Clarkson at Cornell postgame thread (2/21/06)

Clarkson seemed a tougher opponent than SLU despite the similar outcome; they did not go gentle into the night and mounted a pretty good goaltender-pulled offense the last 2:30. I really wanted an ENG by Cornell to give the weekend perfect 5-2 symmetry. (Makes it easier for sportswriters' weekend wrapups.)

So if Mike Schafer's tactic is to skate all four lines hard and put 'em away wet, until the other team collapses from wear and tear on its three lines - it worked. (Wasn't that Cornell's anti-Minnesota NCAA strategy last year?) And there's nothing sweeter than breaking open a tight game in the last 10 minutes. Good to see the skating wounded back in the lineup today, especially O'Byrne and McCutcheon. Nice to see continued contributions from other than the first line ... plus Pokoluk keeps racking up the points.

Cornell PK didn't do so well and Cornell took what, three or four penalties that ended PP advantages. (Did there seem to be a lot of makeup calls going both ways, or just coincidence?) Seminoff had a good game / bad game with a couple nice plays and an assist but also taking a penalty that immediately was followed by Clarkson's second goal. God bless the Abbotts for the GWG. OK, so Matt Moulson is having trouble scoring even-strength goals, but his, what 10th PPG of the season was a very fine coffin nail (his other 3 goals include how many ENGS - 1? 2?) Don't know how difficult was the McKee save on Cayer with 3:45 left, but it looked awesome on video.

Nice four-point weekend that took a lot of effort.

Colgate 4 SLU 3 (ot)

Bitz looked excellent all game tonight, driving to the net and using his body in a way that he hasn't earlier in the season.

The way I look at it...after the spanking at Princeton, any 4-point weekend is a good weekend. (Well, that is redundant, I know, but, it had to be said.) I am looking forward to my trip to Philadelphia over the Feb 17-18 weekend. I will finally have a chance to "watch" Cornell hockey "live," when Harvard comes to Ithaca. The game will be on a large-screen TV at the Cornell event in Philly. Yahoo!

Another very good performance by Cornell, particularly in the third period. Clarkson blew two glorious chances after the game was 2-2, one where the guy had the whole net to shoot at and was right on the door step and he put it wide. The other was a 3-on-1 where the guy got the puck wide open in the slot and he misfired. I beg Schafer every week to put the Abbotts together and hopefully the beautiful goal they scored will make him do it. In all, Cornell was the much better team tonight. As usual, Clarkson was extremely dirty and undisciplined. They really are an embarrassment. Cornell is starting to show some scoring depth which is a very very good thing that will make them very tough. They should sweep again next weekend and then the enormous Colgate weekend.
4 Stars Tonight:
1. Pokuluk
2. McKee
3. Gleed
4. Cam Abbott

pfibiger
Bitz looked excellent all game tonight, driving to the net and using his body in a way that he hasn't earlier in the season.

I am not a Bitz fan, but the last two weekends have been the best of his career. He has really improved.

Tne guest announcer gave Bitz the #1 star.

calgARI '07
They [Cornell] should sweep again next weekend and then the enormous Colgate weekend.

Don't think it will be so easy. Yale is 6-2-2 in their last ten, with an OT loss at UNO (UNO tied it at 19:26 of the third), a 4-1 loss to UNH where Eli put 46 shots on goal, and a tie at Mankato. I wouldn't look past them to Colgate.

calgARI '07
I beg Schafer every week to put the Abbotts together and hopefully the beautiful goal they scored will make him do it.

I thought the Abbotts were the collective #1 star of the game. The brought energy every shift; in the 3 period they looked like crazed animals out there. They single handedly helped tire out Clarkson. Having said that I understand why Schafer keeps them separate...I don't think the Mugford-Abbott-Sawada line has given up an even strength goal all season against the oppositions best/second best lines. Its hard to argue with that kind of success. But I do like the idea of pairing them up in 4x4 situations.

Al DeFlorio

calgARI '07
They [Cornell] should sweep again next weekend and then the enormous Colgate weekend.

Don't think it will be so easy. Yale is 6-2-2 in their last ten, with an OT loss at UNO (UNO tied it at 19:26 of the third), a 4-1 loss to UNH where Eli put 46 shots on goal, and a tie at Mankato. I wouldn't look past them to Colgate.

