alumni game

For all you who couldnt make the alumni game here's about what happend. When I first got there the line was huge. It started at the top doar and continued to go all the way down to the back parking lot. That was the line for a picture with joe. (poor joe) On the alumni game it was a good game. Bâby got a hat trick as well as paloni. I though they looked pretty good. Mike was there a gave a very nice speach and recieved a very large ovtion. What I though was very good for cornell to do was donate all the money made (which it was 5 dollars to get in and 20 to get a picture with joe) to him. He needs it to help him fight his awful injury. My best wishes go out to him. Let me know what you guys thought of the alumni game.

it was great and that last goal was hott.. go white

The line to get into Lynah extended past Bartels when we got there about 6:45. It was impressive.

The hockey wasn't great - especially toward the end, the "older" players (younger than I am) were pretty winded. They wanted it to end in a tie and it did, 13-13. They wanted to raise a lot of money for Mike Tallman '90, and I have to think they did that as well.

Our new Prez (Jeff Lehman '77) got to drop the ceremonial first puck and to lead the Alma Mater at half-time. If Janet Reno can, why can't he?

The tribute to Mike Tallman (held on the ice at half-time) which allowed him to wheel out and talk to the crowd, was moving. He and Coach had plenty of good things to say about Joe N., who held up the Cup to one of many ovations.

Arthur did a fine job (IMHO) running the scoreboard and the PA system, and our local Mayor-wannabe, Beau Saul, did a decent job as one of the two refs - even awarding a penalty shot.

I sat near Robb Cutting's family during the second part of the game - it's definitely strange to hear people cheering for "Daddy" at Lynah, but Robb hung in there and got an assist. (The definition of "alum" is pretty loose - Scott Garrow scored as well.)

I thought it was a great night for the Ithaca/Cornell community to show they care about Cornell Hockey, Joe and the Stanley Cup, and Mike Tallman. I'm terrible at crowd sizing, but I'd guess there were at least a thousand people there for most of the evening.

It was a midway-through-the-offseason treat to be in Lynah.

Ken '71



Post Edited (07-12-03 16:17)

the line was pretty long. when i got there it was at the ticket office door. so we waited and when i finally got to the front of the take your picture line the gentleman checking your hand was very nice but whomever was directing us when to go was quite mean. so it was confusing and i felt bad b/c we took a little longer due to the confusion. to her defense, though, it was crazy and she had been there a while. just wish it would have gone more smoothly. i felt bad for joe b/c he had a little pictures to get taken of him and it was hot in there! thank you for bringing the cup and giving us the opportunity to get a picture, touch the cup, and watch the hockey game while helping a great cause. I wish Mike the best and his speech was quite moving. I believe that all of the proceeds did go to his fund.

as for the game, I thought that the skill level and flow was better than in the other games I went to and thanks for putting on a good show. the penalty shot was great. thank you to everyone who played and put this thing together, i think that it was a successful and positive night. it was good to see fans from current and past classes as well as ithacans gather to support Mike.

any idea who the goalies were? I watched the first period from the line so did not hear the introductions.

also, did anyone get to go to dunbar's after? i had to be back for rounds this AM so I could not go out.

gionta will be in rochester today with the cup i think...

Red Team
------------
30  Jason Arnold (1990)
23  Pete Chuchmach (1978)
20  Garth Dennis
 4  Marc Deschamps (1992)
 2  David Francis (2002)
 5  Bruce Frauley (1991)
19  Eric Hartz
18  Greg Hartz
12  Andrew McNiven (2001)
 7  Phil Nobel (1992)
16  Shane Palahicky (2003)
14  Sam Paolini (2003)
 9  Neil Paterson (1990)
 8  Mike Rutter (2000)
22  Rick Sacchetti (2000)
24  Peter Shier (1978)

  
White Team
---------------
21  Stephen Bâby (2003)
15  Brent Brekke (ass't coach)
 5  Andy Craig (1987)
18  Robb Cutting 
 6  Jim Edmands (1987)
 4  Tony Eisenhut (1988)
 1  Tom Fox (1971)
 8  Scott Garrow (ass't coach)
 7  Chris Grenier (1989)
17  Dave Hunter (1986)
 9  Mike Manaster (1986)
20  Duanne Moeser (1986)
14  Peter Natyshak (1986)
12  Mike Schafer (1986)
19  Stewart Smith (1989)
 2  Wayne Stokes (1976)
22  Alan Tigert (1989)
30  Jeff Watts (1984)

