2024-25 MEN'S SCHEDULE

The NCAA Regionals are listed, but I don't know which sites are Thursday – Saturday and which are Friday – Sunday.

Cornell 2024-25 Schedule

    Oct  Red/White
Sat Oct 19 (Ex)Princeton 5PM
Sat Oct 26 (Ex)Toronto
Fri Nov  1 UND 
Sat Nov  2 UND 
Fri Nov  8 Yale
Sat Nov  9 Brown
Fri Nov 15 @ Dartmouth
Sat Nov 16 @ Harvard
Fri Nov 22 Quinnipiac
Sat Nov 23 Princeton
Sat Nov 30 Quinnipiac @ MSG 8:00
Fri Dec  6 Colgate
Sat Dec  7 @ Colgate

    Desert Hockey Classic
      Tempe, AZ
Fri Jan  3 U Mass 5:30 PM 
Sat Jan  4 ASU/RMU ???

Fri Jan 10 @SHU
Sat Jan 11 @SHU 5:00 PM 
Fri Jan 17 @ Princeton
Sat Jan 18 @ Quinnipiac
Fri Jan 24 Harvard
Sat Jan 25 Dartmouth
Fri Jan 31 @ SLU
Sat Feb  1 @ Clarkson
Fri Feb  7 RPI 
Sat Feb  8 Union
Fri Feb 14 @ Brown
Sat Feb 15 @ Yale
Fri Feb 21 Clarkson 
Sat Feb 22 SLU
Fri Feb 28 @ Union
Sat Mar  1 @ RPI

Fri-Sun Mar 7-9 ECAC Prelims
Fri-Sun Mar 14-16 ECAC Quarters
Fri Mar 21 ECAC Semis @ Lake Placid
Sat Mar 22 ECAC Finals @ Lake Placid

Thu-Sat Mar 27-29 Regionals E @ Allentown & W @ Fargo 
Fri-Sun Mar 28-30 Regionals NE @ Manchester & MW @ Toledo         

Thu Apr 10 NCAA Semis @ Enterprise Center, St. Louis
Sat Apr 12 NCAA Finals @ Enterprise Center, St. Louis

Always appreciated, Jim. Do you know if they are going to continue to largely keep the men and women from playing at home the same weekend? I always like when I can get up to Ithaca and see both teams play.

Cornell was looking for one or two games Jan 3-4.

Glad to see you posting here, Jim.

Are we still expected to get a home series vs North Dakota next year?

chimpfood
Are we still expected to get a home series vs North Dakota next year?

One must also wonder if the single game against BU from last season will be reciprocated at Lynah.

I wouldn't be suprised if the Colgate game is the first weekend of December again. I can't recall that series being during a break in any recent times.

Cornell/UND will be November 1-2
[www.grandforksherald.com]

LetsGoTech16
Cornell was looking for one or two games Jan 3-4.

I had heard from Special Secret Insiders that's going to be Tempe again.

LetsGoTech16
Cornell/UND will be November 1-2
[www.grandforksherald.com]

Great to see UND at home. Just hate it when our first games are against good teams that have already played. Tougher than usual to win those, I fear. I suspect it may be the only time we can get them scheduled.

To respond to others, I don't know any more than this schedule. Don't even know the women's schedule.

LetsGoTech16
Cornell/UND will be November 1-2
[www.grandforksherald.com]

Forgot to say thanks and I posted it. Keep the news flowing.

That is a bitch opener, but extremely exciting!

Well we won two at UND recently right so can sweep them again at Lynah!

Asked before but any chance we get the return games at AIC or Sacred Heart this upcoming season?

A great campaign and first ECAC title since 2010, next year we make a run to St. Louis!

wasnt that UMD not UND

upprdeck
wasnt that UMD not UND

We swept UND at the Ralph in Jan 2022. It’s a safe assumption that this is the return trip.

We opened 2022-23 by being swept at UMD, and swept them at Lynah to open 2023-24.

RichH
We swept UND at the Ralph in Jan 2022.

Both games were comebacks.

Trotsky

RichH
We swept UND at the Ralph in Jan 2022.

Both games were comebacks.

Those 2 games were where I 1st thought we might have something in this Shane kid.

scoop85

Trotsky

RichH
We swept UND at the Ralph in Jan 2022.

Both games were comebacks.

Those 2 games were where I 1st thought we might have something in this Shane kid.

I believe we were the first team to sweep a weekend @UND in a few years.

Trotsky

RichH
We swept UND at the Ralph in Jan 2022.

Both games were comebacks.

