.
This year’s Frozen Apple game will be the sixth in the biennial series that dates back to the first contest in 2012 against Michigan, which was a 5-1 triumph for the Big Red. Cornell also defeated Penn State, 3-1, in 2014, New Hampshire, 3-1, in 2016, and UConn in 2022. The lone setback for Cornell in a Frozen Apple contest was against Harvard, 4-1, in 2018.
Quinnipiac is coming off a 27-10-2 campaign in 2023-24, registering a 17-4-1 mark in conference play to record its fourth consecutive Cleary Cup. The Bobcats became the second ECAC Hockey program on record to win at least a share of the Cleary Cup in four straight campaigns, joining Harvard (1985-89), who won the regular-season title outright three times (1986, 1987, 1989) and splitting the honor with St. Lawrence in 1988.
Last year, the Bobcats ultimately fell to Boston College, 5-4, in overtime of the Providence Regional Final in last year’s 2024 Division I Men’s Hockey Championship. It was Quinnipiac’s second consecutive overtime game in the NCAA Tournament after it edged Wisconsin, 3-2, in the regional semifinal.
This year’s Frozen Apple game will be the Bobcats’ third time playing at Madison Square Garden in program history. Quinnipiac most recently played at the venue on Jan. 9, 2016, where it beat Harvard in overtime, 5-4. The first time Quinnipiac played at “The World’s Most Famous Arena” was when it beat its Nutmeg State rival UConn, 4-3, on March 1, 2003.
“We are very excited to head back to Madison Square Garden and participate in The Frozen Apple,” said Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold. “It was a very memorable contest in 2016 and we can’t wait to get back to MSG for another great chapter in our rivalry with Cornell.”
“We are really excited to get back to such a great venue and play in front of a large-scale audience,” Quinnipiac Director of Athletics Greg Amodio added. “Our experience in 2016 was incredible for our university and this night will serve again as a great way to bring together our greater New York City alumni and fans, as well as our Hamden faithful for another milestone night in Quinnipiac hockey.”
The remainder of Cornell’s non-conference schedule, along with its pair of exhibition contests, will be announced this Friday (Aug. 2) at 10 a.m.
(Photo provided by Cornell Men’s Hockey Dept.)