And tonight they kicked the you know what out of a pretty good RPI team who held Cornell to a 1-1 tie.

Great game tonight. I think that this was the best all around weekend the Sasha has had all year. He shoed great poise is skating the puck out of the zone and controlling play in the defensive end. The team as a whole played realy well together and all the freshman are really doing well. I especially like how Kennedy played this weekend.
That said, ever since I started waching Cornell hockey it amazes me what a terribly disciplined team Clarkson is. They are the biggest bunch of goons I have ever seen play no matter who the coach is and who the players are. The mantra seems to be for them to hurt the opposing players no matter what the score. They are an embarressment for the league and I for one hope they never have success.

Trotsky
And tonight they kicked the you know what out of a pretty good RPI team who held Cornell to a 1-1 tie.

We got physically dominated when we played Yale back in the fall and were lucky to get the win. True, we've come a long way since then, but I don't think a win is automatic.

I thought McKee had two saves tonight which he probably had no business making. The first was in the first period on a quick 2 on 1 down low that he went post to post in the full split to catch a piece of it. The second was the one I assume you are talking about in the third off the odd man rush. McKee had to go from his right to left and went down early. The Clarkson player roofed it but McKee got the glove back up in enough time to knock the puck up in the air and into the corner.

He also had a bunch of saves in the second on some good chances by the Knights to keep the score even.

Trotsky
And tonight they kicked the you know what out of a pretty good RPI team who held Cornell to a 1-1 tie.

I think we agreed earlier that "the you know what" is referred to as "S."

Something tells me "our" Drew will be hearing from "their" Drew before the night is over.

Al DeFlorio

Trotsky
And tonight they kicked the you know what out of a pretty good RPI team who held Cornell to a 1-1 tie.

Something tells me "our" Drew will be hearing from "their" Drew before the night is over.

He's already defending his angels in the game thread. It won't be too long before he finds his way here I imagine.

Denver swept Wisconsin. I'm not sure if this is good or bad. Cornell probably can't catch Bucky without a collapse, so I'm just as happy keeping the 2 time defending champs out of NCAA contention... Of course it's nice to see that a tight checking team can beat undisputed #1 Wisconsin should Cornell see them in a regional somewhere. Elliot or no Elliot, it's a big sweep.

Not my style, Al.....You won, tip my hat to you. We will be back at you in Potsdam.

Drew
Not my style, Al.....You won, tip my hat to you. We will back at you in Potsdam.

I have no doubt. I've been watching this game for nearly 50 years.

Hope I live that long
Nice game, Cheers!
Drew

Gotta admit, any time we start throwing the "g" word around, I'm a doubter. Cornell plays a very physical game. Yes, it's clean, but it... um... arouses the passions... on both sides. Several times a year, a game degenerates into chippiness or worse. It sure sounds like this one would have been a lot worse, but it was reffed closely and fairly. With a laissez-faire ref, who knows?

I just wouldn't lay it all at Clarkson's skates.

Trotsky
Gotta admit, any time we start throwing the "g" word around, I'm a doubter. Cornell plays a very physical game. Yes, it's clean, but it... um... arouses the passions... on both sides. Several times a year, a game degenerates into chippiness or worse. It sure sounds like this one would have been a lot worse, but it was reffed closely and fairly. With a laissez-faire ref, who knows?

I just wouldn't lay it all at Clarkson's skates.

Agreed Trosky, as the saying goes," There are three sides to every story, your side, my side, and the truth".

see you guys in P'dam.
Drew

To be fair, I saw both Cornell and Clarkson getting away with stuff they probably shouldn't have. I'd like to say Clarkson gooned it up more, but I may be looking through Carnelian-tinted glasses here.

That being said, the officiating could have been a lot better. It seemed like a lot of bullshit calls were being made, followed shortly thereafter by compensation calls for the other team, and all the while dirtier moves on both sides were being overlooked. That's the way I saw it anyway.

Glad to see both O'Byrne and McCutcheon back in the game, though McCutcheon looked slower than I'm used to seeing this season (still recovering, I suppose). Pokulok and Bitz both had a surprisingly great weekend. The Abbotts were fantastic as well.