That was also the de facto 2020 national championship, with Cornell having been ranked #1 in the polls at the end of 2020 and North Dakota #1 in the PWR then.

Dafatone
I believe we were the first team to sweep a weekend @UND in a few years.

No ECAC team had done it until then

ASU released their schedule today. Jan 3-4 in Desert Hockey Classic tournament with ASU, Robert Morris, and U Mass. Not clear yet who we will play in the first game.

I would think that leaves two more OOC games to fill in the schedule that will be somewhere on the road.

Todd R
ASU released their schedule today. Jan 3-4 in Desert Hockey Classic tournament with ASU, Robert Morris, and U Mass. Not clear yet who we will play in the first game.

I would put money on ASU-RMU early game and Cornell-UMass late game.

Todd R
ASU released their schedule today. Jan 3-4 in Desert Hockey Classic tournament with ASU, Robert Morris, and U Mass. Not clear yet who we will play in the first game.

I'm happy with this. Each game is a true OOC game, and all 4 teams are from different conferences. I dislike seeing us play an ECAC team in an OCC game.

The Rancor

Todd R
ASU released their schedule today. Jan 3-4 in Desert Hockey Classic tournament with ASU, Robert Morris, and U Mass. Not clear yet who we will play in the first game.

I'm happy with this. Each game is a true OOC game, and all 4 teams are from different conferences. I dislike seeing us play an ECAC team in an OCC game.

True. Hopefully we get UMass to at least guarantee one high level opponent. ASU is questionable and RMU is unlikely to be particularly good.

The 2024 lacrosse team did well to schedule mostly HQ OOC opponents. We're fortunate that even without playing many (any?) southern schools the Midwest plus Denver lax has become high quality

ECAC HOCKEY RELEASES 2024-25 MEN’S HOCKEY LEAGUE SCHEDULE

Cornell’s First League Game Scheduled for Nov. 8

ITHACA, N.Y. — ECAC Hockey jointly announced with all 12 member institutions on Thursday afternoon the league schedule for the upcoming 2024-25 men’s hockey season.

Cornell’s league schedule will begin Nov. 8 when it hosts Yale and welcomes Brown the following night (Nov. 9).

The first four conference games, and five of the Big Red’s first six league contests, will be against Ivy League competition as Cornell will make its annual trip to Northern New England on Nov. 15-16, traveling to Dartmouth and Harvard, respectively.

Highlighting the contests on the weekend of Nov. 22-23 will be the return of former associate head coach Ben Syer when Princeton makes its trip to Lynah Rink on Nov. 23.

After the Big Red’s home-and-home series with Colgate (Dec. 6-7), Cornell will not play another league game until Jan. 17-18 when it begins the first of seven consecutive weekends with league games when it concludes its regular-season series with Princeton and Quinnipiac.

The remaining seven weekends of play will see Cornell alternating between road and home games as the highly-anticipated weekend between Harvard and Dartmouth (Jan. 24-25) will serve as the Big Red’s first home league games since its Dec. 6 contest with Colgate.

Rounding out Cornell’s league schedule will see the Big Red play fellow Empire State rivals St. Lawrence, Clarkson, Union, and RPI a combined eight times over the final 10 games.

ECAC Hockey’s playoff structure remains the same from the 2023-24 season, where the No. 5-8 seeds will host the No. 9-12 seeds in a one-game playoff to be played on either March 7 or 8. The quarterfinals will be a best-of-three series from March 14-16 with the top four seeds hosting the four winners of the first-round matchups. Lake Placid will once again host the semifinals and championship game at Herb Brooks Arena — 1980 Rink on March 21 and 22.

Cornell will announce the remainder of its 2024-25 schedule with its non-conference contests at a later date.

Not sure if anyone said this already but UND released their schedule and they will be coming to lynah November 1-2. BU also had their schedule released and there is no trip to lynah that I expected in return for us playing at Agganis a couple years back.

We are also at sacred heart January 10-11.

chimpfood
We are also at sacred heart January 10-11.

Good catch.

Trotsky

chimpfood
We are also at sacred heart January 10-11.

Good catch.

Could be a trap game.

Since MSG 2024 is a closely guarded secret, who is your dream opponent?

Mine are Denver, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

And no, obviously, none of them will ever come.

Trotsky
Since MSG 2024 is a closely guarded secret, who is your dream opponent?

Mine are Denver, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

And no, obviously, none of them will ever come.

Wisconsin, Michigan Tech, & Maine.

RichH

Trotsky
Since MSG 2024 is a closely guarded secret, who is your dream opponent?

Mine are Denver, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

And no, obviously, none of them will ever come.