  
Period 1 (30 minutes)
===============
Scoring
---------
 528 R1  Mike Rutter (Eric Hartz, David Francis)
1314 W1  Stephen Bâby (Dave Hunter, Scott Garrow)
1916 W2  Stewart Smith (Mike Schafer, Scott Garrow)
2114 R2  Andrew McNiven (Phil Nobel, Rick Sacchetti)
2333 R3  Sam Paolini (Garth Dennis, Tom Fox)
2459 W3  Stephen Bâby (Chris Grenier, Wayne Stokes)
2855 R4  Phil Nobel (Andrew McNiven, David Francis)

Penalties
-----------
none

  
Period 2 (30 minutes)
===============
Scoring
---------
 201 W4  Chris Grenier (Stewart Smith, Alan Tigert)
 424 R5  David Francis (Marc Deschamps)
 833 R6  David Francis (Sam Paolini, Mike Rutter)
 849 W5  Stephen Bâby (Dave Hunter, Andy Craig)
1042 W6  Mike Manaster
1403 R7  Sam Paolini (penalty shot)
1607 W7  Wayne Stokes (Duanne Moeser)
1746 R8  Shane Palahicky (Phil Nobel, Sam Paolini)
1946 R9  Mike Rutter (David Francis, Bruce Frauley) shg
2147 W8  Stephen Bâby (Andy Craig, Mike Schafer)
2307 R10 Sam Paolini (Pete Chuchmach, Shane Palahicky)
2455 R11 Mike Rutter (David Francis, Bruce Frauley)
2656 W9  Alan Tigert (Scott Garrow, Dave Hunter)
2835 R12 Peter Shier (Andrew McNiven, Phil Nobel)
2910 W10 Duanne Moeser (Stewart Smith)

Penalties
-----------
1403 W   Mike Schafer (something vile, penalty shot)
1933 R   Rick Sacchetti (hooking)
  

Period 3 (5 minutes)
==============
Scoring
---------
 054 W11 Andy Craig (Robb Cutting, Stephen Bâby)
 154 W12 Mike Manaster (Stewart Smith, Scott Garrow)
 403 R13 Mike Rutter (Shane Palahicky)
 459 W13 Andy Craig (Scott Garrow, Duanne Moeser)

Penalties
-----------
none

  
Goaltending
=========
Fox, Arnold and Watts split the goaltending. There were no goaltending statistics kept.
  
Officials: Jim Trumpfheller, Beau Saul

Post Edited (07-12-03 11:05)

There were some great moments in the game last night. My favorite was coach Schafer hooking Paolini on the breakaway. After Sam scored on the penalty shot, coach schafer threw his water bottle at the ref who called the penalty. That was hilarious.
Anyone who thinks the guys don't care about who wins or loses the alumni game should have seen the eruption on the white bench after they scored the tying goal with .4 seconds left on the clock.
That was probably one of the most exciting games I've seen played at Lynah. Certainly worth my eight hour drive to get there and back.

Thanks for the details, Arthur.

A few more views of the event:

[theithacajournal.com]

[www.theithacajournal.com]

It all makes me that much hungrier for the Big Red season to start.

Ken '71

i am a little surprised that uscho did not cover this at all considering it was for such a great cause.

thanks for the stats and rosters

What little of the alumni game I saw looked fun. But I have some gripes to air about Cornell Athletics and the way they handled the Stanley Cup viewing, etc. As others mentioned, the line was all the way up to Bartels at 7pm. No one knew until we got close enough to the door (after a couple hours) that there were actually TWO lines inside. One was to have a professional autographed pic taken with Joe and the Cup for $20. According to the signs posted, the other line was for those who were just interested in "viewing" the cup. Where I come from, "view" means look, but don't touch... as in, on that line, you could walk up to where Joe and the Cup were located, look at them, and take snapshots. If you wanted any sort of photo WITH Joe and the Cup, you had to wait on the $20 line. We asked one of the Cornell staff working there if you could go on the "viewing" line and take a picture with Joe and the cup with your own camera (just to make sure). He said no -- if you want a picture taken with your own camera, you have to wait on the $20 (but don't have to pay the $20). So we waited, and waited.