I agree with that interpretation the most. By the way, why was our band nonexistent for much of the night. The Clarkson band had at least twice as many songs played as we did (Think second and third period during play stoppages). Anyone from pep band can answer this... To tell you the truth, I was disappointed.

Well I skimmed through the posts and didn't see anyone comment about the Clarkson player taking our stick and playing with it. Was it mentioned?

We may see a "Great Leap Forward" for Cornell in the polls. The teams immediately above them:

05 UVM swept by BC
06 Michigan split with BGSU
07 CC swept by Minny

I would rather have a great leap forward in the pairwise ranking.

Oh yea, I didn't really like the ref today. He made to many mistakes. Clarkson players were really really good at diving though, I have to give them that. They deserved some of those bad calls.

canuck89
I agree with that interpretation the most. By the way, why was our band nonexistent for much of the night. The Clarkson band had at least twice as many songs played as we did (Think second and third period during play stoppages). Anyone from pep band can answer this... To tell you the truth, I was disappointed.

We did go longer than usual between cheers, and while this trading off is between conductors (ours happened to be conducting his first hockey game), seems to me that a both of the periods mentioned were jam-packed with penalty after penalty. We were also usurped a couple of times by announcements (which Clarkson was not aware of). I wish I could give you the answer that you want, but I was thoroughly engrossed in what was an extremely solid game (despite having a terrible ref who had no idea how to reign in the tempers/fists of both squads). Sorry if you were disappointed, it won't happen again.

Oat
I would rather have a great leap forward in the pairwise ranking.

That happened as well...

[www.siouxsports.com]

Oat
I would rather have a great leap forward in the pairwise ranking.

Well that will have to wait as Cornell's RPI is taking a hit next weekend win or lose with RPI #48 Brown and a hot #41 Yale coming to town. They'll be games 10 and 11 vs. RPI teams 40-58 this season. Compare that to 4 games vs. RPI teams 1-25!

On the bright side statistically, these are the last games with teams in the forties or below (though Union could be down there by the time Cornell closes out the regualr season vs. the dutchmen).

Drew and Tuba,

Having read through most of the posts on the two threads here and on the Clarkson forum as well, I have to ask you guys:

Just how many years have you been watching Clarkson-cornell games? Or cornell hockey in general? For you to say that Clarkson has always been a dirty team might answer the question. Either that or your glasses have a reddish tint.

An "embaressment to the league"? Give it a rest. Sounds like you're still sore about 2004.

Most of the games between these teams in recent years have been hotly contested physical contests which as previously pointed out occasionally have gotten nasty and chippy. I have acknowledged several times that in the last couple years of the prior coach's tenure at Clarkson, there was a lot of undisciplined, selfish, and stupid play resulting in many dumb penalties mostly by a few guys who hurt their team. And a couple of post game tussles in which BOTH teams were willing participants. Cornell has the more disciplined and more talented teams and has rightly won most of theses games.

Prior to that, I vividly recall seeing games in both Ithaca and Potsdam in which the teams lost control and cornell players were the instigators. The last two times Clarkson won at Ithaca (excl the 2004 playoffs) were in '97 and '99 and in both instances Schafer's tactics caled for roughing up the more skilled Clarkson players, Todd White and Erik Cole in particular. It was pretty obvious and it didn't work, largely because those Clarkson teams were much more disciplined and stuck to their game plan.

You should also keep in mind that until the last few years when Schafer began recruiting many more higher skilled players, rather than the more strictly physical types, there was a period of several years where a lot of the league coaches were upset about his clutch and grab style and that many officials let them get away with that play, particularly at Lynah.

Don't paint your guys as choir boys or say that any Clarkson fan was "defending his angels". Neither is accurate.

Interesting that you'd wish they never have success...but it already happened.

And weren't the penalties 15-14 tonight?

canuck89
I agree with that interpretation the most. By the way, why was our band nonexistent for much of the night. The Clarkson band had at least twice as many songs played as we did (Think second and third period during play stoppages). Anyone from pep band can answer this... To tell you the truth, I was disappointed.

Not really sure what you mean. The Cornell band fit more songs than Clarkson did into the non-hockey portions (got three free ones pre-game and one extra one in the second intermission), and game stoppages were an even trade-off. Maybe you're so used to hearing our old, tired stuff that it doesn't register.