Boston College

Wisconsin, Michigan Tech, & Maine.

Boston College

MTU, LSSU, and NMU are also great choices.

Trotsky
MTU, LSSU, and NMU are also great choices.

Wait, why do we want schools who will bring approximately zero fans?

BearLover

Trotsky
MTU, LSSU, and NMU are also great choices.

Wait, why do we want schools who will bring approximately zero fans?

More seats for Cornell fans?

So now you don’t want to dominate everything?

RichH

BearLover

Trotsky
MTU, LSSU, and NMU are also great choices.

Wait, why do we want schools who will bring approximately zero fans?

More seats for Cornell fans?

So now you don’t want to dominate everything?

There are already enough seats for all the Cornell fans who want tickets. The difference would be that instead of BU fans, there would be empty seats.

BearLover

Trotsky
MTU, LSSU, and NMU are also great choices.

Wait, why do we want schools who will bring approximately zero fans?

One Yooper is worth 1000 BU fans.

And I love all three of those teams.

BearLover

RichH

BearLover

Trotsky
MTU, LSSU, and NMU are also great choices.

Wait, why do we want schools who will bring approximately zero fans?

More seats for Cornell fans?

So now you don’t want to dominate everything?

There are already enough seats for all the Cornell fans who want tickets. The difference would be that instead of BU fans, there would be empty seats.

Yeah, those schools wouldn't seem to be able to put many fannies in the seats.

scoop85

BearLover

RichH

BearLover

Trotsky
MTU, LSSU, and NMU are also great choices.

Wait, why do we want schools who will bring approximately zero fans?

More seats for Cornell fans?

So now you don’t want to dominate everything?

There are already enough seats for all the Cornell fans who want tickets. The difference would be that instead of BU fans, there would be empty seats.

Yeah, those schools wouldn't seem to be able to put many fannies in the seats.

I want an OOC team we can beat and add a Common Opp pip from.

Notre Dame. Battle of the retiring legends.

ASU's site says its RMU, Cornell and UMass down in Tempe Jan 3/4 2025.

[thesundevils.com]

tough bus trip. Out to Tempe and then on to Robbie Morris after the holidays.

its a tournament. 4 schools at Tempe. Sorry that i was unclear.

The only opponents that would sell enough tickets to make a profit are the Big 10 schools, BU, BC, maybe a few other Hockey East schools like UConn, and North Dakota.

arugula
Notre Dame. Battle of the retiring legends.

Rematch between the coaches. LSS beating Cornell 5-4 in Albany in 1996 will be with me forever.

BearLover
The only opponents that would sell enough tickets to make a profit are the Big 10 schools, BU, BC, maybe a few other Hockey East schools like UConn, and North Dakota.

If I recall correctly, UConn did not draw a big crowd to MSG a few years ago.

dbilmes

BearLover
The only opponents that would sell enough tickets to make a profit are the Big 10 schools, BU, BC, maybe a few other Hockey East schools like UConn, and North Dakota.

If I recall correctly, UConn did not draw a big crowd to MSG a few years ago.

The only way UConn fans show up is to tell them it’s a basketball game or something with former Whalers. Their new campus arena seats all of 2600, so even the administration knows they don’t care.

dbilmes

BearLover
The only opponents that would sell enough tickets to make a profit are the Big 10 schools, BU, BC, maybe a few other Hockey East schools like UConn, and North Dakota.

If I recall correctly, UConn did not draw a big crowd to MSG a few years ago.

And they were a top 5 team at the time (and not for much longer).

If we're 70% of the building for BU we can be 98% of the building for NMU.

dbilmes

BearLover
The only opponents that would sell enough tickets to make a profit are the Big 10 schools, BU, BC, maybe a few other Hockey East schools like UConn, and North Dakota.

If I recall correctly, UConn did not draw a big crowd to MSG a few years ago.

I died on this hill a couple of years arguing that UConn was a bad choice.

Trotsky
If we're 70% of the building for BU we can be 98% of the building for NMU.

But we'll be 98% of a crowd of maybe 12,000

scoop85

Trotsky
If we're 70% of the building for BU we can be 98% of the building for NMU.

But we'll be 98% of a crowd of maybe 12,000

Yes. There seems to be a disconnect here. Cornell’s attendance at MSG is impressive, but the games are not full sellouts. Cornell has capped out its ticket sales. The question is how to fill the remaining 6,000-8,000 seats that aren’t Cornell fans. These small schools in the Midwest with no alumni base in NYC aren’t going to fill enough seats. This event isn’t going to be run unless it turns a profit.

