Cornell vs. Minnesota post game thread

Unfortunately for Cornell, O'Byrne and the rest of us the puck got STUCK under O'Byrne's skate!! (' ')
This is an extremely difficult position from which to do anything with the puck (but fall on it). The puck is visible (so the ref doesn't consider it frozen), the defensive player has a difficult time playing the puck with his stick and if he lifts his foot up.....well, we all know what an offensive player right next to him will do with the puck from there!

Overall, we played a great second half of a game. We were in it at the end and had two great chances in OT to win and our offense didn't convert. The power play looked very uncomfortable and the even-strength chances we few. Our defense kept a faster team in check for most of the game, shut down the opponents power play and scored the only goal for us in the game.

We can rag on O'Byrne all off-season but truthfully very few of us would be complaining if the offense could of generated a single goal!

[Q]MattShaf Wrote:
if he lifts his foot up.....well, we all know what an offensive player right next to him will do with the puck from there!
[/q]

The issue here, however, is that there wasn't an offensive player anywhere near him for a good 4-5 seconds (and boy did it seem a hell of a lot longer!) as he strangely attempted to draw a whistle on a freeze-up when it was just him with the puck.

I don't think either extreme on this thread is fair. You can't pin an entire game on one player's shoulders. Obviously there were other chances, other players who could have stepped up, and other areas to point to. How about the fact that we seemingly couldn't connect on a neutral zone cross ice pass for the first 30 minutes of the game?

But it's equally unfair to deny O'Byrne's invovlement in allowing both Minnesota goals. "He's out there busting his ass and I'm sure Schafer sees something in him" is a piss-poor argument in trying to defend him for this one game. Nobody is doubting the effort that he (or anybody wearing the Cornell jersey) gives or the talent that lies somewhere within (and does show itself at times during the year). But players make mistakes in games, and sometimes those mistakes are costly, sometimes they are not. Very unfortunately, O'Byrne's mistakes last night were extremely costly. Simply put, when bad things happen after your mistakes, the deluge of criticism will follow.

We obviously need a solid Ryan O'Byrne next year to get to, and beyond, this year's finish. He ain't going anywhere, nor should he. I echo the statements of a previous poster (I am too lazy to look it up): who thought very much of Knoepfli and Iggulden 2 years ago, or even a year ago? Now they seem indispensible, as leaders and as players. Here's hoping we're speaking in the same tems of O'Byrne 2 years from today!

Does anybody else have an empty deppressed feeling today? Because I shure do:

[Q]F*** Minnasota Wrote:

Does anybody else have an empty deppressed feeling today? Because I shure do:
[/q]

Well, I think I did a good job of getting rid of that feeling last night but seeing the highlights on ESPNews made it come back. Savor it. It reminds me of how much I love Cornell and the people that have also experienced it.

edit: Oh, and that photo on the front of USCHO.com doesn't help either.

[Q]Jordan 04 Wrote:

"He's out there busting his ass and I'm sure Schafer sees something in him" is a piss-poor argument in trying to defend him for this one game.
[/q]

Agreed when trying to defend him for this one game. But that's not what I was doing in my earlier arguments (I know you were not responding to me). We all agree that he got beat badly on the first goal (he couldn't even bring his man down with a hook) and he foolishly turned his back on the ice on the second goal when he didn't need to. I was defending him as a hockey player and as an important part of our program this year and for the next two years and trying to deflect the "O'Byrne is a liability" nonsense that propped up earlier in the year. Schafer has turned this program around, no doubt, and as a result (that and he sees these guys in practice all year), I put a lot of trust in his ability to judge talent and to put out the best team each night. If Schafer didn't think OB was the best option, OB would not be playing, and that happened once (or twice?) this season. There is no next game to bench OB so all you can do his hope the kid continues to improve and is again a stud next season (with a better head). He already was cutting down on his penalties from earlier this season...

And yes, I see how it can be a bit of a cop out in defaulting to Schafer and the minutes he gives OB but it's a much easier to stat to grasp than his +/- that also shows how valuable he is to the team (fourth behind Cook, Downs, and Moulson).

[Q]F*** Minnasota Wrote:

Does anybody else have an empty deppressed feeling today? Because I shure do:
[/q]


Yeah, but I feel that way everyday.

[Q]Facetimer Wrote:

To all those that defend him, please enlighten me: give me an example of O'Byrne not sucking.[/q]

Well, he did take a calculated penalty in the second period that led to Cornell's only goal. I would have given him the second assist on that goal.

These guys are practically kids so I hate to criticize them. My question on O'Byrne on the OT goal is: was he totally gassed? The guy didn't move, he just put his skate out. Why not use your body a bit more? The guy who took the puck was much smaller, albeit pretty quick. It didn't seem like O'Byrne moved much after his pocket was picked.

I saw the game on tv, not in person, so I don't know how long O'Byrne was on the ice. I wish him well next year!!