« Hockey 2009-10

Colin Greening

School
Cornell University
Position
Forward
Major
Applied Economics and Management
G
15
A
20
PTS
35

Classroom

Greening was named a second-team ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American in the ultra-competitive at-large category as a junior.  He carries a 3.95 grade point average in applied economics and management.  Greening is a three-time selection to the ECAC Hockey Academic All-League team and a three-time recipient of the team’s Wendell and Francelia Earle Award, which is presented annually to the player with the highest grade point average in his classes.

Character

Greening is an exceptional person leading by example both on and off the ice.  On the ice, he is a two-time team captain, only the third two-time team captain for the Big Red during the 15-year tenure of head coach Mike Schafer.  Additionally, he was named an alternate captain as a sophomore becoming the first sophomore to wear the letter “A” on his jersey during Schafer’s time at Cornell.  When dealing with the media, he handles all questions with class and always answers what is asked of him regardless of how difficult the answer or the team’s performance on the ice.  He is well respected by his teammates, coaches, administrators and others in the community.  Greening has been selected to Cornell’s Red Key Honor Society of which membership is restricted to those who have displayed tremendous leadership, integrity and responsibility within their varsity program, shown a commitment to academics and have been involved in the Cornell and Ithaca communities.  He is also a two-time recipient of the team’s Joe DiLibero/Stan Tsapis Award, which is presented for efficiency, dedication and hard-nosed application.

Community

Greening has spent countless hours volunteering his time within the Cornell and Ithaca communities.  Examples of his service have ranged from reading at area elementary schools to working with area hockey teams to working with Big Brothers/Big Sisters.  Greening has volunteered his time at the Franziska Racker Centers, assisting people with special needs, and participated in the local “Walk for Breast Cancer.”  He has visited area schools promoting reading programs and talking with kids about life as a Cornell student-athlete and hockey player.  He has coached hockey for the Ithaca Youth Hockey program where he would run practice for 40 young hockey players.  Additionally, he worked with the same organization to clean up one of the many parks in the city.  Greening also worked with the Porte De Belen Foundation’s trip to the Dominican Republic in June 2009.  The foundation spent a week working to build facilities to help improve the quality of life in the Dominican.  Greening helped to raise funds for building materials and collected athletic equipment to be donated to the children of the region.  For his work with the Porte De Belen Foundation, Greening was one of only 25 students campus-wide to be named a Cornell Campus “Changemaker.”  Through his work with the Red Key Honor Society, Greening is helping organize a Homecoming parade in mid-October and working with teammate Ben Scrivens to organize the fourth-annual Cornell Hockey Teddy Bear Toss.  The teddy bear toss raises money for the Franziska Racker Centers and donates stuffed animals to the Ithaca Cops, Kids and Toys program.

Competition

Greening’s skill on the ice was evident before his arrival at Cornell.  He was a seventh-round draft choice by the Ottawa Senators in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.  Greening has continued to live up to his billing as an outstanding hockey player having appeared in all 103 games since his arrival on campus.  He is on pace to become the 45th player in Cornell history to record 100 career points tallying 83 through his junior season.  Greening was selected second-team All-ECAC Hockey last season and was the only unanimous selection to the All-Ivy League first-team as a junior.  Greening, who scored 31 points as a junior to finish second on the team in scoring, finished the season ranked in a tie for 19th with four game-winning goals and tied for 39th with eight power play goals.  He proved his ability to deliver under pressure when he scored the game-winning goal in double overtime against Princeton in the semifinals of the ECAC Hockey Tournament and had a goal and an assist in the NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal against Northeastern.  As a sophomore, he led the team in scoring with 33 points on 14 goals and 19 assists and led the Ivy League with nine goals in 10 league games.  During his freshman campaign, he led the team with 11 goals, becoming the first freshman to lead the Big Red in goals since the 1998-99 season and finished the season tied for fifth on the team in total scoring.