BearLover

scoop85

Trotsky
If we're 70% of the building for BU we can be 98% of the building for NMU.

But we'll be 98% of a crowd of maybe 12,000

Yes. There seems to be a disconnect here. Cornell’s attendance at MSG is impressive, but the games are not full sellouts. Cornell has capped out its ticket sales. The question is how to fill the remaining 6,000-8,000 seats that aren’t Cornell fans. These small schools in the Midwest with no alumni base in NYC aren’t going to fill enough seats. This event isn’t going to be run unless it turns a profit.

It just depends on how big a profit you want to make. Say it costs $500,000 to rent MSG and pay arena staff for a night. (I have no idea if that's close to the actual cost, but it's a nice round number to play with.) And then say another $100,000 for travel/lodging expense for both teams. (which might be high? I have no idea.) If you draw 10,000 who spend an average of $70, you're turning a profit, and closer to 13,000 or 15,000 is pretty good.

EDIT: Random question for any tax pros: Can MSG offer reduced rental costs to a non-profit like Cornell and write that off? Then that might change the math quite a bit.

BearLover

scoop85

Trotsky
If we're 70% of the building for BU we can be 98% of the building for NMU.

But we'll be 98% of a crowd of maybe 12,000

Yes. There seems to be a disconnect here. Cornell’s attendance at MSG is impressive, but the games are not full sellouts. Cornell has capped out its ticket sales. The question is how to fill the remaining 6,000-8,000 seats that aren’t Cornell fans. These small schools in the Midwest with no alumni base in NYC aren’t going to fill enough seats. This event isn’t going to be run unless it turns a profit.

i think it can make a more modest profit in the off years as long as it keeps packing the building against BU, which it basically does. That said, the building is more fun when the opposing team's fans are lively. I've seen Green Bay Packers bars in NYC; bringing in Wisconsin would be awesome. I know this contradicts my first message but I contain multitudes because I have the space.

My completely random guess that would make for a fun game is Notre Dame.

ugarte

BearLover

scoop85

Trotsky
If we're 70% of the building for BU we can be 98% of the building for NMU.

But we'll be 98% of a crowd of maybe 12,000

Yes. There seems to be a disconnect here. Cornell’s attendance at MSG is impressive, but the games are not full sellouts. Cornell has capped out its ticket sales. The question is how to fill the remaining 6,000-8,000 seats that aren’t Cornell fans. These small schools in the Midwest with no alumni base in NYC aren’t going to fill enough seats. This event isn’t going to be run unless it turns a profit.

i think it can make a more modest profit in the off years as long as it keeps packing the building against BU, which it basically does. That said, the building is more fun when the opposing team's fans are lively. I've seen Green Bay Packers bars in NYC; bringing in Wisconsin would be awesome. I know this contradicts my first message but I contain multitudes because I have the space.

I wonder if Minnesota would be a draw.

Edit: specifically U of Minnesota. I'll leave speculation about the likelihood of Minnesota State Mankato or U Minnesota Duluth grads to wind up in NYC to others.

BC could be excellent, as would Michigan or MSU.

There are very good teams further west (e.g., Denver), but how well would they travel to NYC on Thanksgiving weekend?

why would it cost 100K to send Cornell to the game. 20 rooms at $500 a night would only be 10K. a few meals isn't costing that much, Are they staying 2 nights? Cornell busses down so that isn't all that much. It would be hard to ring up 5Ok in cost for BU and Cornell so 100K total maybe.

Dafatone

ugarte

BearLover

scoop85

Trotsky
If we're 70% of the building for BU we can be 98% of the building for NMU.

But we'll be 98% of a crowd of maybe 12,000

Yes. There seems to be a disconnect here. Cornell’s attendance at MSG is impressive, but the games are not full sellouts. Cornell has capped out its ticket sales. The question is how to fill the remaining 6,000-8,000 seats that aren’t Cornell fans. These small schools in the Midwest with no alumni base in NYC aren’t going to fill enough seats. This event isn’t going to be run unless it turns a profit.

i think it can make a more modest profit in the off years as long as it keeps packing the building against BU, which it basically does. That said, the building is more fun when the opposing team's fans are lively. I've seen Green Bay Packers bars in NYC; bringing in Wisconsin would be awesome. I know this contradicts my first message but I contain multitudes because I have the space.

Minnesota would be a huge draw. All of the big midwest flagship schools send a ton of kids to NYC, not even including the kids from here that go there for college.

I wonder if Minnesota would be a draw.