After close to 3 hours of waiting, I went to the "viewing" line just so I could actually view the cup -- and then go back to my place on the $20 line so I can get the picture taken. Much to my surprise, the people on the "viewing" line were actually having pictures taken with Joe and cup with their own cameras. The Cornell staff was actually halting the $20 line for people in the viewing line to have their pics taken. This means you could have shown up, gone to the viewing line, had your picture taken, and been out in 10-15 minutes... Meanwhile, the rest of us waited 3 hours. (I should note that while on the viewing line, I heard some other people on the line giggling about how they had cycled through the line 2 or 3 times so they could get more pictures with Joe and the cup).

So I went back to my place on the $20 line, b/c I still wanted the nice photo. Somtime around 9:30, someone came to our end of the line and said Joe was gonna have to leave, so we wouldn't get to take our pictures with him. (So we skipped to the so-called viewing line, and got pics with our own cameras.

That was a much too long-winded explanation. Point is -- it was completely disorganized. The system they had on the $20 line actually was very WELL-organized, and had it been only people on that line who were taking pics with the cup and Joe, the line would have gone quite quickly. Because of their ineptitude, Cornell Athletics screwed up in three ways:

(1) Many fans who waited for three hours never got the picture.

(2) Joe had to stand there probably for one-and-a-half hours longer than he should have had to. (One picture line means it would have gone much more quickly, rather than creating the two-line bottleneck).

(3) Worst of all, the Mike Tallman Fund made less $$ than it should have. People who would have paid the $20 (like me and my friends) skipped the long line to go on the quick line (albeit after three hours of waiting) so we could get our pictures taken. Had there only been one picture line, more people would have likely paid the $20, thereby benefiting the fund. As it is, some people took several pictures with Joe and the cup with their own cameras, thereby slowing the line and allowing less people to have the $20 pictures taken.

I've been to other similar events, where athletes not only take pictures, but sign autographs as well. Those lines went MUCH more quickly. Simply put, Cornell Athletics Dept blew it in the big game. As for me, it's no big deal -- I love Cornell hockey and my time as a student here. What really bothers me is that the Tallman Fund received less contributions than it should have with just a little better organization, and also that people who travelled far and wide to reach Cornell and see the Cup left with a less than favorable impression.

I concur with "Cup". The AD blew it.

Before I arrived I had planned on taking a picture of the cup with my friends on my own camera. Then I saw the poster saying that if you wanted a picture, it was $20. I thought, ok, it's for a good cause and I get Joe in it too, and an autograph, so, what the hell.

After waiting nearly 2 hours in line, when I got up to finally have my picture "professionally" taken, I too was halted and had to wait while several people in the "viewing" line got to set up a picture with Joe and take a few. If I were Joe in that situation, I would back out of the picture, I mean, the whole point of him standing there and smiling 3000 times was to raise much-needed funds for his buddy and here people are cheating the system and still getting the picture. At the time, I was more disappointed with the Ithacan's who knowingly asked him to be in a picture without forking out the cash, but in hindsight, the guy running the front of the lines could have stopped them as well.

I was further disappointed to read (above) that people, after waiting 3 hours in line, were denied their opportunity when they were willing to PAY for it while others, who didn't pay for it were able to grab it.

On a much lighter note, I truly enjoyed watching the alumni game (esp. Bâby's hatrick+) and am aching for some cornell hockey soon...

I got into town around 8:30, and found out via cellphone about the size of the line at Lynah, so my crew of about 10 people met up at Dunbar's. Some of us had gotten there considerably earlier and had their official photos at the rink, but most of us decided to skip that and take our chances.

Dunbar's was decked out with signs advertising the Cup's appearance, and they were selling t-shirts ($12) and charging $5 at the door (all to the Tallman fund). When we arrived, there was no line, and we immediately took the table by the window (not the one by the dartboard, as that area was walled off for a "private party."

Fast forward to the Cup's arrival (about 10:30). It made two loops around the bar, once held by Joe, once by Schafer. Then it settled in the private party area for a while, and we figured that was going to be the end of that. Until it moved again, to a table set up underneath where the TV usually is -- right next to the table that we had been sitting at all night. So we (and the rest of the bar) had ample opportunities to touch, kiss, and take photos with the prize.

