Few at Lynah Rink are unfamiliar with junior defenseman Nick D’Agostino. A starter since his freshman year, the Pittsburgh Penguins draftee has compiled 35 points in two seasons on the Cornell blue line. Just as D’Agostino burst onto the scene in 2009-10, it did not take long for freshman linemate Joakim Ryan to make his presence felt on East Hill.

“I’ve practiced with Joakim a lot. I think he’s a great young defenseman, I enjoy playing with him,” D’Agostino said.

Ryan notched two goals and one assist in the season opener against Mercyhurst, earning ECAC Rookie of the Week honors in the process. The freshman built upon his hot start with a goal in the Red’s comeback effort at Brown on Nov. 5, and enters the weekend ranked fifth in points on the roster, and second only to D’Agostino among defensemen. 

The Red returns five defensemen from last year’s squad in addition to D’Agostino, led by captain Keir Ross, who played to a plus-12 rating in 2010-11. Ross, who has seen time at center in his three seasons at Cornell, expects to predominantly play defense this season, but is ready to step up when called upon.

“I’d like to be playing [defense], but I’m happy playing center too — I really enjoy it,” Ross said. “I think that’s really going to be contingent upon other guys more than myself … It really depends how our center situation is looking as we progress through the early part of the season.”

Fellow senior Sean Whitney and junior linemate Braden Birch return as full-time starters for the third consecutive season, combining for a plus-three rating while pairing up through the Red’s first five games this season. 

Sophomores Kirill Gotovets and Mathieu Brisson round out the returners for Schafer’s defense, splitting time with freshman Jacob MacDonald on the third line alongside Ross. Brisson earned starts in all 34 games last season, playing to a plus-eight rating, but did not see action in last weekend’s road sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth. 

For Ross, integrating the young talent with the veterans is an important key to success for a squad that features nine freshmen.

“Those guys are very comfortable, they’re outgoing guys,” the captain said of the rookie class. “We always emphasize in our program having a close knit group of guys, knowing each other really well — that’s an important part of any team sport ... They’ve meshed well.” 

As an assistant captain, D’Agostino tries to emphasize the program’s rich tradition to the younger players, with the belief that knowledge of the past can impact future results.

“It’s tough to live up to a tradition when you don’t know what that tradition is,” he said. “[We want the freshmen] to think of Cornell hockey … and all the players that have gone through this program. We’ve done things in the past like trophy polishing, and we’ve really stressed learning about the history of Cornell … We recommend to our young guys to learn as much as they can because it’s only going to make you want to play and win for Cornell that much more.”