Edit: specifically U of Minnesota. I'll leave speculation about the likelihood of Minnesota State Mankato or U Minnesota Duluth grads to wind up in NYC to others.

upprdeck
why would it cost 100K to send Cornell to the game. 20 rooms at $500 a night would only be 10K. a few meals isn't costing that much, Are they staying 2 nights? Cornell busses down so that isn't all that much. It would be hard to ring up 5Ok in cost for BU and Cornell so 100K total maybe.

Yeah, my estimate of $100K was the rough total for 2 nights for two teams, but maybe they go back to campus right after the game. And I figure the traveling parties are bigger for the MSG game than a usual game when you throw in some university bigwigs, etc.

Weder
It just depends on how big a profit you want to make.

Profits from ticket sales aren’t the only metric that should be considered. There are tons of alumni in the NY metropolitan that reconnect at MSG and it’s great exposure for Cornell. I have to think it factors into recruiting as well.

Dafatone

ugarte

BearLover

scoop85

Trotsky
If we're 70% of the building for BU we can be 98% of the building for NMU.

But we'll be 98% of a crowd of maybe 12,000

Yes. There seems to be a disconnect here. Cornell’s attendance at MSG is impressive, but the games are not full sellouts. Cornell has capped out its ticket sales. The question is how to fill the remaining 6,000-8,000 seats that aren’t Cornell fans. These small schools in the Midwest with no alumni base in NYC aren’t going to fill enough seats. This event isn’t going to be run unless it turns a profit.

i think it can make a more modest profit in the off years as long as it keeps packing the building against BU, which it basically does. That said, the building is more fun when the opposing team's fans are lively. I've seen Green Bay Packers bars in NYC; bringing in Wisconsin would be awesome. I know this contradicts my first message but I contain multitudes because I have the space.

I wonder if Minnesota would be a draw.

Edit: specifically U of Minnesota. I'll leave speculation about the likelihood of Minnesota State Mankato or U Minnesota Duluth grads to wind up in NYC to others.

Minnesota and Wisconsin both travel very well. I don't know about the Minnesota Variants.

traveling well within the school footprint or for NCAA games is different than traveling for a mid season game on a holiday weekend.

upprdeck
traveling well within the school footprint or for NCAA games is different than traveling for a mid season game on a holiday weekend.

Perhaps, but they're fanatics, and MSG would be a novel experience.

If you just want to fill the building, get LIU. I would like to see us play storied teams: CC, Denver, NoDak, Minny, Wisco, Michigan, BC. And we can use MSG as Lynah South to attract them. Nobody has a better claim on the building than we do. What I wouldn't give for hosting a holiday tournament there, and then co-hosting one in Lake Placid with Clarkson by leveraging our essentially sibling relationship with them at this point.

MSG is cool, but there a ton of people I know that won't go because it's a holiday weekend. flying and hotels goes way up that weekend. Local alums enjoy it for sure.

Trotsky

upprdeck
traveling well within the school footprint or for NCAA games is different than traveling for a mid season game on a holiday weekend.

Perhaps, but they're fanatics, and MSG would be a novel experience.

If you just want to fill the building, get LIU. I would like to see us play storied teams: CC, Denver, NoDak, Minny, Wisco, Michigan, BC. And we can use MSG as Lynah South to attract them. Nobody has a better claim on the building than we do. What I wouldn't give for hosting a holiday tournament there, and then co-hosting one in Lake Placid with Clarkson by leveraging our essentially sibling relationship with them at this point.

Could add an LIU series at the UBS Arena (new Islanders rink), similar to the game at Prudential Center (Devils) a few years back. Would be great for LIU’s program too.

upprdeck
traveling well within the school footprint or for NCAA games is different than traveling for a mid season game on a holiday weekend.

the number of minnesota and wisconsin natives/alumni in new york city would blow your mind

Screw it. Host our Christmas tournament in Toronto.

Dafatone

ugarte

BearLover

scoop85

Trotsky
If we're 70% of the building for BU we can be 98% of the building for NMU.

But we'll be 98% of a crowd of maybe 12,000

Yes. There seems to be a disconnect here. Cornell’s attendance at MSG is impressive, but the games are not full sellouts. Cornell has capped out its ticket sales. The question is how to fill the remaining 6,000-8,000 seats that aren’t Cornell fans. These small schools in the Midwest with no alumni base in NYC aren’t going to fill enough seats. This event isn’t going to be run unless it turns a profit.

i think it can make a more modest profit in the off years as long as it keeps packing the building against BU, which it basically does. That said, the building is more fun when the opposing team's fans are lively. I've seen Green Bay Packers bars in NYC; bringing in Wisconsin would be awesome. I know this contradicts my first message but I contain multitudes because I have the space.

