Twenty-five seasons of Cornell men’s hockey have passed since head coach Mike Schafer ’86 served as a senior tri-captain on Lou Reycroft’s 1985-86 ECAC championship squad. Schafer has taken home four conference titles in his tenure at the helm of the Red, entering his 16th season with a young, athletic group, led by the trio of senior defenseman Keir Ross, senior center Sean Collins and junior defenseman Nick D’Agostino. 

Ross, the team’s captain, and his two alternates have already received high praise early on from Schafer, who considers the 2011-12 Red one of the closest units he has coached. 

“[Our captains] have done a tremendous job with a big [freshman] class,” he said. “It’s not a freshman class where they’re solely hanging around with each other on campus. They’ve intermingled with the other classes, they’ve already picked their apartments for next year and it’s fun to see the fact that a lot of those freshmen are split up with upperclassmen … It just goes to show you the camaraderie, the teamwork and the team building the captains have done.”

A look at Ross’ statistics from his first three years on East Hill might not make the senior an obvious choice to serve as the Red’s captain. Ross has recorded 15 points in 93 games since arriving at Cornell, where he made waves as a freshman, earning ECAC All-Rookie team honors. Perhaps it was the 5-11, McKinney, Texas native’s calm demeanor that made him the clear choice to lead this year’s youthful squad.

“Not much,” Ross said when asked about what has changed now that the famed ‘C’ is sewn on his chest. “I just want to keep playing the way I’m playing, try to win by example, always keep intensity up in practice and in games.”

Ross characterized his leadership style as striking a balance between relaxing the atmosphere and knowing when the moment is right to push the team. 

“I’m here for the guys,” he said. “I’m trying to do what’s best for them, but … sometimes you have to crack down. We’ve got a good group  of guys — they make my life pretty easy.”

Collins, who leads all returners with 17 goals in a Cornell uniform and is one of six NHL draftees on the roster, praised Ross for his ability to integrate the underclassmen with the veteran members of the team. 

“Keir is obviously a leader by example. He does a lot of good things for us, and we’re really looking forward to seeing leadership from us all year,” Collins said. “Sometimes you worry about whether or not they’ll want to stick together, but [as captains] we’ve done a really good job of opening them up and getting them used to everything. They’re going to be a big part of our team this year.” 

The rookies have done just that in the opening weeks of the season. After defenseman Joakim Ryan earned ECAC Rookie of the Week honors for his three-point performance in the season opener against Mercyhurst, forward Brian Ferlin claimed the award in each of the following weeks. Ferlin’s eight points ties D’Agostino for the top spot on the Red’s scoring list this season.

“In my previous 15 years I think we’ve only had six or seven under-17 or under-18 players in our program,” Schafer said, referring to players like Riley Nash ’11, who arrived at Cornell after playing for their country on the world stage. “This year we’ve got Joakim Ryan, Cole Bardreau and Brian Ferlin, so you’ve got a host of players coming in that have international experience.”

For D’Agostino, the first Cornell junior to hold a captaincy since Colin Greening ’11 wore the ‘C’ in 2008-09, the primary task this season will be leading the defensive unit. While Ryan — D’Agostino’s linemate — and fellow freshman Jacob MacDonald will see consistent ice time, the assistant captain is also joined by Ross, senior Sean Whitney and junior Braden Birch on the defensive end.   

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a captain on the back end, even with Brendon Nash ’10 and Justin Krueger ’10 there … but obviously it’s pretty humbling to be selected to be a captain among your peers,” D’Agostino said. “Whether it’s me, Keir, Sean or Braden, we’re going to have a key role in the leadership of this team.”

D’Agostino certainly made his presence felt on the Red’s road trip last weekend to Harvard and Dart­mouth, where the 6-2 defender notched back-to-back two-goal games, vaulting Cornell to No. 18 in the Nov. 14 USCHO poll. The four-point weekend comes on the heels of a 1-2 start, including upset losses to Mercyhurst and Brown, which D’Agostino attributes to signs of youth on a relatively inexperienced squad.

“Being responsive is the biggest thing,” he said when asked what the freshmen can do to get acclimated to playing college hockey. “Listening to what the upperclassmen have to say, whether it’s on-ice systems or off-ice how we carry ourselves … Guys are going to make mistakes early in the year, but it’s just about learning from those mistakes and not letting them happen again.” 

While the Red has already secured road wins against the Crimson and Green, perhaps no victory was more telling than Cornell’s 6-2 drubbing of Yale on Nov. 4 — a rematch of last season’s ECAC championship game, where the Bulldogs clinched an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with a dominating shutout performance, 6-0. For Collins, the key to getting over the hump and returning to the tourney was obvious.

“I think we’re going to have to beat Yale, that’s for sure,” he said. “With a young team, you never really know how they’re going to adjust to a new league, but so far they’re looking really good and we’re looking forward to the chance of competing for a championship.” 

Just as Schafer guided the Red to an ECAC title as a tri-captain in his senior year, Ross looks to do the same with the help of Collins and D’Agostino. Leading a roster filled with young talent, Ross understands the importance of teaching the rookie class about the tradition of Cornell hockey.

“We have [a banner] with every year we’ve won the ECAC up in the locker room,” Ross said when asked about the constant reminders of the program’s rich history that run throughout Lynah Rink. “It really makes it more of an honor to play here, knowing that you’re in a program that expects that level out of you every day. You’re here to win, you’re here to play well and obviously here to have fun.”

Ross and his assistants will look to earn Schafer a sixth ECAC championship to add to that banner, 25 years after the head coach led his teammates to the seventh conference title in program history.