Rich S
And weren't the penalties 15-14 tonight?

I'm sure Cornell was guilty of this as well, but there were several infractions by Clarkson that went unnoticed (two come to mind for me, though I know there were more from the amount of times the crowd went nuts: 1) when the Clarkson player had Barlow around the neck, threw him to the ice, and facewashed him in the first period there was no call, and 2) the nutty everybody-gets-penalized situation in the second period that led to the second Clarkson power play goal unfairly over-penalized the Big Red into a 5x3 when both teams were equally culpable--I mean the Clarkson player blatantly punched the Cornell player right in the cup in front of the entire student section!). So noting the penalties as 15-14 doesn't really prove anything.

Wow I just found out how volatile the Pwr and RPI rankings are right now. The two wins this weekend moved us up from 27 to 12 in the RPI, I think that this rise caused our PWR to rise so much. If you look closely the PWR rankings are generally close to the RPI ranking since RPI is a category in the PWR and also the tie-breaker. Next weekend looks likes will bring our RPI back down though. Hopefully this is the last weekend against really low competition (based on the RPI ranking). We still got 6 games against current TUCs and as we seen from this weekend wins against these teams can really boost our ranking. Then again I think our team played a tremendous game today and it seemed like they played at that same level yesterday. If we continue playing like this we could see good things in the future.

RichS- I have been an avid Cornell hockey fan since '97 and I am sure that I do see things with my Cornell tinted glasses, much like you see things with your Clarkson glasses. However, that does not negate the fact in every Clarkson game that I have ever been to, as the game nears a close, you begin to wonder which Clarkson player is going to go off the deep end and try to hurt an opposing player. I am not alone in this opinion, all the people who sit around us (who have been going to games a heck of a lot longer than I have) feel the same way. But, if the only way that Clarkson can win is to recruit a team full of Nickersons then so be it. Now, I may hate Harvard hockey as much as the next Cornell fan, but at least they are a program that knows how to play with class (excpet for Welch).

RichS has a habit of saying something reasonable in one sentence and then something idiotic in the next. Suffice to say that Clarkson deserves its bad rep now for exactly the same reason that Cornell did seven years ago: inferior teams have to slow down superior teams somehow, and playing the body and taking a few liberties is one proven way.

Clarkson is an excellent program, and was the ECAC's principle representative in the NCAAs for nearly a decade. During that time they were, if anything, a finesse team, and it was disappointing that they went one-and-done so often.

Morris cost the Knights many league games with his mismanagement of goaltenders, and God bless him for it. But "goonery" doesn't fit in the same sentence as Clarkson, as much as Army, any Canadian college beginning with 'W', or Bobby Gaudet.

I just want to interject that I am happy again.

Also, Tuba, lay off of Drew. He isn't a crazy defender of the faith.

ugarte
I just want to interject that I am happy again.
he
Also, Tuba, lay off of Drew. He isn't a crazy defender of the faith.

Not in this thread anyways.

Rich, I admire your love for your team, but there is a reason that I don't complain about the on-ice behavior of any other ECACHL team (except for maybe Brown). Clarkson hasn't changed in the 4.5 years I've been watching them. Is that a limited perspective? Of course, but what happened 8 years ago is hardly relevant to the kind of team that Clarkson is today.

billhoward
Cornell PK didn't do so well

Maybe so, but I think some of that had to do with Clarkson's PP being very good. It looked much better than the St. Lawrence PP.

redhair34

billhoward
Cornell PK didn't do so well

Maybe so, but I think some of that had to do with Clarkson's PP being very good. It looked much better than the St. Lawrence PP.

Power play effectiveness in any one game is at the mercy of the gods of small sample sizes. 1x7 isn't so good while 2x7 is a good evening (as Cornell and Clarkson both were), 3x7 is great, and 4x8 would be just south of freakin' incredible if you kept up that pace for several games in a row. But, yes, Clarkson looked decent on PP.

What if we calculated PP effectiveness relative to each opponent's PK effectiveness and made that a stat? For instance, Clarkson's PK is 86% or 14% allowed vs. Cornell's 29% so for that game we did 15 percentage points better than Clarkson's YTD average. (By the same token, relative to Clarkson's PK effectiveness, the Knights gave up one goal extra.)