I wonder if Minnesota would be a draw.

Edit: specifically U of Minnesota. I'll leave speculation about the likelihood of Minnesota State Mankato or U Minnesota Duluth grads to wind up in NYC to others.

tUMD would be a good opponent, between their three recent NCAA titles, and fans who, at least 20 years ago, were a lot of fun. I don't know about numbers, though.

Just got a message from Ticketmaster that Frozen Apple tickets go on sale tomorrow - Cornell vs. Quinnipiac. Ugh.

Why a league opponent? Does this mean that they really couldn't get a high end non-league opponent to play a game at MSG? Hard to believe

arugula
Why a league opponent? Does this mean that they really couldn't get a high end non-league opponent to play a game at MSG? Hard to believe

It's happened before, as recently as 2018 vs. Harvard. It's a non-conference game for purposes of ECAC standings, but it'll still count for PWR, and as much as we don't love it, Quinnipiac is currently high-end.

Beeeej

arugula
Why a league opponent? Does this mean that they really couldn't get a high end non-league opponent to play a game at MSG? Hard to believe

It's happened before, as recently as 2018 vs. Harvard. It's a non-conference game for purposes of ECAC standings, but it'll still count for PWR, and as much as we don't love it, Quinnipiac is currently high-end.

Good to see a quality opponent, local (and very successful) probably means a sellout. Risk of losing is high, so that'll be a tense leadup but... an ECAC opponent is kinda disappointing. I will be there happily all the same. It's not like I go to CT to see them play Quinny anyway.

arugula
Why a league opponent? Does this mean that they really couldn't get a high end non-league opponent to play a game at MSG? Hard to believe

Whatever the reason, playing a league opponents sounds like "No quality opponent want to play us / had free time on the schedule to play Cornell."

Playing at Madison Square Garden is a big deal for the team that plays Cornell, it's a big deal if the school has a big alumni body near metro New York, there is always the chance our opponent will come in rated higher and lose."

Beeeej
Just got a message from Ticketmaster that Frozen Apple tickets go on sale tomorrow - Cornell vs. Quinnipiac. Ugh.

I’d rather skip a year than this

RichH

Beeeej
Just got a message from Ticketmaster that Frozen Apple tickets go on sale tomorrow - Cornell vs. Quinnipiac. Ugh.

I’d rather skip a year than this

Yeah. I would have preferred Clarkson.

IMHO, Q is an opponent that's best categorized as a low-academic factory school. (Obligatory disclaimer: I'm sure there are some very good programs and some excellent student nonetheless.) I'd prefer not to give them the prestige and legitimacy that comes with meeting us in MSG, alternating with the likes of BU.

RichH

Beeeej
Just got a message from Ticketmaster that Frozen Apple tickets go on sale tomorrow - Cornell vs. Quinnipiac. Ugh.

I’d rather skip a year than this

Yeah. I would have preferred Clarkson.

IMHO, Q is an opponent that's best categorized as a low-academic factory school. (Obligatory disclaimer: I'm sure there are some very good programs and some excellent student nonetheless.) I'd prefer not to give them the prestige and legitimacy that comes with meeting us in MSG, alternating with the likes of BU.

billhoward

arugula
Why a league opponent? Does this mean that they really couldn't get a high end non-league opponent to play a game at MSG? Hard to believe

Whatever the reason, playing a league opponents sounds like "No quality opponent want to play us / had free time on the schedule to play Cornell."

Playing at Madison Square Garden is a big deal for the team that plays Cornell, it's a big deal if the school has a big alumni body near metro New York, there is always the chance our opponent will come in rated higher and lose."

Knkwi little about why this is the opponent, Q is the type of school that will come out of pocket to get on SNY and was likely willing to eat financial risk in this game to a higher degree than other potential teams. They will market it to death too.

I'd still rather see almost any other opponent there.

Isn't one of the reasons Coach likes the msg games is that it gives the team the big arena, high energy experience that they'd face if they get to the FF? Pretty sure I read that somewhere.

From that perspective, get the best opponent available that will also follow seats. If we couldn't land anyone else this year, Quinny fits the bill.

Swampy

RichH

Beeeej
Just got a message from Ticketmaster that Frozen Apple tickets go on sale tomorrow - Cornell vs. Quinnipiac. Ugh.

I’d rather skip a year than this

Yeah. I would have preferred Clarkson.

IMHO, Q is an opponent that's best categorized as a low-academic factory school. (Obligatory disclaimer: I'm sure there are some very good programs and some excellent student nonetheless.) I'd prefer not to give them the prestige and legitimacy that comes with meeting us in MSG, alternating with the likes of BU.