Towards the end of the night, as the bar started to empty, the "private party" barricade was no longer being enforced, and most of the people I was with had a chance to drink from it.

All in all, not a bad night, considering that at one point, we had decided that "being in the same room as the Cup" would be the highlight of the evening.

(caution! looooong post)....
The thing about the Cup visit is that it wasn't an AD controlled event....I was by no means part of the planning or privy to the decision-stream, but I had enough conversations with the hockey office & others involved while things were going on to have somewhat of a picture of how things evolved.
First off, it was Joe's idea to bring the Cup to the public and to raise funds for Mike Tallman at the same time...his idea was to charge $5 per person to view the Cup, take your own photo with him, and watch the game. At some point, or concurrent with this, Ithaca Photo was asked or volunteered to take professional photos for those who wanted them, and these photos would be autographed by Joe. (btw--the entire $20 went to the Tallman fund--nothing was taken for the time of the photographers or processing, and at the golf outing it was announced that over $4000 was raised for the fund thru the professional photos alone). Joe did not get a confirmation that he could even have the Cup for 7/11 until less than a week before the event. Most of the event was set up by a very small handful of volunteers--I'm sure with input & support from the Hockey Office & probably the AD as a whole, but mostly an ad hoc attempt. I also don't think anyone expected the sheer number of people who came and the volunteers really just did their best to try to get as many people through as possible, but clearly we were overwhelmed.I was asked to volunteer, show up around 6:30 and help with ushering people along the lines. When I arrived I was given a quick rundown of what the lines were for. There were AD people there, also, but I don't know them. Clearly the communication could have been better because you, as well as other people, were given misinformation. There was a "professional photo, $20" line and a "viewing/take your own photo" line. The people on the "take your own" line were funneled in to the Cup area while the folks in the "professional photo" line were filling out their order forms and arranging their payment. There was never a "viewing only" line, and by no means did people get through that line, which was technically a "take your own picture line", in 10 or 15 minutes.That line was hours long as well...personally I saw maybe half a dozen people 'view only', the rest took pictures. I also saw a few repeats whose cameras froze, shutters were on, etc. who recycled through the line. I didn't get the sense that there were wholesale recyclers, but hundreds of people passed by me so things get blurred. I don't agree with your feeling that the 'take your own crowd' was cheating. I think Joe set it up that way to give everyone the best shot at getting to the Cup, getting to meet him and getting a memento.To me, part of the glory of the Cup is that it's out there amongst regular folks and I appreciate Joe's attempt, and the Hockey Office attempt, to make it as accessible as possible to the broadest cross section of people.
In terms of the Tallman fund receiving less money, the plan was to receive $5 per person, the professional photo money was gravy....and you, or anyone else, could have felt free to pitch in $20, or more, whichever line you were in, to support the charity. (and still can, btw)
Other than that, Joe and the Cup were always going to be available for a limited amount of time. The week before, I heard it would be 7-9:30. The night of the game, I asked Joe and others 'in charge' how long he would stay & the answer was "as long as I can"--but no guarantees that everyone would get Joe in the picture. I *can* tell you that after Joe left, the Cup remained for a period of time, and everyone who wanted a photo with the Cup, professional or otherwise, got one. It then travelled down to the ice for team photos with Joe, Mike Tallman, & all the alum players along with all the other cups, plaques & awards the Big Red garnered this year.
I do agree with you that the planning/organization/flow of information for this event were inadequate for the crush of humanity who arrived, but I can also say that the volunteer/organizers went into it with good intentions and an open-hearted desire to make this hockey icon available to as many as possible and to help Mike Tallman.
Finally, I have to credit Joe for his incredible patience, good will & grace under pressure in a hot & sticky, tumultuous madhouse for the incredible thrill of seeing the Cup up close & personal and also much much credit to our amazing community of hockey fans who stood patiently under adverse conditions for a very long time, and still maintained their good humor, camaraderie and sense of excitement about being at Lynah with the Stanley Cup.

REDhead wrote:

(caution! looooong post)....

but a good one.