St. Lawrence is also 86% on PK (14% allowed) and Corell was 2x9 Friday or 22% so we were 8 points better Friday than SLU's season average. Stats experts can help me out here b/c a 1x1 on PP is 100% and that's going to mess up the averages. (Maybe take the median rather than mean of all the season's relative-PP effectiveness calculations? Calculate it not as relative percentages but as PP goals scored vs. PK goals allowed on average, since 4x15 is so-so shooting but it's still 4 goals and that ought to win you most games? Maybe just forget about it and have another beer?)

redhair34

billhoward
Cornell PK didn't do so well

Maybe so, but I think some of that had to do with Clarkson's PP being very good. It looked much better than the St. Lawrence PP.

One thing I liked about their pp was when there was a scrum in front, sometimes they passed the puck out to the blueline for a hard shot, rather than always just trying to bang it in.

Jim Hyla
One thing I liked about their pp was when there was a scrum in front, sometimes they passed the puck out to the blueline for a hard shot, rather than always just trying to bang it in.

To my eye it looked more like a skip pass across the crease, after a quick pass to a defenseman that had already crowded towards the goal, but I was thinking the same thing. Sometimes it's just impossible to bang it through in front, e.g. against Brown and their typical fall on the puck tactics. Clarkson got quite a few looks at a lot of net from these passes--good thing they didn't bury them.

and there were several cornell infractions that went unpenalized including a near-mugging; the only difference being that there wasn't a large Clarkson student section to scream to draw equal attention to it.

That said, I think that the 15-14 penalty stat says plenty about the game. It also reminds us that McDonald was the ref and I hear he's been consistently awful this year.

042,

If you and those around you, who share the same opinion (and glasses perhaps...lol) can recall that far back, you should reflect on the cornell players taking several runs at Todd White back in the '97 game at Lynah. Was that the only way Schafer thought they could win? Or head hunting after Erik Cole in '99?

I have never defended the on-ice undisciplined play of Nickerson in his ONE year at Clarkson and I won't now. But for you to hold him up as the typical Clarkson recruit and say they recruit "a whole team of Nickersons" is simply ludicrous. If you really believe that, then those glasses of yours are stornger than anyone could imagine.

As a factual matter, in the '97 and '99 games, the cornell squad was clearly the aggressor but neither game got out of controll as I recall. I do recall being at a couple of games at Lynah in more recent years when a couple of your favorite Clarkson targets (one who's related to a former Clarkson coach and AD) got involved in late game or end-of-game dustups and it's fair to say they were the instigators by and large.

But please don't make the cornell players out to be choir boys because they were all-too-willing participants. Hornby's name comes to mind and I can't recall the others but I do remember the video clips being proudly made available on this forum.

Scersk '97

Jim Hyla
One thing I liked about their pp was when there was a scrum in front, sometimes they passed the puck out to the blueline for a hard shot, rather than always just trying to bang it in.

To my eye it looked more like a skip pass across the crease, after a quick pass to a defenseman that had already crowded towards the goal, but I was thinking the same thing. Sometimes it's just impossible to bang it through in front, e.g. against Brown and their typical fall on the puck tactics. Clarkson got quite a few looks at a lot of net from these passes--good thing they didn't bury them.

I think we're talking about two different things. I assume you're describing something like a backdoor play, or weak side pass. I was talking about passing it right back toward the blueline where a shot could be taken. Both are good change of paces.

Actually Jim, early in the year we were very successful on the PP for the very reason you discussed....In recent games Clarkson has moved away from that and has been making too many passes on the PP, trying to make the "perfect" pass....The coaching staff has been drilling them to get more shots on net and traffic in front.

Hopefully we can right the ship, before next weekend.
Cheers,
Drew

ajec1

Oat
I would rather have a great leap forward in the pairwise ranking.

That happened as well...

[www.siouxsports.com]

How is a quality win defined?

ithacat

ajec1

Oat
I would rather have a great leap forward in the pairwise ranking.

That happened as well...

[www.siouxsports.com]

How is a quality win defined?

see [www.uscho.com]
basically non-conference win vs top 15 RPI team; - so all we've got is the home win with Mich State.

redGrinch
basically non-conference win vs top 15 RPI team; - so all we've got is the home win with Mich State.