Clarkson would have brought like 1,000 fans. I don’t think they are/were a realistic option.

RichH

Beeeej
Just got a message from Ticketmaster that Frozen Apple tickets go on sale tomorrow - Cornell vs. Quinnipiac. Ugh.

I’d rather skip a year than this

I agree. Really no other team could have been scheduled than one on our own conference? I'd have assumed this annual game is booked years out. What happened?

Oops

Full schedule supposedly out tomorrow.

Too bad the Michigan-Ohio state football game always falls on the same day (I’m 98% certain anyway). One of those teams could probably help us fill up MSG if their fans weren’t preoccupied with “the game”.

Sorry if this has been mentioned before (it probably has). Although we did play Michigan one year. How was that turnout in regards to Wolverine fans?

Couldn't even get LIU for that day?

Full Schedule is out.

I've updated mine at the first post. Let me know if I have misprints.

Jim Hyla
Full Schedule is out.

I've updated mine at the first post. Let me know if I have misprints.

We open with a home scrimmage against Princeton. I wonder how that came to be

Excited for the season, but this feels like a very weak and insular schedule.

It is weak, especially after the ND weekend but man those games are gonna be a blast.

The "weakness" of the schedule is a reflection of our league as a whole. For our limited out of conference games, We know UND is a top 5-10 program coming into the season, UMASS is always a threat to make the NCAAs, and if we were to play ASU they are on the cusp of the top 20. While Sacred Heart aren't world beaters, they are one of the better Atlantic Hockey programs we could play. I guess the argument could be made we should have looked for another Hockey East team in place of Sacred Heart, but to me that's no big deal.

scoop85
The "weakness" of the schedule is a reflection of our league as a whole. For our limited out of conference games, We know UND is a top 5-10 program coming into the season, UMASS is always a threat to make the NCAAs, and if we were to play ASU they are on the cusp of the top 20. While Sacred Heart aren't world beaters, they are one of the better Atlantic Hockey programs we could play. I guess the argument could be made we should have looked for another Hockey East team in place of Sacred Heart, but to me that's no big deal.

Mike Schafer may be thinking about the good of college hockey, helping teams in the league and in the Northeast. Sacred Heart just opened a fabulous $70 million arena (cost = $195,000 per seat (3,600 capacity)), wants to move up, Schafer says okay, we'll play you for the good of the game. And maybe some appearance money? And it's during inter-session, so it's a decently short drive for metro NY / Connecticut students bored being at home.

The arena is so good there's a thirteen-minute video on YouTube. What they had to say wouldn't, I guess, fit in a TikTok. [www.youtube.com]

I'd gripe less about this SHU match being a wasted chance to play a ranked OOC opponent. I feel worse about the MSG Thanksgiving slot going to a league opponent.

billhoward

scoop85
The "weakness" of the schedule is a reflection of our league as a whole. For our limited out of conference games, We know UND is a top 5-10 program coming into the season, UMASS is always a threat to make the NCAAs, and if we were to play ASU they are on the cusp of the top 20. While Sacred Heart aren't world beaters, they are one of the better Atlantic Hockey programs we could play. I guess the argument could be made we should have looked for another Hockey East team in place of Sacred Heart, but to me that's no big deal.

Mike Schafer may be thinking about the good of college hockey, helping teams in the league and in the Northeast. Sacred Heart just opened a fabulous $70 million arena (cost = $195,000 per seat (3,600 capacity)), wants to move up, Schafer says okay, we'll play you for the good of the game. And maybe some appearance money? And it's during inter-session, so it's a decently short drive for metro NY / Connecticut students bored being at home.

The arena is so good there's a thirteen-minute video on YouTube. What they had to say wouldn't, I guess, fit in a TikTok. [www.youtube.com]

I'd gripe less about this SHU match being a wasted chance to play a ranked OOC opponent. I feel worse about the MSG Thanksgiving slot going to a league opponent.

I have no problem with playing a team like Sacred Heart, it's the MSG Game that gets my goat. I think the games should be spread to as many other conferences as possible. The warm up against Princeton is weird outside the lens of Ben Syer. I guess with a short Ivy schedule, the overseas trip and any other factors unseen, It looks weak from the outside. The pressure of needing to play nearly perfect to crack the NCAAs is a lot. I'd love to see the big one for Coach Schafer on the way out.

When I think about the MSG game, I always come back to the paradigm that the western schools almost always play two games in a weekend to defray the travel costs. I suspect that may be part of the problem in getting anybody from the west.