[Q]I also don't think anyone expected the sheer number of people who came and the volunteers really just did their best to try to get as many people through as possible, but clearly we were overwhelmed.[/Q]
I think the difference between a managable and an unmanagable event was the amount of publicity. Not only was the visit publicized in the Ithaca paper, but also the Elmira and Binghamton papers (at least) and it hit the AP. You could tell a decent percentage of people in the line had no care for Cornell, but drove from out-of-town just to see the Cup. I have no problems with the publicity...it was for a great cause and the point was to raise as much money as possible for the Tallman Fund. Everyone who feels inconvenienced needs to remember that. I think they did as well as they could, given the unexpected turnout. It was certainly handled better than the AD has handled recent student season ticket sales...

Finally, I have to credit Joe for his incredible patience, good will & grace under pressure in a hot & sticky, tumultuous madhouse for the incredible thrill of seeing the Cup up close & personal and also much much credit to our amazing community of hockey fans who stood patiently under adverse conditions for a very long time, and still maintained their good humor, camaraderie and sense of excitement about being at Lynah with the Stanley Cup.

Hear, hear. Joe was more than sporting. I'm amazed that he could stand there for as long as he did smiling away. I admire everything he has done for the Tallman family, and I was happy to be a part of an event that was successful.

Certainly no knock intended on Joe or innocent volunteers. (I was amazed at how photogenic Joe was, especially after 3 hours). And despite my gripes, we never lost our sense of cameraderie over the whole evnt, and neither did anyone around us.

But my point is probably a broader one about Cornell Athletics. To use perhaps a cheesy analogy to baseball -- Cornell Athletics (and you might argue, Cornell U generally) lets the ball play IT, rather than playing the ball. I know it was all on short notice, and I know it was Joe's idea/initiative. That said, Cornell should have grasped the opportunity to show what it's made of. As in, get everyone on board, and tell them: this is a big deal, we might be getting national press; how do we make this run smoothly so that we can best honor the fund and the sacrifice Joe has decided to make.

Seeing as it was alumni weekend, and not just a random mid-summer date, they should have had enough minds and bodies available to realize this. That's what I'm really getting at. If you have a big event (and have decided to announce it in all of central NY state), plan for a worst case scenario. Be proactive in making the event a success, rather than just relying on the Cup and Joe to make the event a success just by their mere presence.

link about joe's day with the cup from the cup journal ...


[www.hhof.com]

Melissa'01 wrote:

link about joe's day with the cup from the cup journal ...


[www.hhof.com]

Terrific article. Thanks for posting the link, Melissa.



Post Edited (07-14-03 13:11)

Melissa, great article, but (duh....) I can't figure out how to get to future (or past) entries in the Cup journal..could you help? thanks!

[www.hhof.com]

That's the main page for the journal...some of them are pretty good reading.

I agree completely with Cup on all points. The amount of people who showed up is no excuse, especially when they advertised in several central NY communities. Besides, this is central NY and Ithaca....there isn't anything else to do on a Friday night! You bring in a celebrity type and the Stanley Cup to a small town where the most exciting thing to do on any given weekend is drink until the ridiculously early last call, and you are bound to get a big turnout. At the very least, those handling the event at Lynah Friday night should have come to a consensus about what lines were for what purpose. Giving out conflicting information only harmed the event and made those patiently waiting in the $20 line angry.

The picture taking was just short of a fiasco, and Cornell Athletics in general is incompetent to handle any sort of large athletic event. Probably because hockey is the only sport this school has going for it, and the school thinks anything related to the hockey program can do no wrong. I hate to break it to them, but the student season ticket process is asinine, Cornell hockey is not the greatest thing on earth (evidenced by their poor showing at the Frozen Four when faced with a real opponent for the first time all season), and don't even get me started on the restrictions placed on fan speech at games. Why exactly is the word "suck" offensive? I challenge the Athletic Department to sit in on a hockey game at a real sports school if they want to hear something offensive (yet extremely entertaining).

The problems with the incompetence of Cornell Athletics are fairly easy fixes. If large, Div. I schools can handle selling 100,000+ football tickets, 40,000+ basketball tickets, and 6,000+ hockey tickets, while keeping the fans happy, allowing them to enjoy the game, and maintaining integrity of the sporting event, Cornell Athletics can put their Ivy League brains together to sell student hockey tickets without "the line," and ensure that everyone gets a picture with Joe and the Cup in a timely manner.

I think this tool's username says all we need to know about his loyalties... please ignore the @$$hole, nothing to see here.

I wish I could have been there. It sounds like it was a hell of a weekend.