Thanks. There's another reason I don't like the Ivy game penalty.

Hey, lucky timing but I took a picture of the cornell player getting punched in the nuts by Clarkson's Jeff Genovy. Can't identify which one of our players it is, I could use some help! At least I have proof...

Nah, I'm not talking about penalty music and such. The people around me all agreed that it seemed like Clarkson was playing more tunes during stoppages; I agree with you about non-playing times, so no qualms there. I just thought that the band should have got us going a little more when our own cheers were getting quiet. I'm not trashing the band, I love it. That's why I wanted to hear more music!

i wish the band didn't play so loud during the intermissions

aznxjz
i wish the band didn't play so loud during the intermissions

Sorry, I didn't realize it was a wrestling match.

I kid, I kid, it's just that I've been waiting all day to make a nasty remark about getting roped into that Lehigh match. We were promised playing time and got a whopping eight seconds between each match. BS, I tell you. And other coaches wonder why we love hockey so much.

Wow, the team looks much better than when I last saw them in person during the fall. However, do not forget that Clarkson could have won this game had they not botched two open net shots. In addition, it was frustrating to see some of the center ice giveaways by Cornell's young players--particularly apparent during the second period--and I had a nervous OB moment when he took the puck across the Cornell crease. One cannot complain though when the team is hitting and skating hard, McKee is making fantastic saves, and the crowd is rocking.

I am surprised to find so few comments about the stick incident--I thought it would be a big deal here and I was hoping someone could clear up exactly what happened. While I have no idea how it developed, a Clarkson player was using a Cornell stick and took the stick back to the Clarkson bench (wrapped in red tape, there should have been no confusion as to which team was the rightful owner). The stick was finally returned to the Cornell bench after it was pried away from the Clarkson bench, defusing a developing brawl. After some more vehement complaining, Coach tossed the stick across the ice out of frustration but he had cover because one of the Cornell players in the penalty box was the one that had the stick stolen. I could not really see how the stick changed hands in the first place because, if I remember correctly, the incident occurred against the boards in front of section C. Does anyone that sat in the "townie" sections remember what happened?

The Clarkson fans, as usual, made a nice showing and really improved the atmosphere. It is hard for any visiting band to compete with our massive pep band but, hey, they tried. I really enjoyed the "this band sucks" sign held by a young Cornell fan sitting right next to the Clarkson band. Holding up lighters during the alma mater is tried and true but the faithful responded well with a "set your self on fire" cheer. What was up with the one Clarkson fan mimicking as if he was sawing his arm off?

Yes, Clarkson played a tough, rugged game against a hard-hitting team. They did seem to cross the undefined "clean" line that I have created in my own head but where is the perspective from a few of our passionate fans? It is hockey and the players are highly competitive, young adults that are constantly banging in an intense atmosphere. I have seen much worse between fellow Cornell students in front of Mama T's over a slice of pepperoni pizza! To be fair, it should be mentioned that A and B had a clear view of a Clarkson player punching a Cornell player "in the cup" and the worst moment for me was when a Clarkson player, heading back to his bench, tripped one of our players after crossing paths. What made it so bad was that the Cornell player was trying to get through the bench door and he took a hard fall against the boards. It was dirty but there were no injuries and the offender was caught and penalized.

Anyways, it was a very entertaining game and I felt privileged that my guests were able to get the true Lynah experience while sitting next to Ryan, one of the more vocal fans in Section B.

atb9
However, do not forget that Clarkson could have won this game had they not botched two open net shots.

Or we could have blown the game wide open if Bitz could connect on any of his three open net shots. Cornell or Clarkson could have easily each had a few more goals if they could have converted on their open net opportunities.

didnt the stick situation happen after o'bryne put that huge hit on the clarkson player? i guess that players stick flung out into the stands (over the glass) during the hit and the clarkson player grabbed @ o'bryne's stick and was able to get it?

Jason L
didnt the stick situation happen after o'bryne put that huge hit on the clarkson player? i guess that players stick flung out into the stands (over the glass) during the hit and the clarkson player grabbed @ o'bryne's stick and was able to get it?