Jeff Hopkins '82
When I think about the MSG game, I always come back to the paradigm that the western schools almost always play two games in a weekend to defray the travel costs. I suspect that may be part of the problem in getting anybody from the west.

Excellent point. Maybe go back to the "holiday tournament" model. On Friday Cornell + a team from Hockey East play teams from the B10 & NCHC. On Saturday, G1 winners play winners & G1 losers play losers. Given the strength of the conferences, there really won't be any losers from the standpoint of strength-of-schedule.

Alternatively, have 3 strong eastern school + 1 western invite, and still play 2 games during the weekend. I don't know how well we'd fill MSG, but maybe play Friday night in Barclay's & Saturday in MSG.

Swampy

Jeff Hopkins '82
When I think about the MSG game, I always come back to the paradigm that the western schools almost always play two games in a weekend to defray the travel costs. I suspect that may be part of the problem in getting anybody from the west.

Excellent point. Maybe go back to the "holiday tournament" model. On Friday Cornell + a team from Hockey East play teams from the B10 & NCHC. On Saturday, G1 winners play winners & G1 losers play losers. Given the strength of the conferences, there really won't be any losers from the standpoint of strength-of-schedule.

Alternatively, have 3 strong eastern school + 1 western invite, and still play 2 games during the weekend. I don't know how well we'd fill MSG, but maybe play Friday night in Barclay's & Saturday in MSG.

I think another problem is getting MSG for two consecutive nights. The Knicks and Rangers would have priority, but who knows what else is scheduled there during that season.

Jeff Hopkins '82
I think another problem is getting MSG for two consecutive nights. The Knicks and Rangers would have priority, but who knows what else is scheduled there during that season.

Exactly that. Although one of the teams could play a Saturday afternoon game. It takes 2-3 hours to switch a big arena from basketball to hockey.

More of a problem is two-night attendance. A lot of Cornellians (and fans from the other team) would happily make it to one NYC night out, especially metro-NYC students who have seen enough of their family by Saturday. Not every casual fan would do it two nights in a row. And there's the cost of going for two nights. And the thinner crowds the second night if there's only a championship but not third-place game.

The cost to rent MSG for an event is around a quarter-million dollars (equal to $14 a person assuming every seat is filled). (Some online sources say rental cost can be 100K-$500K depending on type of event.) For the lofty ticket prices charged for college hockey at MSG, one could probably handle airfares for at least one remote team if it's a four-team tourney.

Next time Nicki Moore does an open Q&A, ask her why Cornell has such a mixed bag of opponents on Big Apple years vs. BU on Red Hot Hockey years. Help me here, how many top-ten, certainly two-twenty hockey teams, non-ECAC, have a strong NYC alumni presence so it works for both schools. Here's a dozen that are not Quinnipiac:

BC
UConn
UMass
Maine?
UNH?
Providence?
Michigan
Penn State
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Notre Dame
Minnesota?

Other than BU, Cornell has played:

Michigan
Penn State
UNH
Harvard
U-Conn

Did I miss anyone?

billhoward

Jeff Hopkins '82
I think another problem is getting MSG for two consecutive nights. The Knicks and Rangers would have priority, but who knows what else is scheduled there during that season.

Exactly that. Although one of the teams could play a Saturday afternoon game. It takes 2-3 hours to switch a big arena from basketball to hockey.

More of a problem is two-night attendance. A lot of Cornellians (and fans from the other team) would happily make it to one NYC night out, especially metro-NYC students who have seen enough of their family by Saturday. Not every casual fan would do it two nights in a row. And there's the cost of going for two nights. And the thinner crowds the second night if there's only a championship but not third-place game.

The cost to rent MSG for an event is around a quarter-million dollars (equal to $14 a person assuming every seat is filled). (Some online sources say rental cost can be 100K-$500K depending on type of event.) For the lofty ticket prices charged for college hockey at MSG, one could probably handle airfares for at least one remote team if it's a four-team tourney.

Next time Nicki Moore does an open Q&A, ask her why Cornell has such a mixed bag of opponents on Big Apple years vs. BU on Red Hot Hockey years. Help me here, how many top-ten, certainly two-twenty hockey teams, non-ECAC, have a strong NYC alumni presence so it works for both schools. Here's a dozen that are not Quinnipiac:

BC
UConn
UMass
Maine?
UNH?
Providence?
Michigan
Penn State
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Notre Dame
Minnesota?

Are there any in-season tourneys where each team doesn't play a second game? I doubt anyone is happy to play one fewer game than the NCAA (or a league) allows.