That's what I saw (on CSTV, anyway). O'Byrne and a Clarkson player met near the boards around center ice in front of the student (sic) section C; the stick catapulted into the stands; the Clarkson player somehow wound up with Ryan's stick, and either played with it or immediately ended his shift, in any case he returned to his own bench. At the stoppage, the fans puked up the stick a la the bleachers at Wrigley, and the Clarkson bench handed O'Byrne's stick over the glass to the Cornell equipment manager.

At the time it struck me as an innocent, comical mistake.

redhair34

atb9
However, do not forget that Clarkson could have won this game had they not botched two open net shots.

Or we could have blown the game wide open if Bitz could connect on any of his three open net shots. Cornell or Clarkson could have easily each had a few more goals if they could have converted on their open net opportunities.

Bitz has probably missed 20 open nets on identical back door plays on the powerplay this year. That being said, I have been extremely critical of Bitz of the last year or so, but he has greatly improved over the last couple weeks and is playing the best hockey of his career, no longer looking totally out of place as the #1 center.

calgARI '07
I beg Schafer every week to put the Abbotts together and hopefully the beautiful goal they scored will make him do it.

Doesn't look like it will happen, Ari. Quote from Monday's Ithaca Journal:

“They [the Abbotts] look for each other too much 5-on-5, so 4-on-4 is the perfect opportunity for them to play together,” Schafer said.

email me the picture and I might be able to help you...
netsaber@twcny.rr.com
-Devin

Very interesting quote and it does completely explain why they've been playing on separate lines for a while now. Makes sense too - I can see how twins who've been playing together forever could end up relying on each other too much at the expense of a linemate.

Exactly the same problem we have with two brothers on the HS team. The other winger feels left out because the two know each other's tendencies so well.

I had a good view of the stick incident.

O'Byrne did put a good hit on the Clarkson player, but also used his elbow to ram the guy's head into the boards. I was actually sure he was going to get called for that. Add it to the list of non-calls we got away with that night, because from where I sat, it was pretty blatant.

The Clarkson player's stick did fly up into Section C. O'Byrne had also dropped his stick, and the Clarkson player picked up O'Byrne's stick, and skated off with it. O'Byrne even gestured towards the other player, looking for a ref, before getting back into play himself. And unless I am mistaken, shortly thereafter he was called for interference and almost certainly would not have been if he had been playing with a stick at the time.

I had wondered about not seeing the Clarkson player's stick returned. It reminded me of the incident in the mid-80's when a Yale player's stick wound up in Section D, and at the next stoppage Yale got the ref to demand the return of the stick. This resulted in a "Yale is Cheap" chant from The Faithful, and, at the next stoppage, Mike Schafer skating over to section D with a Cornell stick for the woman who had given up the Yale stick.

Anyway, I thought I had just missed the return of the stick. But I had not. It was actually returned after the game ended.
Andy W. '86

KeithK
Very interesting quote and it does completely explain why they've been playing on separate lines for a while now. Makes sense too - I can see how twins who've been playing together forever could end up relying on each other too much at the expense of a linemate.

The quote may be for distribution to the Journal's 25,000 readers, but it's also a telegram to two brothers in particular. When the coach says to players, "Don't pay attention to the media," he really hopes this kind of word gets back. He seems quite skilled at saying so-and-so needs to ratchet up this facet of his game in a way that's generally praise, but not 100%.

billhoward

KeithK
Very interesting quote and it does completely explain why they've been playing on separate lines for a while now. Makes sense too - I can see how twins who've been playing together forever could end up relying on each other too much at the expense of a linemate.

The quote may be for distribution to the Journal's 25,000 readers, but it's also a telegram to two brothers in particular. When the coach says to players, "Don't pay attention to the media," he really hopes this kind of word gets back. He seems quite skilled at saying so-and-so needs to ratchet up this facet of his game in a way that's generally praise, but not 100%.

I'd hazard a (pretty good) guess that after 3 1/2 years with the Abbotts, this past week in the Ithaca Journal isn't the first time they've heard these sentiments from Coach.

billhoward
He seems quite skilled at saying so-and-so needs to ratchet up this facet of his game in a way that's generally praise, but not 100%.

Absolutely.

A smart coach at any level knows his players' mental makeup and can send the right message or push the right buttons in a way that the public often can't understand or see.

On the pro level, Bill Parcells was a master at this when he was with the Giants...and since as well.